'John Carter' at D23: Willem Dafoe Describes Filming as a Nine Foot Martian (Video)

Seasoned actor Willem Dafoe has done it all, starring in more than 70 films in his career. However, his role in Disney’s John Carter presented a new challenge: how would he create the “nine foot tall Martian warrior” as he described to The Hollywood Reporter?

The answer is a combination of stilts and motion capture, the actor told THR in an excusive interview at Disney’s D23 expo.

Dafoe told THR that he had to do a lot of training for the stilt work that his role required, especially because much of the film was shot in the Southwest on difficult terrain.

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"A lot of the landscapes we shot in the Southwest desserts were quite extreme,” said Dafoe. 

However, the world that the production created for the film, which taked place on Mars, was a sight to see. “It was a pleasure going to work every day because the landscapes were incredible,” said Dafoe.

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Dafoe’s character, Tars Tarkas, was also created with the use of motion capture, so he would have little sensors all over his body when he was acting out a scene. 

THR also asked Dafoe is he feels pressure for the film to be embraced by fans of the material on which it is based, the science fiction novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs. 

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“Look, you always want people to like a movie, but I feel pretty confident. I think this movie’s going to be special,” he said.

Taylor Kitsch stars in the action epic, and Andrew Stanton directs. The film is planned for a March 9, 2012 release.