The superhero genre has been dominating the entertainment world for years, and is showing no signs of slowing down. In addition to shared universes like the MCU and DCU (the latter of which is streaming with a HBO Max subscription), there’s also been other titles set outside of them. Case in point: The CW’s Arrowverse, including The Flash. Actor Tom Cavanagh famously played Reverse-Flash in that Speedster series, although it turns out that at one point he completely peed in his costume thanks to a design error. Ouch.
The Flash (which is streaming with a Netflix subscription) ran for a whopping nine seasons, so you would think that they would have made the design of superhero suits would have been a streamlined experience. But that wasn’t the case, and Cavanagh shared at Fan Expo Denver (via ThePopVerse) that he ended up having an emergency situation while filming one of the Arrowverse crossovers. As he told it:
I had to go to the bathroom, and sometimes for the Reverse-Flash suits you would have someone who was an expert in the suit. In the crossovers, somebody got lost in the mix. The first Reverse-Flash suit had a zipper that started at the back that I couldn’t reach, and it came across the front.
That definitely sounds like a design issue. But this bathroom-related issue is not exclusive to Tom Cavanagh’s costume as Reverse-Flash. It’s a common issue for actors lucky enough to take on superhero roles. Christian Bale’s advice to fellow Batman Ben Affleck was to make sure he could still use the bathroom in costume, given the long and grueling hours on set. So this is an issue that’s going back years and across various franchises.
Unfortunately, Cavanagh’s story about being unable to use the bathroom resulted in a somewhat humiliating moment on set. As he went on to share with the convention audience:
I watched these poor people from Supergirl, three of them, trying to get the zipper. You couldn’t do it. Serena could do it and no one else could do it. And I was like, ‘It’s fine, I’ll just go in the suit. It’s fine.’ I felt so bad for them. What are they doing over there?
Yikes. Despite how badass Cavanagh looked as Reverse-Flash, the reality of wearing his signature suit was far less glamorous… especially when he ended up going to the bathroom while still wearing it. I sure hope these costumes were easily washed because now I’m just picturing him having to wear a urine-soaked look while continuing to film as Eobard Thawne / Reverse-Flash.
As previously mentioned, this design flaw seems fairly common for actors wearing custom superhero suits. Recently Tessa Thompson and Jennifer Lawrence shared stories about being asked to pee into a funnel while suited up as Valkyrie and Mystique respectively. But at least they didn’t have an accident in their costumes.
The Flash is streaming in its entirety over on Netflix. All new DC projects are landing on HBO Max nowadays, including Creature Commandos, Peacemaker Season 2, and Superman. Hopefully James Gunn and company are making sure actors can use the bathroom nowadays.