“No need to fear, ma'am!” Captain Incredible is here to save the day!” Andrew Garfield read into the mic in his new, stereotypically heroic voice from inside the sound booth. His face even contorted with over-the-top expressions to help him stay in character as he battled Captain Incredible’s nemesis, “Stop right there, Dynamo! It’s over…you’ve lost” the 39 year old assured with a puffed up chest to project a strong tone and flipped the page to start on his next line.

Nick, the producer for ‘The Adventures of Captain Incredible’ watched from outside as his new adult animated series came to life and Andrew continued giving the titular character personality. The next scene to be recorded was a classic scenario of the hero captured by the villain and pressured to spill information he needed for his master plan, finding Captain Incredible tied to a metal table and totally helpless. “I’m not telling you anything, Dynamo! Your plan will never work!” Andrew recited with straining noises to show he was struggling to escape. “Of course it will, Captain…because you’re going to tell me where you hid my secret weapon” the pre-recorded voice answered into Andrew’s headphones as the voice actor continued grunting and straining.

“I’ll never talk!” Andrew proclaimed. “We’ll see about that, hero…” the Dynamo voice answered while Andrew read along in his script to see that Captain Incredible’s boots were being removed and his bare feet were exposed in front of Dynamo. “If you wanted a pair of boots like mine I could’ve just told you where I got them” Captain Incredible mocked. “Funny guy, huh? I wonder how much you can really laugh” Dynamo’s voice proposed before his character pulled out a high tech-looking remote and fired it at Captain Incredible’s feet.

“No! SsttAHAOopP THhAAAT!!” “Is the great Captain Incredible ticklish??” “AhoHaNO! Not tickling!” Andrew read with a put-on laugh as his character suffered the ticklish interrogation but the producer quickly grew unhappy with the scene’s progress as the charming Englishman tried to produce a genuine laugh like he was actually being tickled. Nick told the man running the booth to cut the session and Nick knocked on the window to signal for Andrew to come out.

“Hey, Nick, I didn’t even know you were here” Andrew greeted. “I see you’re already on episode three” “Yep, moving right along. What do you think of my Captain Incredible voice?” Andrew asked with the voice he’d created. “It’s great, just like we had in mind but there seems to be a problem with this new scene” Nick explained. “Ok, sure, what’s wrong?” “It’s the interrogation. I know this is your first voice acting role but have you never done laughter for a character?” “What? Yeah, I’ve done it plenty of times” “Really? Because I’ve gotta tell ya, it sounds pretty fake to me. I mean you’re supposed to be getting tickle tortured” Nick elaborated like Andrew hadn’t understood the scene.

“Yeah, I know…I mean I don’t have first-hand experience with that but I figured it was just like a normal laugh” “Are you a ticklish guy, Andrew?” “Well…yeah, I guess” Andrew answered like he didn’t want to say too much. “Well imagine somebody, maybe your big brother or a mean uncle was sitting on you tickling you as much as they wanted and you couldn’t get away. Do you think that laugh in there was what you’d sound like?” “...no?” “Right” “But Captain Incredible’s a superhero; he wouldn’t be that ticklish, right?” “No, that’s one of his weaknesses which means you’ve gotta really sell it” Nick answered. “Oh…alright. I must’ve overlooked that in the script” “Look, everything else is great, just go home and we’ll work on it tomorrow” “Alright, sounds good. Thanks, man” the seasoned actor agreed, confused by the critique but willing to try again to perfect his tickle tortured laugh and please his new employers.

The next day Andrew returned to the recording studio prepared to knock out a few more episodes but when he walked in, it wasn’t the normal recording booth he was used to. There was a strange chair in the booth with straps on the arms and leg extensions that met two holes that opened to the adjoining booth. “What the hell is that about?” a confused Andrew asked before Nick appeared. “Hey, Andrew, ready to be Captain Incredible again?” “Yeah, but what’s the chair about? It’s pretty medieval looking” Andrew admitted with a light laugh and a strange tingle up his back the more he looked at it.

