When ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ arrived in theaters in 2023, audiences were introduced to Simon the Sorcerer, played by Justice Smith. His spellcasting stood out immediately, relying on precise hand movements that felt deliberate rather than purely theatrical. The magic carried a sense of structure that helped ground the fantasy world and gave Simon a distinct identity among the film’s adventurers. Behind those carefully crafted gestures, though, Smith was quietly creating an unexpected challenge for the visual-effects department.
The story resurfaced through the film’s behind-the-scenes material and quickly became a favorite among fans. While most actors work closely with VFX teams to simplify complicated effects work, Smith took a slightly different approach. He was fully committed to developing Simon’s magical language, then occasionally made things more difficult for the artists responsible for animating it. The result produced one of the funniest production stories associated with the film.
Simon’s Magic Had A Purpose Behind Every Movement
Before filming began, directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein worked with Smith and a choreographer to establish how Simon would cast spells.
Smith gravitated toward sharper, dance-inspired movements, while the choreographer preferred smoother, more fluid ones. The two approaches eventually merged into a style that uniquely captured the characters. Every gesture carried intention rather than serving as random hand-waving.
Justice Smith also incorporated elements of American Sign Language into many of Simon’s spells. Speaking with Collider, he explained that he often used signs connected to the purpose of the spell being cast.
He expanded on that idea during an interview with Den of Geek, where he described spellcasting as a form of communication. In his view, magic would logically operate through some type of language if it existed.
That philosophy gave Simon’s magic a level of consistency rarely seen in fantasy blockbusters. The gestures followed an internal logic that audiences could recognize even without understanding every detail.
Rather than treating magic as a collection of visual effects, Smith approached it as a complete system. His dedication helped make Simon’s spells feel more believable throughout the film.
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Justice Smith Deliberately Made Life Harder For The VFX Artists
After investing so much effort into the spellcasting system, Smith decided to have a little fun with it. During a Blu-ray featurette, he admitted that he intentionally complicated some of his hand movements to challenge the artists working in post-production.
Laughing as he explained the situation, Smith revealed that he wanted to see how the team would create magical effects around his increasingly elaborate gestures. The confession immediately turned a thoughtful, creative process into a hilarious behind-the-scenes story.
Those extra movements created real work for the visual-effects teams. Artists had to carefully track Smith’s fingers and ensure the digital magic matched every movement on screen.
“So, I always try to find like a cool finger thing to do or something. For the cloud spell, I ended up doing kind of like a goop and a handful of cloud, and then like a fire motion, which I thought was interesting. I also always just try to trip up the people in post to see how they’re going to uh CGI the magic around my fingers,” said Justice.
Even small changes required additional adjustments during post-production to maintain consistency. Responsibility largely fell to Industrial Light & Magic supervisor Ben Snow and the project’s supporting teams.
The filmmakers later showed Snow footage of Smith discussing the prank and captured his reaction. Rather than offering a lengthy response, Snow simply stared into the camera with a look of complete exhaustion.
The moment was funny enough to make its way into the finished featurette. It remains one of the most memorable stories to emerge from the production.
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The Story Perfectly Captures The Spirit Of ‘Dungeons & Dragons’
What makes the anecdote work so well is the contrast at its center. Smith approached Simon’s spellcasting with genuine care, developing a system rooted in communication and consistent visual language.
At the same time, he admitted to quietly stress-testing the visual-effects pipeline for his own amusement. Few stories better capture the balance between creativity and chaos that often exists on major film productions.
The incident also speaks to the atmosphere fostered by Daley and Goldstein during filming. Cast members clearly felt comfortable contributing ideas and experimenting with their characters.
Smith embraced that freedom by building an intricate spellcasting style that added depth to Simon’s role. He also left the VFX artists with a few extra headaches along the way.
That combination of thoughtful world-building and playful humor became a defining part of ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’. The film earned praise for its characters, comedy, and approach to fantasy storytelling. Simon’s memorable spellcasting played a significant role in that success.
Thanks to Smith’s mischievous streak, it also left behind one of the funniest behind-the-scenes stories from a major studio release in recent years.
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