We’ve heard of actors and actresses taking a toll during their movies like Anne Hathaway suffering physically from the stress of playing Fantine in 2012’s Les Miserables. Also, Shia LaBeouf who had tattooed his entire chest for The Tax Collector, and of course Heath Ledger as the Joker in The Dark Knight which eventually led to his demise. However, have we stopped to think that putting on makeup and prosthetics may also be as painful, annoying, and taxing as the other aspects of acting?
In this video, we’ll be talking about actors and actresses who were forced to wear painful prosthetics and makeup for their roles.
Jennifer Lawrence – The X-Men Franchise
For the Marvel nerds out there, it’s common knowledge that Jennifer Lawrence plays the role of Mystique in the X-men franchise. But for an average fan, it’s hard to see the connection, and this is mostly attributed to her full-body prosthetics suit and makeup that took 8 hours to put on.
According to her, the scales for Mystique were attached first and then followed by three layers of blue paint that were airbrushed onto her. After this, another five layers of splattering effect were applied to Jennifer.
Then they could finally move on to the final touches, adding the wig and putting on the yellow contact lenses. The 8-hour process would irritate her skin in the process, and she would have to act while not paying attention to the itching urges.
Paul Bettany – Marvel Cinematic Universe
Paul Bettany is an English actor who successfully portrays The Vision, one of the protagonists in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It might already be pretty obvious, but his skin isn’t actually red in real life. According to him, the makeup part was the most stressful part of playing the role of a self-aware android with super-strength, superintelligence, and hyper regeneration.
Putting on the makeup was damaging for him, and it was harder to take it off than to put it on. He was okay with working 2-3 days a week, but once work ramped up for WandaVision, it was definitely taking a toll on him. To make things easier for him, the production would have a make-shift mobile sauna for him so he could sweat the makeup off, and it was easier to lift.
John Rhys-Davies – Lord of the Rings
John Rhys, the actor who plays Gimli from the Lord of the Rings, spent 5 hours every day having prosthetics and makeup applied on him. According to sources, he was actually allergic to the prosthetics, so he could only put them on and work on set about every third day. The actor even claims that it burned off the skin under his eyes during the first week of filming.
He could also barely see while in costume, and he eventually developed eczema because of all the makeup. Something he would have to deal with until today. However, this transformation was definitely worth it as he was clearly not John Rhys-Davies whenever he was on screen. He was Gimli, son of Gloin, the funny yet compelling dwarf warrior in the fellowship of the ring.
Zoe Saldana – Guardians of the Galaxy
Another entry from the MCU, Zoe Saldana, who plays Gamora, the honorable and fierce adopted daughter of Thanos, took five hours to put on her green skin makeup and tack on a few prosthetics.
According to David White, the special effects and makeup designer for Guardians of the Galaxy, none of Zoe’s costumes were CGI. Her forehead was prosthetic, and some of them were silicone, but it was all her.
Putting on makeup is one of the most underrated parts of making a film. Sometimes it’s not even talked about, but it definitely has its merits seeing as to how many actors and actresses sacrifice their comfort just for the sake of being able to pull off their characters to the best of their abilities.
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