“Right, the chair. Well, I got to thinking about you having trouble with the laughter for the interrogation scene and I remembered there was this technique I used years ago for a guy who had a similar issue” “I don’t get it. How does a chair help me?” “Why don’t you let me get you set up and I’ll explain; that way you’ll better understand what I mean” Nick suggested and Andrew agreed, taking a seat in the red padded chair and letting the producer strap his arms to the arms of the chair and securing two more straps across his knees as his sneakered-feet slipped through the holes.

Andrew's usual bubbly personality was waning a bit, now with growing concern on his face as he tested the chair to realize he couldn’t get out on his own. “Comfy?” “I think about as comfy as I can be…” “Great” Nick answered from the adjoining booth before pulling off both of Andrew’s shoes with one good tug. “Hey! What are you doing?!” “It’s part of the approach, kid, relax” Nick laughed like Andrew was overreacting but he couldn’t relax much at all, not in such a vulnerable position.

“Where’s my script?” “Oh you won’t need it for today. We’ll just add whatever we get today to the existing audio and clip it together” “Ok…so now what?” Andrew questioned. “Now’s the part where I hope you’re as ticklish as the last guy I had to use this with” Nick answered and a wave of shock came over Andrew’s face. “Wait, hold up…are you serious??” “Yep; real tickling produces much more organic laughter for those who can’t quite get it” Nick explained while Andrew’s white socked feet began to wiggle around outside the holes with anxiety and he tested the straps some more with newfound urgency. “I don’t…I don’t think this is really necessary; I’m sure I can get the laugh if I work on it some more!” Andrew tried to convince. “Don’t sweat it; this takes all the work out of it. I’ll take it by your reaction that you’re ticklish enough for this to do its job” Nick added with a smirk like he couldn’t hide the kick he got out of the unusual tactic but Andrew began to fear what he’d gotten himself into.

“Ready?” Nick asked. “It’s not like I’m going anywhere” Andrew answered with a nervous smile before the booth operator turned the mic on in front of him and he gripped the chair as he watched Nick through the plexiglass start running just a couple fingers up his socked feet. “OoohAhAA” Andrew let out before he could stop himself and bit his lip to contain his reaction out of reflex. “No, no, let it out…that’s the whole point” the producer instructed as he trailed up and down the cotton-covered soles like he was getting to know them and Andrew realized he was more sensitive than he’d even remembered.

“OohAOhoAhA…ooohAOhAoAoha…WwooAOhoAohaA” Garfield couldn’t help but react to the prolonged teasing, already squirming in the chair like his body was telling him to run away. “How’s that sounding, Jim?” Nick asked the booth operator, getting a thumbs up from the man. “Great; I guess we got the right guy for the job after all” Nick added as he began testing different areas, starting with the edges running down from the pinky toes to his heels with long, uninterrupted strokes. “oOoAOhAoOooOhAohohAohA” “Very nice…what about here?” Nick questioned before jumping to the arches with the same, maddening back and forth of his fingers.

“OoohAOhAO OoKOOKohAA” “Even better…” Nick grinned like he’d hit the jackpot with Andrew and moved onto the balls where more fingers joined the effort, now with four on each foot scratching just under his toes. “AoOoHaOOAHAohaNNoOOAoOHAA!” Andrew sprang forward in the chair and his mouth opened wider with the heavier laughter, the look on his face like his reaction had surprised him. Nick couldn’t have been more thrilled with the results he was getting as he watched Andrew squirm in the chair and try to endure his own weakness but he knew things would only get more exciting once his socks were off.

“Alright, now that we’ve got some light laughter recorded we can move onto bigger reactions” Nick announced as he slipped his fingers past the elastic edge of Andrew’s socks and swiftly yanked them off before the actor even knew what was happening. “Oh shit…” Andrew cringed with new anxiety as his fresh toes wiggled and crunched like they too feared what was coming. “Look at that, nice and smooth” Nick commented, getting a forced smile from his talent. “Hey you can probably take just it easy on me. I don’t think it’s gonna take much to get a good laugh flow; I mean I don’t see Captain Incredible getting too crazy…that’d be kind of silly” Andrew tried to hurry up and persuade. “Actually, if he’s being interrogated by his arch nemesis I think Dynamo wouldn’t hold back; he’d really torture Captain Incredible, right?” “…if you say so” Andrew reluctantly agreed with an anxious sigh and tried to brace himself before he felt something flicking along his now bare feet.

