Willig found some kinship with Andre. He's quick to point out that he's 6'8" — not quite Andre's height but still taller than average — and was able to empathize with some of Andre's struggles and insecurities related to size. "It was easy to understand the frustration or the sadness a little bit, and being the one who's always noticed — or the one who can't sneak in anywhere or slide in anywhere."
Andre was also in constant pain during the '80s, and Willig was able to call on the residual effects of his football career for that: "I kind of used that a little bit and sort of channeled my own pain in my own knees." One time after a long day shooting, a producer told him, "You looked like you were in a lot of pain," so his method obviously paid off.
As for voice, he had some additional help: "I worked with a dialect coach, a French dialect coach, to just get the French-isms." It went beyond the accent, though. Andre had a particular way of speaking, one that required finding some balance for TV. "Andre has a really big tongue, like he has marbles in his mouth. And so, I kind of had that sort of mumbling aspect to him. It was tricky, there were times when you can't understand Andre, but obviously for television, that doesn't work. So it was kind of a tricky thing to be able to sound authentic — like him — but yet have everyone understand what I'm trying to say."
