Victor Dorobantu, the Romanian magician-turned-actor, is once again proving that even the smallest actor can have the biggest personality if you've got the right hand for the job. Born on March 5, 1997, in Ploiești, Romania, Dorobantu didn't start out in acting. His early career was rooted in magic, and he mastered sleight-of-hand tricks long before he became Netflix's most famous disembodied appendage.
Now, in "Wednesday" Season 2, Dorobantu has taken to social media to reveal just how much work and how many awkward poses go into making "Thing" feel real. His behind-the-scenes videos pull back the curtain on an unexpectedly physical job that requires hours in a full-body blue morph suit, crawling, crouching, and contorting to get a single scene right.
The Blue Morph Suit and Movie Magic
On screen, "Thing" appears as a mysterious, quick-moving hand with a mind of its own. In reality, Dorobantu's entire body is very much present and hidden in post-production. The bright blue suit allows visual effects artists to erase everything but his hand, seamlessly integrating it into the gothic world Tim Burton envisioned.
It wasn't just about dressing up and wiggling fingers, though. Dorobantu explains that no one on the team initially knew precisely how to pull it off. "Nobody knew how to do it. We came up with ideas together. We started from zero. Literally zero," he told Netflix's Tudum.
Some of those ideas included practical tricks like riding on a dolly to create fast, smooth movement, a clever workaround for scenes where "Thing" needed to zip across a room without the jerky motion of someone crawling.
Turning a Hand Into a Character
What makes "Thing" so memorable isn't just the design, it's the acting. Dorobantu's background in magic gave him a deep understanding of how to communicate without words, using small, intentional gestures. Over the course of filming, he became so in tune with his hand that it began to feel like a separate performer.
By the final days of production, "Thing" practically had its personality, able to express curiosity, fear, sass, or excitement with nothing more than a twitch or tilt.
The attention to detail is staggering. Every flick of a finger, every subtle pause, was planned and executed with the same care an actor gives to a dramatic monologue. And when one hand wasn't enough, the crew had an entire suitcase full of "Things" — prosthetic versions for different stunts and effects.
The Uncomfortable Reality of the Job
While the final product is magical, the process wasn't exactly comfortable. The blue suit might have been essential for visual effects, but Dorobantu spent long hours in it, often in awkward positions, under hot lights, or squeezing into cramped sets. Still, his pride in the role shines through. He knows "Thing" has become an iconic part of Wednesday, and he embraces the challenge that comes with making it feel alive.
Burton's gothic aesthetic meets Dorobantu's meticulous hand acting, resulting in a character who is both eerie and charming, a perfect fit for the Addams Family universe.
From Magician to Scene Stealer
Dorobantu's journey from performing card tricks in Romania to starring in one of Netflix's most-watched shows shows his creative adaptability. He's transformed an unconventional role into a fan favorite, showing that acting is not always about having the most lines; sometimes, it's about making the smallest movements count.
And now, with Season 2 streaming, fans have a new appreciation for the work that goes into "Thing." Those fleeting moments of eerie charm are built on hours of collaboration, creativity, and physical precision, proving that even in a supernatural world, a little behind-the-scenes magic goes a long way.