“WhaAhAa…wwhAattiisSstTThHAATTt?!” “I didn’t know if feathers would really work but you’re making this pretty easy” Nick answered with an impressed laugh as the yellow feathers swept across his taffy pink soles like they were in need of a good dusting. “SseErRRiiouUUSsSlLYY!?!” Andrew couldn’t believe Nick was actually using feathers on him or that his feet were ticklish enough for the gentle teasing to work as well as it did but as much as he hated to admit it, the feathers were no joke. Nick trailed along the edges like he had before with his fingers and watched Andrew stutter through his laughter before moving to the paler arches, this time hearing Andrew’s reaction before he ever saw it.

“oOohohaNNOoNNOAOhAohAAA CCOmMMEEooOoNN!” “That’s good!” Nick encouraged as he visualized Captain Incredible trying to convince Dynamo to be reasonable and stop tickling him. “I don’t think Dynamo would ignore the toes so I guess I shouldn’t either” Nick announced before suddenly going after both sets of inviting toes with strong sweeps back and forth along the undersides. “OOAhAohAOhohNNOoAhohAA nNoOOtTThHEE TTOOoOEESS!!” Andrew objected out of pure reflex to spare his buttery-soft toes and Nick beamed with satisfaction, “This is some grade-A adlibbing, kid!” Nick praised as the feathers dominated his toes but he still wanted to see if he could get a bit more out of him with the feathers, prompting him to invade the hidden spaces between a few of the celebrity toes.

“NnOOoOH!! AOAOhAOhohOHDDoOnNTTDDOoOTThHAAAhAT!” Andrew argued with sudden panic like he never even thought about Nick going between his toes. “Oh this will be great when Dynamo really gets him good - great work” Nick added as he moved down the line to snake between each of the bubbly toes to keep Andrew writhing in the chair and riding the rollercoaster laughter he was giving to the microphone. “Alright, this is good…really good” Nick explained after putting the feathers down and letting Andrew catch his breath in the adjacent booth. “Oh my God…that was awful” “Haha you’re really selling it, Andrew. You see why yesterday’s laugh wasn’t good enough now?” “Yeah…I get it. So are we done now?” “Oh no, not yet. The head writer told me he wants to extend the interrogation scene a good bit and that he wants Captain Incredible’s ticklishness to become a running thing in the show so we’re just gonna record all the laughter we need today” Nick explained as Andrew looked back at him in horrified disbelief.

“You’re fucking with me, right? Come on, there’s gotta be enough recorded already” Andrew tried to assure as he tested the straps’ strength again. “Sorry, looks like you’re gonna have to hang out in there a little bit longer” Nick answered as he began deciding on what to use on him next. “It’s just tickling…you can handle a little tickling” Andrew tried to pep talk himself as if it was silly to be worried about getting tickled but didn’t realize the next set of tools were already approaching his helpless feet.

“WWoHAohA! WHaaTthEEFFuUCCKohAoAOhAA?!?” Andrew jolted at the sudden harsh sensations dragging down his narrow soles like he’d go flying out of the chair. “I just grabbed some stuff from my house this morning that I thought might work…I guess combs were a good idea” Nick enlightened as he used the pointed ends of the plastic handles to stroke back up both feet and watch Andrew grapple with their intensity. “OoAhoHANNOOnAohASShIIitTmMAAnN!” “You look like you’re in the electric chair and the current keeps dipping in and out” Nick laughed while Andrew floundered in place and his feet flexed and curved to try and avoid the brutal combs.

“This is really good but I wonder if I move them differently if it’ll make a difference?” “No! You don’t have to do thAaHaOhAohaohAOOhOAOhOOH!!” Andrew couldn’t even finish his plea before the cruel ends of the combs were winding down his feet going from side to side like a curvy mountain road. “AhAOhaoAHAIiIHhAATTEetTTHHOOSSEee FFuUcCkKInNnGCCOOMMbBSS!” Andrew admitted as he jerked against the arms of the chair and grew increasingly frustrated at how insanely ticklish the comb ends were. The booth operator couldn’t help but laugh at Andrew’s distress and how vexingly ticklish the plastic points were running up and down the handsome feet, quickly realizing he had a front row seat to a very entertaining show.

