'Avengers' Star Paul Bettany Just Pulled An Epic Prank On His Nephew Using A 'Decapitated' Vision Head

Imagine being related to Paul Bettany and waking up hungover—only to find a decapitated Vision head tucked in beside you. That’s not a nightmare. That’s just family time.

Bettany, best known as the maybe-dead, maybe-not-so-dead Avenger Vision, decided to have a little fun at his nephew’s expense—and, honestly, Marvel fans might be more jealous than concerned. The actor shared the prank on Instagram, giving followers a behind-the-scenes look at one of the stranger perks of working in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Bettany pulled back the curtain on Marvel’s eerie on-set props in a now viral post:

"When I’m filming Marvel films, they make a bust of me so that the lighting and camera department can set up a shot without me there.”

That bust, apparently, didn’t stay on set.

In the photo, Bettany’s nephew, Ethan Connelly—the nephew of Bettany’s wife, Jennifer Connelly—is fast asleep, completely unaware that an alarmingly realistic Vision head has been carefully placed beside him. As Bettany describes it, hungover and unsuspecting is exactly the kind of energy this prank required.

Bettany signed off with full prankster pride:

"I stole one (don’t tell Marvel). Here is a picture of my hungover nephew, Ethan, about to wake up next to a decapitated #Vision… again. Great days. Great Uncle."

See the chaos unfold here:

Somewhere, Loki is low-key slow-clapping.

For those living under an anti-Marvel rock, Bettany has been part of the MCU since the beginning, first voicing J.A.R.V.I.S., Tony Stark’s A.I. assistant, in the Iron Man films alongside Robert Downey Jr.

He stepped into the role physically in 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, as J.A.R.V.I.S.’ consciousness became the Mind Stone-powered Vision. The character remained an Avenger until his death at the hands of Thanos, played by Josh Brolin, in 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War.

He’s now set to return in the Disney+ series VisionQuest, which follows “White Vision,” the reconstructed version introduced in WandaVision, as he grapples with Vision’s memories and his own identity. The eight-episode series is expected to continue the storyline launched in WandaVision, closing out this chapter of Vision’s arc in the MCU.

Off-screen, Bettany has been married to Jennifer Connelly since January 1, 2003, after the two met on the set of A Beautiful Mind, building a life together that now spans more than 23 years and includes two children.

As expected, the comment section had plenty to say about Vision’s unexpected cameo:

@ajaxxavior/Instagram

@visiontvupdates/Instagram

@traumatizedwintersoldier/Instagram

@thesophiebyrne/Instagram

@angelradness/Instagram

@mz_kelly_b/Instagram

@blakelythornton/Instagram

@vtanis/Instagram

@baka.bun/Instagram

@bartmixon/Instagram

@chemarvel/Instagram

@jeka8d/Instagram

Bettany has also been floated as a potential Lord Voldemort in HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter series, though he claims he hasn’t been contacted about the role. Whether he ends up noseless and terrifying remains to be seen, but based on his prank history, he might already have the horror element covered.

Bettany also has several projects in post-production, including Cry to Heaven and The Collaboration, an Andy Warhol-focused film. But his greatest performance might just be as a mischievous uncle with access to hyper-realistic superhero props, and somewhere out there, Ethan Connelly is probably sleeping with one eye open.