#30. Deadpool
The truth is we were all shocked when Deadpool revealed what he really looked like under his mask. This shocking look was achieved with layers upon layers of prosthetics and hours of hard work.
“Ryan Reynolds’ transformation started with gluing his hair down and hiding it under a tight-fitting skull cap,” explained makeup artist Bill Corso in an interview. “A ghastly skull and veined under paint was applied [over the cap] that would show through the thin, translucent silicone [mask] appliances, which were painted to match examples of extreme skin disorders.”
#29. It
Tim Curry's role as Pennywise in the classic adaptation of Stephen King's novel, It is legendary, even now after a remake has been done. A huge part of bringing this character to life was, of course, the makeup.
“Tim wanted to wear as little prosthetics as possible, so we tested two looks for Pennywise. The first was just the nose and headpiece and a paint scheme that Tim contributed some ideas to,” said Bart Mixon, his makeup artist. They kept is as minimalistic as possible while still creating a very scary look.
#28. Batman (1989)
1989's Batman is, by no means, the most popular Batman movie ever made, but it did give us a very memorable Joker played by Jack Nicholson, the man with the most impressive eyebrows in Hollywood. His eyebrows were built into the character and, coupled with prosthetics, the creepy look was complete.
The makeup artist took several casts of his face doing different expressions and built the prosthetics around them. Not only that, but they also had to do several tests to find a good shade of white for his skin.
#27. American Horror Story
This one is not from a movie but a TV show, but it is so impressive that we just had to include it. Can you believe all these pictures are of the same person? This is the amazing transformation of Naomi Grossman for the role of Pepper in American Horror Story.
Although this extreme transformation took hours, Grossman did not mind. In fact, she found the process to be really fun, even though it mostly involved her sitting on the makeup chair and standing still. For her, admiring the work of her makeup artists was very entertaining.
#26. How The Grinch Stole Christmas
Although Jim Carrey gave an outstanding performance on the Christmas classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas, becoming the Grinch was a stressful process for Carrey and he almost quit. Not only that, but his makeup artist, Kazuhiro Tsuji, claims had to get therapy after working with him.
The whole makeup process took hours and had to be done every single day for weeks, which took a toll on the actor and the team. He did not want to cooperate and hated every minute of it. The atmosphere was so bad that producers hired a professional to help him cope so that they could finish shooting the movie.
#25. The Godfather
Nowadays, it is hard to imagine The Godfather without the amazing Marlon Brando as Don Vito Corleone, but in reality, it almost didn't happen. The studio wasn't too keen on casting him, until they saw him in full costume.
During his audition, it was Brando's idea to make his cheeks bigger by stuffing paper towels in them. The studio loved it and recreated the look with prosthetics during shooting.
#24. The Mask
We have to talk about the king of prosthetics, Jim Carrey, again. For him, these roles were a blessing and a curse. Although his most iconic roles gave him a lot of fame and praise, they also involved countless hours of makeup, which he hated. The studio saved a lot of money on CGI by doing this kind of makeup, but it took a toll on Carrey's mental state.
When talking about Carrey's role in The Mask, biographer Mary Hughes said: “Carrey remembers that the long and involved daily makeup sessions just about drove him insane – which may or may not have prompted his Mask co-star, Cameron Diaz, to comment that working with Jim was not unlike visiting an insane asylum.”
#23. Mary, Queen Of Scots
Margot Robbie is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful women in the world, but her beauty had to be toned down when she starred in Mary, Queen of Scots as Queen Elizabeth I. This was because, contrary to popular belief, the historical queen was not as beautiful in real life as she was in her portraits.
For instance, Elizabeth had many small pox scars on her face, which were recreated with prosthetics. “With smallpox, you are left with a very badly scarred face, and your hair falling out,” revealed the hair and makeup designer Jenny Shircore. “I used that route to try and change Margot Robbie’s features, by placing the boils of smallpox along her bottom lip. It would mean that there were scars left there, which she’d need to cover, which would mean she wore a thick white makeup.”
#22. The Avengers
Vision made his first appearance in the Marvel universe in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Actor Paul Bettany had to sit in the makeup chair for several hours to achieve Vision's unique look, which actually looks different in real life than in the movie.
Although Vision's skin looks dark red in the movies, the real color used on Bettany was a sort of purple color. . “In some light, it looked pink and in others, red. It was a light-dependent thing, which necessitated a mix of colors and layers,” explained Jeremy Woodhead, the makeup artist.