“Don’t forget the teeth, man” Jim, the booth operator mentioned as he became more interested in the recording session. “NoOhO!” Andrew objected but Nick liked the idea and turned the combs sideways before sawing the thin plastic teeth across all ten toes. “AAAAhAOAHAOH!! AOhAOHAFFFuUuCCkkIiINnNGGSSTTOhHOPPP!!” Andrew shouted with fresh hysteria as the stiff teeth proved to be an absolute nightmare. “Good thing this cartoon isn’t really for a younger crowd” Nick laughed at Andrew’s increasingly colorful outbursts as he worked the comb head back and forth and Andrew’s toes even started trying to curl around the combs to slow them down but he couldn’t keep control of them for more than a couple seconds, forced to relinquish all the power back to the enthusiastic producer.

“I can’t believe you’ve got all this in you haha…I mean I thought it was gonna be a struggle to make you laugh but damn” Nick soon pointed out as he retired the combs and Andrew’s head rested against the back of the chair with laughter exhaustion. “This is fucking crazy…holy shit” Andrew confessed as he got his wits back about him enough to be embarrassed by his wild reaction. “Maybe I’ll see if I can talk to the studio about sending you a bonus for this particular session” Nick suggested to make it all seem worth it and motivate Andrew enough to not quit early. “Yeah, make it a double” Garfield agreed while Nick selected his next toy.

“Do you know what this is, Andrew?” Nick asked as he held up two wiry devices. “Scalp massagers…how is that even gonna work??” “I’m curious myself” Nick answered before the ends of the metal wires landed on the middle of both soles and he pressed in so they expanded out in every direction. “WooAOhAohAoHohSsShIIiTT! OkOOKK!” “I guess they work” Nick concluded with a smile before repeating the same motion and then moving a little faster to ‘massage’ the tender pair a bit more. “AAHohAohAFFuUUCCK! FFUuCCkKAhA!! TTTHhAATTSSSsOoOoWWEEEIiiiRRdDD!!” Andrew admitted like he didn’t know how to process the thin prongs spidering out across his satin soles.

“Oh, I like these haha. They were actually a birthday gift from my assistant I never got around to using…well until today” Nick explained as Andrew flailed in the chair and tried to yank his feet out of the holes but the slots in the wall were too secure, forcing him to suffer the steady ins and outs of the simple tools as they dominated his poor size 10s. “I think I saw somebody one time spin theirs to get a different effect; I wonder how that would work” Nick proposed as if he needed Andrew’s approval. “NNooHOHO!! IiITTSsFFFIIInNneEAHOAOhAOHAA!!” Andrew tried to convince but of course couldn’t deter Nick from twisting the handles between his fingers and letting the jellyfish-like wires sprawl out over his delicate soles while it spun in place, now resembling an actual torture device.

“AAHoAOHAAOHFFuUuCCkKFFuUuCCKK! AohOHAnNonNOAhoAHOSSTThoOhOOPPPiIiTT!!” Andrew couldn’t control himself as he bucked in the chair and his toes curled with ticklish desperation but there was no denying how fantastic the audio was; his robust laughter was the kind of thing studios would pay good money to get and they had it on tap right there in the recording booth. Nick was having almost too much fun to call it work as he finessed the massagers all over Andrew’s trapped feet, failing to remember that there was an actual time limit to their session today until the booth operator knocked on the window and let him know there was only a little less an hour left.

“Alright, Andrew, so it looks like we’ve only got around an hour left” “AN HOUR?!? Are you trying to kill me?!” “Haha no, I just want to make sure we get the very best laughter we can…otherwise the studio may want you to come back and do this again” Nick informed, putting another look of dread on the actor’s face at the thought. He took a deep breath followed by a strong exhale to pump himself up but Nick suddenly messing with his toes caught him off guard, “Hey! What are you doihAhiAng?” “Oh, there are these hooks up here just above the holes for securing the person’s toes” “What?! You can’t be serious!” “Crazy right? But it’s very effective to help keep the feet in place a little more” Nick explained and Andrew’s stomach sank at the idea of things getting worse for him.

