Movies are weird. Sometimes, you see a face on screen and you know exactly who it is, but with a film like Steven Spielberg’s 2016 adaptation of Roald Dahl's classic, things get a little blurry. We’re talking about massive giants, tiny orphans, and a whole lot of motion-capture tech that hides the actual humans involved. Honestly, the big friendly giant cast is one of the most interesting groups of actors ever assembled for a high-budget fantasy because half of them are basically unrecognizable.
Mark Rylance. That’s the name you need to know.
Before he was the BFG, most people knew him as a stage legend or the guy who won an Oscar for Bridge of Spies. He isn't some loud, booming voice actor. He’s subtle. He’s quiet. When Spielberg cast him, it wasn't just about finding someone tall—since, you know, computers handle the height—it was about finding the "soul" of a giant who refuses to eat humans.
Mark Rylance and the Tech Behind the Giant
It’s actually kinda crazy how they did this. Rylance didn't just stand in a booth and record lines. He wore a suit covered in little reflective dots. He had cameras pointed at his face to catch every twitch of his eyebrow. This is what we call performance capture. If you look closely at the BFG’s eyes in the movie, those are Rylance’s eyes. Every bit of sadness, every "whizzpopping" chuckle, it all comes from him.
He had to play a character who speaks "gobblefunk." That’s the weird, garbled language Dahl invented. It’s hard to make words like "snozzcumber" or "frobscottle" sound natural, but Rylance pulled it off by treating them like actual poetry. He didn't play it for laughs; he played it like a man who just never learned to speak quite right.
Ruby Barnhill was the other half of that heart. She played Sophie. She was only about ten or eleven when they filmed this. Imagine being a kid and your first big job is a Spielberg movie where your main co-star is a guy in a gray spandex suit pretending to be twenty feet tall. She had to use her imagination constantly. Because of the way the big friendly giant cast worked on set, she often had to look at a tennis ball on a stick instead of Rylance’s face so her eyes would be at the "correct" height for the giant.
The "Other" Giants: Who Were the Villains?
While the BFG is a sweetheart, the rest of his family? Not so much. The Fleshlumpeater is the leader of the pack. He’s played by Bill Hader.
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Yes, that Bill Hader. The Saturday Night Live guy.
He’s huge, mean, and terrifying, but if you listen closely, you can hear Hader’s range in there. It’s a complete 180 from his usual comedy. Then you have Jemaine Clement as the Fleshlumpeater’s second-in-command, the Fleshlumpeater's right-hand man (or rather, fellow bean-stalker), the Bloodbottler. Clement is one half of Flight of the Conchords, and he brings this weird, grumbly energy to the role.
The rest of the giant pack included:
- Adam Godley (Manhugger)
- Chris Gibbs (Gizzardgulp)
- Ólafur Darri Ólafsson (Maidmasher)
- Paul Moniz de Sa (Butcherboy)
- Michael Adamthwaite (Butcherboy)
- Jonathan Holmes (Childchewer)
These guys weren't just background noise. They had to perform together in a massive "performance capture" volume. They moved like heavy, clumsy predators. It’s easy to forget there are real actors under all that digital skin, but the movement is too human to be purely computer-generated.
Bringing in the British Royalty
Once Sophie and the BFG head to London to stop the giants from eating "human beans," the tone of the movie shifts. We go from a dream-filled cave to Buckingham Palace. This is where the big friendly giant cast adds some serious prestige.
Penelope Wilton plays the Queen. You probably recognize her from Downton Abbey. She plays it perfectly straight, which is why it’s so funny when she has to react to a giant drinking fizzy green soda and... well, having a "whizzpopper" in the middle of a royal breakfast. Beside her is Rebecca Hall as Mary, the Queen’s maid, and Rafe Spall as Mr. Tibbs, the butler.
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It’s a very "British" cast. Spielberg wanted that. He wanted the movie to feel like a classic English bedtime story, and you can’t get that without actors who know how to play "stiff upper lip" in the face of total absurdity.
Why This Cast Worked (And Why It Didn't Hit the Box Office)
Even though the big friendly giant cast was stacked with talent, the movie didn't exactly set the world on fire at the box office. People have debated why for years. Some say it was too slow. Others think the CGI giants were a little too "uncanny valley" for kids.
But if you watch it today, the chemistry between Rylance and Barnhill is undeniable. It feels like a real friendship. That’s the nuance Rylance brought. He didn't treat the BFG as a monster or a cartoon. He treated him as a lonely old man who just happened to be huge.
The film relies heavily on "simul-cam" technology. This allowed Spielberg to see a low-res version of the digital giant in his viewfinder while he was filming the live-action Sophie. This meant he could direct the actors in real-time. It wasn't like the old days of green screens where everyone was guessing. The big friendly giant cast actually interacted, even if they were technically in different "worlds" of scale.
The Legacy of the Performers
Looking back, the 2016 film wasn't the first time we saw these characters. Many people still have a soft spot for the 1989 animated version where David Jason voiced the BFG. It’s a very different vibe. David Jason’s giant was more "whimsical uncle," while Rylance’s version is more "fragile grandfather."
Is one better? Hard to say.
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But in terms of technical achievement, the 2016 big friendly giant cast pushed boundaries. It showed that you could take a world-class theater actor and put him in a digital suit without losing the "acting." It’s the same thing Andy Serkis did with Gollum, but with a much softer, more emotional touch.
What You Should Do Next
If you’re interested in how this all came together, you should definitely check out the "behind the scenes" footage of Mark Rylance in his capture suit. Seeing him jump around and act opposite Ruby Barnhill while wearing a helmet with cameras attached to it really changes how you view the movie.
Also, it’s worth revisiting the original Roald Dahl book. A lot of the dialogue Rylance uses is pulled straight from the pages, and seeing how he interprets Dahl’s "gobblefunk" is a masterclass in voice work.
Finally, take a look at the rest of the big friendly giant cast in their other roles. Watching Bill Hader in Barry and then realizing he’s the same guy playing a child-eating giant is pretty mind-blowing. It shows just how much work goes into the digital roles we often take for granted.
Actionable Insights for Movie Fans:
- Watch for the Eyes: When re-watching, focus on the BFG's micro-expressions; those are 100% Mark Rylance's actual facial movements.
- Identify the Voice: Try to spot Jemaine Clement’s distinct dry humor in the Bloodbottler’s grunts and threats.
- Compare Versions: Watch the 1989 animated film to see how the "Gobblefunk" language is handled differently by David Jason versus Rylance.