The essence of Paul Verhoeven’s iconic blockbuster, “Total Recall,” undoubtedly lies in its practical effects. Remarkably, one of the prosthetics appeared so strikingly realistic (at least in the footage) that Verhoeven mistakenly believed it was one of his actors who had taken the initiative and filmed the scene without his knowledge or approval. In reality, prosthetic and makeup artist Rob Bottin had crafted a full robot that mimicked Marshall Bell (who portrayed mutant human George/Kuato) solely to demonstrate to the director that the vision he had conceived for the scene could be executed as imagined without appearing artificial.
In a retrospective interview with Syfy, actor Mel Johnson Jr., who portrayed the cunning mutant spy Benny, recounted how Bottin deceptively impressed Verhoeven. This involved one of the most unforgettable scenes, in which Kuato, a psychic mutant, is unveiled as a conjoined twin of George and the leader of Mars’ Resistance. As Johnson noted, “Even by today’s standards, one would assume it was CGI, but Kuato was tangible. Kuato was a physical entity. All those movements were real. For Kuato to function, it had to be a robot [not Marshall Bell] to achieve the mechanics necessary for Kuato. And Paul was really against that.”
At first, Verhoeven rejected the idea, believing it would not appear correct. Consequently, Bottin recorded some footage in secret to present to the director. Johnson explained, “Paul exclaimed, ‘How did Marshall accomplish this? Who permitted Marshall to film this scene without my involvement?’ Rob replied, ‘No, that’s not Marshall; that’s my robot. I did it purely for you to see, based on your reaction, that you were unaware that isn’t Marshall.'”
Rob Bottin was a visionary during that era.
As a special makeup designer and creator, Bottin contributed to numerous legendary ’80s and ’90s films whose practical effects remain impressively effective today. Besides “Total Recall,” he left his mark on classics such as the original “The Thing,” “Mission: Impossible,” “Seven,” and “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” among many others.
Mel Johnson Jr. had the honor of collaborating with him on several occasions and highlighted the moment when Benny reveals his identity with his mutated “long-arm” appendage as an example of Bottin’s inventive and inspiring work. “For him to create my arm, I had to be in a complete half-body cast from my waist to my neck, and I had never fractured a limb or anything, so I had never been in a cast before. I had to master body acting with my arm since there were about seven individuals behind me operating that electrically when it was removed. And I truly enjoyed it. I thought it was fantastic.”
Bottin’s impact was substantial in nearly everything he participated in over the past four decades. This is why it’s regrettable that he retired around 2002 after VFX took control of the film and television industry. His likely last (though uncredited) contribution occurred in Season 4 of “Game of Thrones,” where he assisted in executing King Joffrey’s (Jack Gleeson) gruesome death scene.