Soon enough he could barely wiggle his feet at all, now with a string tying both big and pinky toes back so his soles were taut and unable to wrinkle at all. Andrew sat there in cruel suspense just waiting to find out what Nick had in store for him but didn’t have to wait long before a buzzing noise caught his attention. “What…what is that??” he asked, almost afraid to find out. “Just an old electric toothbrush I had lying around” “An electric toothbruShAOhAOhaoOAHOHAAOH!?!” Andrew didn’t have time to wrap his head around the fresh hell until it was already wreaking havoc on his ridiculously sensitive foot.

Nick ran the buzzing bristles along the balls first to raving success, persuading him to stay there and focus the vibrating head side to side to make Andrew’s laughter spiral higher and higher. “MmyYFEEETTAARREEeCCLLLEEAaANN!! CCOoMmEEOOnN!!” “I don’t know…maybe you need two brushes at once to really make sure” Nick teased as he fired up a second toothbrush and let it go to town on the opposite foot. “AAHAOhAnNoOOnNNOOAohAOHA!!” Andrew roared as he shook in the chair and the brushes polished his now brighter pink soles without an end in sight, the right one working on his arch while the left started creeping down to his heel.

Nick let the left toothbrush vibe in tiny circles all over the heel like some kind of confused pedicure while the other traced his stretched arch on repeat, the insane combo enough to get Andrew squealing in the adjacent booth. “AohAOhAOHSSTtohohoPP!! aohAHOASsTTOOhOHppP!! EENNnOOOuUGGGhHH!!” “I’m supposed to get enough laughter for a whole season; I can’t stop yet, man” Nick reminded before ascending up the sides of both feet with slow, maddening patience as they buzzed toward his pinky toes. “AHaHAFFFUUuCCkKAhoA! MmMEERRCCcyYAaOHA!!” “Oh that’s good; seeing Captain Incredible beg for mercy will be great” Nick added while still teasing the meatier sides of his soles to draw-out the attack until finally trying somewhere else.

“I wonder if the tops are any good?” Nick proposed but Andrew didn’t even know if he should be worried until the vibrating bristles landed on the tops of his feet and immediately gave both men an answer. “AAHoOoHoHAOOHaNNoOnNOahOH!! TTuURRnNNTthhEEmMOOoFF!!” “Wow! I’ve never seen ticklish tops” Nick gushed at the vibrant reaction and kept on letting the battery-powered tools graze along the tops of both feet without any real pattern. Andrew yanked at his straps as he realized how much he hated even the tops of his feet being tickled but Nick was more than willing to milk it if it meant good laughs. “AhoAhBbBRREAAkK!! BBBRREeEEAAkkAhA!!” Andrew shouted through the bubbly overflow and Nick finally backed off, “Ok…I guess you’ve earned a break.”

Andrew couldn’t have been more relieved as he heard the toothbrushes turn off and he could think straight once again, now sweaty and very sick of being tickled. “The studio is really gonna love all this” “…they better” a disheveled Andrew answered like he regretted ever showing up to work today. “This is all really great work, honestly, it’s just what I was looking for but there is a part in the interrogation scene where Dynamo actually breaks Captain Incredible” “Yeah, I’ve read it…” “I just don’t think we’ve gotten a real defeated, desperate laugh from you yet that would convey Captain Incredible being pushed over the edge” Nick explained. “What?? You’re telling me out of all that, none of it was good enough?!” “It was all great, really, but we need something more…severe” Nick elaborated and Andrew couldn’t believe his ears.

“I should’ve just played Dynamo instead…” Garfield sighed like he knew it was about to take a turn for the worst. “The life of a voice actor, right?” Nick answered with a light laugh but Andrew wasn’t nearly as humored. “So, I have another tool I want to use that I think will get the desired effect but I’m gonna go ahead and warn you that it might be a bit tougher you” Nick informed. “Great, just what I wanted…” Andrew answered as he prepared for the next round, knowing Nick was ready to make him lose his shit for real but he didn’t expect to feel something wet on his feet.

