True to his ‘Transformations’ moniker, the Philippine’s Horror Prince of Cosplay, Prince De Guzman not only transformed into the Michael Morbius character through prosthetics and make-up as he usually does. He also had to transform his body to emulate the same chiseled and well built frame that actor Jared Leto showcased in the film.
In case you didn’t know, Leto is already fifty years old! And damn! He looks good for his age.
In order for Prince to get in shape for the Michael Morbius character, and with plans of doing photoshoots showing his chest and upper body. He had to undergo intense diet, exercise and training to drop the weight that he gained for when he cosplayed as Doc Ock (Dr. Otto Octavius). All these within three months!
Prince put on the metal tentacles when Spider-Man: No Way Home (finally) hit Philippine cinemas back in January 2022. Like a true chameleon, he gained weight for the character and now had to drop it, in order to accurately portray Michael Morbius. This meant undergoing an intense diet. Prince went on a 20-4 fasting, with a 4 hour timeframe to eat. And he only ate fish.
Aside from the strict diet, Prince also made sure to hit the gym. A physique as fit as that of Jared Leto, surely comes at a price and that often means rigorous training, exercise and diet. Prince worked with Coach Jemnil Vitangcol, who trained him in boxing and helped with his workout. Remember, its important to get professional help with these kinds of training and exercise.
Of course, getting his body in shape is only one part of the transformation, the other is of course, putting on the prosthetics and the make up for that terrifying Morbius vampire look. It takes four hours to do the make-up. Like many of his creations and transformations, Prince does his own prosthetics, from the sculpting to the application.
When asked which of the two was harder, the diet and training or the sculpting and applying prosthetics and make-up. Prince says it’s the former, adding that the whole process was really ‘Intense’.
On getting to bring Michael Morbius to life, Prince says that the character was very iconic for him. Especially because of his love of the horror genre and with Morbius being a ‘living vampire’ within the MCU/Sony-verse. “I didn’t get to read the comic books but I’m still excited to see Morbius’ debut in the MCU, I’ve always been curious how they would translate Morbius through the live action genre.”
Prince De Guzman, continues to show why he is one of the most sought after cosplayers in the country. He is passionate about the work that he does and has a very good work ethic. With cosplans and cosplay projects left and right, we will all definitely be seeing Prince around – the question is, if we will be able to recognize him.
Make sure to follow Prince on his Facebook page and Instagram account, and subscribe to his YouTube channel.