Dan Stevens: I looked like 'a hippo on stilts' in viral Beauty and the Beast video

Remember that Beauty and the beast viral video? Well, Yahoo Movies sat down with Dan Stevens last week to discuss his new film The Man Who Invented Christmas, which is basically Shakespeare In Love meets Charles Dickens, following the story of how legendary Victorian writer created his iconic fantasy tale A Christmas Carol.

And, while we had Stevens, we took our chance to ask him about that Beauty and the Beast viral, which showed behind-the-scenes footage of the actor in one of the most ungainly mo-cap suits we’ve ever gawped at.

“It was interesting. People are in two minds about that stuff, do they want to see behind the magic?” Stevens told us. “For me, I looked like an absolute horror show – like a hippo on stilts for most of the film – and everything on set was so lavish and gorgeous, the sets, the costumes, and Emma in her dresses, everything was beautiful. And there was me, lolloping around in this great [big] thing.”

But it wasn’t all mo-cap chat, we also discussed The Muppet Christmas Carol, with Stevens revealing he’s a fan of the festive favourite. “It’s a curiously faithful adaptation, certainly in spirit. It’s one of the few screen appearances that Charles Dickens gets. I can only aspire to Gonzo, really. It was fun for me to take down the dusty old bust of the great bearded monolith and shake up the perception a bit.”

For more from Stevens on his hippo-like Beauty and the Beast mo-cap suit, and his turn as Dickens in The Man Who Invented Christmas, click on the video above.

The Man Who Invented Christmas is in UK cinemas this Friday, and it’s a Xmas treat.

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