#21. It (2017)
Since we've talked about the first It movie and its iconic look for Pennywise, let's talk about the 2017 remake. It's safe to say that the Bill Skarsgard version of Pennywise ws much scarier visually, probably because it involved a more extreme transformation that even included dentures.
Although the movie heavily relied on CGI, this look was achieved solely by prosthetics, which of course took an extensive amount of work and time. The end result was truly amazing and terrifying, wasn't it?
#20. Suicide Squad
Suicide Squad was a highly-anticipated movie that left many fans disappointed with its execution. One of the biggest things fans complained about wasJared Leto's version of the legendary Joker.
However you feel about the character, it cannot be denied that a lot of work was put into his look. In fact, they had a special makeup department just for Leto and it took three hours to achieve the final result. He wore about six or seven layers of makeup on his skin.
#19. X-Men: First Class
A lot of work was put into the makeup department for X-men: First Class. According to Alec Gillic, one of the makeup artists who worked on the film, “Director Matthew Vaughan really gravitated towards the more lion-like versions of the Marvel Comic Beast. He wanted a clean break from the Kelsey Grammer version. Fur was in, hair was out. Any version of Beast that featured human head hair was too ‘rock star.'”
According to Gillis, the makeup department work really hard to make Beast's blue skin look as realistic as possible, but in post-production, his skin was altered to look brighter while in reality, it was a deeper tone of blue.
#18. Destroyer
It would be practically impossible to recognize Nicole Kidman in 2018's Destroyer without reading her name in the credits. It was vital to reflect the character's personality through her looks, and the makeup department did an excellent job.
“We always knew that what we wanted her to look like was a real middle-aged woman with a past that she wears on her face. With sun damage and sleep deprivation and stress and rage, just in her whole physical body,” director Karyn Kusama explained.
#17. The Lord Of The Rings
The Lord of the Rings is one of the most famous franchises in the world, but actor John Rhys-Davies, who played Gimli, almost didn't take the role: I didn’t want to spend three years in prosthetic make-up on a film that was going to fail.”
Luckily, he said yes in the end. Every minute on the makeup chair was worth it, even though there was a lot of prosthetics involved. The actor even had to wear a prosthetic finger to replace the one he lost in his childhood.
#15. Mrs. Doubtfire
Mrs. Doubtfire was a super successful 1993 movie starring Robin Williams that influenced thousands of people's childhoods. The whole plot revolved around a divorced dad who posed as a nanny to be around his children.
About the makeup, Williams said: "“The makeup on a good day would three and a half hours, on a bad day four and a half.” He had to wear eight overlapping foam latex pieces on his head, which were re-made every week.
#14. Batman Returns
1992's Batman Returns brought us Danny DeVito as the evil Penguin. The role required very heavy prosthetics, most notably a huge hook nose and prosthetics for his hands.
According to his makeup artist, “Danny wore false teeth, uppers and lowers, and then I mixed up a concoction of mouth wash with red and green food coloring in it… we decided it was some sort of bile.” DeVito also said “I would always take a big mouthful of that and let it ooze out… when I was feeling adventurous!”
#13. Deadpool 2
Although Ryan Reynolds also had to sit on the makeup chair for long hours to achieve his look, Josh Brolin wasn't too far behind for his role in Deadpool 2. In fact, his makeup for his role of Cable was more intricate than Deadpool's.
That is because they had to show how his body was slowly becoming metallic and mutating into a sort of robot. As shooting progressed, so did the makeup, which got heavier and heavier as the weeks went by.
#12. The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Grand Budapest Hotel was praised for its incredible visuals, and rightfully so! Part of it was the amazing work of the makeup and costume departments, which managed to turn Tilda Swinton into an 84-year-old woman.
Mark Coullier was in charge of doing her makeup. He said he went for “a very soft silicone rubber that’s encapsulated in a plastic barrier that dissolves into the skin,” for Swinton. He was nominated for an Oscar for his wonderful work.
#11. Planet Of The Apes
1968's Planet of the Apes was a groundbreaking film at the time of its release thanks to its unprecedented use of prosthetics and makeup for the cast. Makeup artist Tom Burman, who worked in the film, said: “They were afraid that actors would not wear the make-up because of the length of time it took to apply, and they had to wear it all day long.”
And he was right, because several actors decided not to act in the movie because of this. Luckily, they got several stars to appear in the movie in the end, and they tried to show their human features through the prosthetics so that people would recognize them.
