Hair and makeup art of ‘The Crown’ calls actors’ transformation a ‘bloody long process’
Transforming an actor into a real-life person means of makeup and hairstyle is no small feat, especially if the role they are playing is iconic: that of someone who enjoys massive celebrity status around the world. In the Netflix series ‘The Crown‘ — a dramatic retelling of the lives and happenings within the British royal family — different actors have been essaying the role of the same character, seen through the years, and the teams working with them have been hard at work, too, to ensure they look the part they are playing.
For instance, the late Princess Diana is remembered for her iconic haircut — she kept her tresses short throughout her life — and King Charles has wavy hair, as seen on the show. Queen Elizabeth II sported short hair, too, and the actors playing her have also been shown with a similar hairstyle.
Recently, the hair and makeup designer for ‘The Crown‘ revealed exactly what goes into preparing the actors before they face the camera.
As the show returns for its fifth season, makeup art Cate Hall said a livestream earlier this week — as mentioned in an Independent report — that many people think there is a “kind of ‘Stars in Their Eyes‘ moment, where [the cast] suddenly walk[s] out and it is like they see themselves for the first time”. “But, actually it is a bloody long process that goes over months and months where you make these very incremental steps,” Hall said.
Hall has worked in the show’s previous seasons, too, and she added that sculpting the wigs alone can take “hours and hours”. “[The wigs] go through awful phases of weird other characters. You know, looking like a kind of Amish Sunday school teacher or a crazy cleaner and eventually you get to the point where your work comes together with all the different departments, but it isn’t really an instant moment,” she was quoted as saying.
The makeup art also talked about the ‘Sam McKnight haircut’ of Diana, erstwhile Princess of Wales, as was seen on her in the 90s. “This is not a kind of fragile young debutant who is thrust into the limelight. This is a woman who is reclaiming that space and saying, ‘Hold on a second. I have a voice. I can do this, I can carve my own niche. I’m valuable and I have something to offer’.”
Speaking about Australian actor Elizabeth Debicki transforming into Diana, Hall purportedly said, “That haircut is pretty difficult to pull off in a wig.”
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