“What is that??” “It’s just some oil” Nick answered as he finished rubbing it into both tender soles and Andrew’s imagination went wild with what oil could have to do with anything. “Let’s see if this works” Nick wondered with a smirk Andrew didn’t like before launching onto the slippery feet with two plastic-bristled hairbrushes. “AAAoAOhAOAAOhAOAHwWWHAAATThhEEFFuUuUCCK!?!?” Andrew full-on exploded at the barrage of sensations like it was worse than he could’ve imagined. “I had a feeling this would do the job” Nick commented as he heard Andrew’s laughter become more guttural and distressed than before. Andrew’s hair flew back and forth as he floundered in the chair and the unique misery of his situation was all over his face but Nick knew that was the direction they needed to keep going if they were going to achieve the right laugh.

“Maybe a little faster?” Nick suggested as he gripped the rectangular brushes a little better and started sawing them at an angle across the oiled soles, instantly intensifying Andrew’s reaction. “AAAHoAHOHAOAHAOHOmMmoOoOTTThHEERRFFUuuUCCCkKKEERR!! AHAHAHAAHSSTTHOhHOHOPPP!!” Andrew raged like he was in need of an exorcism as the mic captured his outrageous laughter and Nick brushed his supple soles on full blast as if he was mad at him for something. “Keep it up!” Nick encouraged his famous talent but Andrew couldn’t even hear him over his own delirious laughter.

Despite Nick’s perceived lack of sympathy for Andrew’s suffering, he wasn’t a bad guy. He just knew tickling worked the best and it clearly was working in Andrew’s case but as violent as he thrashed around and as bonkers as his reaction had become, it still wasn't quite enough. “Ok, this is all really good stuff but I’m gonna try something else” Nick announced as he stopped brushing but Andrew was too wrecked to even reply, just sitting there catching his breath waiting on it to end. Nick quickly crafted his own hybrid tool after tying a piece of thick string around the loops of the handles of both brushes and slipped the other ends of the strings through a few of Andrew’s toes on both sides so each set was attached to the opposite foot’s brush.

“Ready?” “Just get it over with” Andrew answered like he didn’t have much fight left and Nick started brushing again but this time, every back and forth of the brush pulled the string between his lush toes. “NnoONNOOO!! AohAOhAOhaoOAOhaohaAOHFFFFuUuUCCkKIIINnNGGSSTTOHOHoHPPP!! AOhAOHAoHAAAOhAAAIIIiGGiIIIVEEuuuPPP!!” Andrew laughed harder than Nick was even expecting and could see him practically ripping the chair apart in the other booth but he still wanted something more, pushing him to scrub faster and floss between the toes as ruthless as he could. “AAAAAHH!! AOhAOHAOAHHOAOHFFUuUCCKK!! AOHAOHSSTTOhHOOHOPP!! SSTTHOHOPPP!! IIIllDDOoOWWHhAATTEEvVVEERRyYYYOoUuWWAANNNT!! PPPLLlEEAASSEE!!” Andrews screamed like his sanity depended on convincing Nick to leave his feet alone and finally, a few minutes later, like the best gift he’d ever received, the brushes stopped and the string went dead between his tingling toes.

“Well, I think we got it!” Nick announced before looking over at Andrew to see him totally wiped out, his chest moving up and down to refuel his lungs and his hair damp with sweat on his forehead. “You alright in there, Andrew? Sorry I had to go so hard on you but you did amazing” Nick assured as he pulled the string out from his toes and even started rubbing his feet a bit to soothe them. “Wait a minute…something’s wrong. Something must’ve happened during the session; we didn’t record any of the last half hour” the booth operator informed Andrew. “WHAT?!” “Just kidding” Jim assured with a playful smile and Andrew melted back into the chair after the near heart attack, now more than ready to have his feet back in the safety of his shoes and to get out of the evil chair before Nick could think of another reason to get him laughing again.