#10. Oz The Great And Powerful
It would have been impossible to recognize Mila Kunis in 2013's Oz the Great and Powerful in full makeup if she didn't appear without it during the first part of the movie. She plays a young witch named Theodora who later transforms into the Wicked Witch of the West
“She’s pretty much covered in appliances. The only part of her skin on her face [that isn’t] is her upper lip. Everything else is a combination of silicone and foam rubber. Then she’s completely painted, her shoulders are painted, her chest and back and neck and everything because her costume reveals so much,” explained makeup artist Howard Berger.
#9. Beetlejuice
Beetlejuice was a fantasy-comedy-horror film by Tim Burton released in 1988 which has now reached cult status. It was vital for the main character to have the perfect moldy, scary look of a poltergeist that loves to terrorize people.
According to Michael Keaton, who played the title character, Burton insisted that Beetlejuice looked moldy and rotten because he lived in between rocks. The result was very convincing, although it took several hours to be complete.
#8. Nanny McPhee
Nanny McPhee had Emma Thompson looking like a completely different person and it was very hard to recognize her except for her eyes. It was important to make her look as conventionally unappealing as possible for the sake of the story, including warts, a monobrow, and crooked teeth.
But the truth is that it was all Thompson's idea, as she wrote the script for both Nanny McPhee movies.“In a sense, putting the costume on is the reward for having sat on my own for a few years writing the story,” she confessed.
#7. The Dark Knight
Heath Ledger's Joker became legendary not only because of his performance, but also for his look, as it was completely different from previous adaptations of the character. Unlike most looks on this list, this one didn't actually take that long to achieve.
The late actor stated, “It’s pretty quick. They’ve come up with a new technology for the mouthpiece, as the scars are made out of silicone not prosthetic. My whole bottom lip is fake.” This, coupled with his incredible facial expressions, made the Joker a legendary character.
#6. The Hobbit
Richard Armitage had to sit on the makeup chair for three hours every day to play Thorin in The Hobbit. “About an hour and a half for the face and 45 minutes for the hair. If we started shooting at eight o’clock we would have to be in the chair at 4.30 am. That’s over 270 film days,” he explained.
He continued, “Each piece had a price tag on it that would make you balk. They cost about $2000 each, you only stick them on once because they’re so delicate, and once the day is over you throw them in the bin. Our prosthetic artist would spend each night punching eyebrow hairs into the mold, being so meticulous about it. It’s a whole new world of skill.”
#5. Monster
It was no surprise that Charlize Theron won an Oscar for her portrayal of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster because she embodied the character to perfection. A big part of it, however, was the makeup. She looked almost identical to the real-life killer.
It was actually very hard for her makeup artist to make her look this way, as he explained: “We had all those things together but she still had this creamy, poreless, gorgeous skin. With makeup, I had to create the years of abuse to her skin – all the freckles and capillaries and sun damage – either through hand-painting or working with an airbrush.”
#4. Darkest Hour
It is almost impossible to figure out that Gary Oldman is the actor playing Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour without reading the credits. Although it was a lot of work to get him into character, Oldman never complained.
Oldman took it very seriously and sat on the makeup chair for hours without complaining. Not only that, but he refused to sleep or eat in between shots to preserve the makeup and not put the makeup artists under more pressure.
#3. Guardians Of The Galaxy
It is unbelievable to know that Karen Gillian's portrayal of Nebula in Guardians of the Galaxy was mostly makeup and not CGI. Although the look was enhanced this way, it consisted mostly of careful, complex makeup and prosthetics.
According to Gillian: “I was told even before I auditioned that the actress who got this would have to shave her head, and I didn’t think I was gonna get it. So I was like, ‘absolutely, I will shave my head! Sure!’ Then, like three screen tests later, [I thought], ‘oh God, this might actually happen.'”
#2. Harry Potter
One of the most dramatic makeup looks in the Harry Potter movies was definitely Mad-Eye Moody's. After all, the character was covered in scars and had an enchanted prosthetic eye. The eye was a real, animatronic, radio-controlled eye and did not involve CGI at all.
Brendan Gleeson, who played the character, actually stipulated in his contract that he would not sit on the makeup chair for more than two hours, which put the makeup department on a tight schedule. Luckily, they always made it on time.
#1. Harry Potter (Again)
Of course, we couldn't leave Lord Voldemort out of this list! The famous Harry Potter villain, played by Ralph Fiennes, is remembered by most people not for his evil deeds, but for the fact that he had no nose. This look was so iconic that that's the one thing everyone remembers!
Most of the magic of this look was actually created by makeup, including fake teeth, fake nails, and prosthetics over his eyebrows. However, the legendary snake-like nose was achieved through CGI.