Oscar Isaac Hired His Younger Brother to Play His Body Double in 'Moon Knight' - Who Is Michael Benjamin Hernandez?
Oscar Isaac stars in the new Marvel series "Moon Knight" alongside his brother, Michael Benjamin Hernandez, who chose to play his body double.
Oscar Isaac is undoubtedly a talented actor, known for starring in "Moon Knight," where he brought to life his titular character. However, even the most outstanding actors need help in filming, and in Isaac's case, a body double was required for "Moon Knight."
The best man for the job was no other than his brother, Michael Benjamin Hernandez, who already had film credits under his belt.
Moon Knight suffered from dissociative identity disorder in the series and was projected as separate people, Steven Grant and Marc Spector. As such, certain scenes required both personalities to appear on the screen.
Unlike other Marvel projects, the new Disney+ show takes on a darker story, centered on a new character, but what made the project particularly special was when Isaac chose his brother to take on the part of Moon Knight.
To prepare for the superhero character, Hernandez had to endure immense training to be physically fit for the role.
According to Isaac, hiring the man with whom he shares the same DNA was a great idea to play his other half. He said:
“It was the closest thing to me there is on Earth. So, he came in, and he would play either Steven or Marc, and even did the accent and everything [...].”
Isaac texted his brother to be a stand-in while rehearsing for his lines and asked if Hernandez wanted to be a body double. "Once he sent me that text, that was so exciting. I was just so stoked to join," Hernandez said, as told by Men's Health.
Michael Benjamin Hernandez and Oscar Isaac during the "Operation Finale" New York premiere at Walter Reade Theater on August 16, 2018, in New York City. | Source: Getty Images
Hernandez would play the character Isaac wasn't taking on at the moment, whether that would be Marc or Steven, and would switch notes in other scenes.
"Sometimes, I'd have to arrive on set and decide which character I wanted to play first, and I'd rehearse it as that character," Isaac said. "Then I'd play the other character and give notes to my brother."
To prepare for the superhero character, Hernandez had to endure immense training to be physically fit for the role. Side-by-side, they had a proper diet and workout program to get in shape, which left Hernandez feeling proud by the end of it all.
Oscar Isaac during "The Rise of Skywalker" panel at the Star Wars Celebration at McCormick Place Convention Center on April 12, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. | Source: Getty Images
He also worked alongside "Moon Knight's" dialect coach, Barbara Berkery, to get Steven's accent accurately. Hernandez shared:
“On my days off, [I'd] work on the Steven accent, to make it feel more real, make it more authentic. So it was really important to make it as detailed as possible.”
He also wore prosthetics to match Isaac's features. "It was just this weird mutated abomination of Marc with a fake prosthetic nose," he said. "I had never done the whole casting thing where they pour green goo over your face, and I was totally game for that."
Hernandez previously starred in "Operation Finale," "Triple Frontier," and "Birthday Cake." On the show, he stars alongside Ethan Hawke, May Calamawy, David Ganly, and Ann Akinjirin, among others.