SKIN DEEP: THE GREATEST FULL BODY MAKEUP PERFORMANCES

CGI technology has seen the art of acting under a full body prosthetic all but disappear. Performance-capture technology, made famous by actor Andy Serkis’ mastery of the dotted leotard in the roles of Gollum, King Kong, Caesar and Captain Haddock, has meant the painstaking detail needed to dress an entire torso in character is a fading skill. In honour of the practical effects brilliance behind some of cinema’s most iconic characters, SCREEN-SPACE offers an entirely subjective look at some of the best full body prosthetic performances…

Mystique in X-Men (2000) and X-Men: First Class (2011)
The shapeshifting mutant Raven Darkholme, aka Mystique, was first brought to life in Bryan Singer’s 2000 franchise starter by Rebecca Romign-Stamos; ‘It-Girl’ Jennifer Lawrence put her own spin on the blue-skinned assassin in Matthew Vaughan’s 2011 retro-themed update.
"MAKEUP!" In the decade between the films, little changed in the prosthetic technology used to create the on-screen look of Mystique. Both Romijn-Stamos and Lawrence spent 8-10 hours in the makeup chair prior to filming, undergoing the application of adhesive skin and air-brushed body-paint.

Chewbacca from Star Wars (1977), The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983).
The Wookiee co-pilot of the Millenium Falcon became one of the most endearing characters from George Lucas’ space saga. Actor Peter Mayhew, who donned the late Stuart Freeborn’s intricately detailed full body fur suit and wonderfully expressive face mask for all three features (pictured, top), last wore it at the 1997 MTV Awards, where Carrie Fisher presented him with the medal denied the heroic sidekick during the final scenes of the 1977 film.
"MAKE-UP!" Following the famous ‘trash compactor’ scene in Star Wars, the fur suit retained a foul odour for the remainder of filming; cast and crew would steer clear of Mayhew when he was in costume due to the smell.

Cast of Planet of the Apes (1968; 2001)
The groundbreaking work of John Chambers and his small team on Franklin J Schaffner’s 1968 sci-fi classic was matched by the legendary Rick Baker and hundreds of wig, denture and foam latex technicians on Tim Burton’s 2001 remake. So skilfully articulated by an unrecognisable Tim Roth was the brutal simian soldier Thade (pictured, right; with co-star Mark Wahlberg) in the new version, a concerted campaign was mounted to secure him a Best Supporting Actor nomination.
"MAKEUP!" Chambers, who would work on all the Apes… sequels and TV series, was only the second person to be awarded a Special Achievement Oscar for makeup; the first was Wiliam Tuttle, four years earlier, for 7 Faces of Dr Lao.

Emil Antonowsky in Robocop (1987)
Although Peter Weller’s cyborg law enforcement officer is one of the great performances in genre cinema, it is more a melding of actor and costume (see also Alien and Predator). The full-body prosthetic star of Paul Verhoeven’s ultra-violent satire is Paul McCrane (pictured, left; the director and actor on-set), who donned a suit of oozing flesh to portray the demise of henchman Emil. His skin melting of his bones having been doused in toxic industrial waste, the actor stumbles before a speeding vehicle and…, well, once seen the sequence is never forgotten.
"MAKEUP!" The great Rob Bottin took an upper torso mold of McCrane, which was then rendered in latex and sculptured into the detailed disintergration of skin and muscle. The sequence was one of the first that the MPAA ratings board wanted cut out, but the producers fought for its inclusion when test audiences said it was their favourite part of the film.

Darkness in Legend (1985)
For Ridley Scott’s epic fantasy adventure, actor Tim Curry and makeup creator Rob Bottin crafted one of cinema’s most vivid portrayals of the Lord of the Underworld, in this case simply known as ‘Darkness’.
"MAKEUP!" As the early makeup tests closed in around Curry’s face, the actor pleaded with Bottin and Scott to at least leave him his eyes to act with; scleroid lenses were fitted, giving him cat-like slits for pupils. With the full body prosthetic in place (including hooves and horns), the actor stood over twelve feet tall.

The cast of The Wizard of Oz (1939)

MGM’s Louis By Mayer wanted to one-up Walt Disney’s Snow White and The Seven Dwarves blockbuster when he greenlit the adaptation of Frank L Baum’s much-loved literary classic. Mayer’s ambition infused the every department on the production, most notably makeup creator Jack Dawn’s largely uncredited team of 29 craftsmen, who would envision and construct some of the most iconic full-body character makeup in film history.
"MAKEUP!" In striving to be innovative, the makeup department did not make a lot of friends amongst the cast. When a pyrotechnic effect went off close to Margaret Hamilton (The Wicked Witch), her makeup seared her face and hands, leaving second- and third-degree burns; rubber skin glued to ‘Scarecrow’ actor Ray Bolger to create the illusion of fabric left lines on his face which lasted a year; and, original ‘Tin Man’ Buddy Ebsen left the production when aluminium dust in his silver facepaint coated his lungs and brought on an allergic reaction.

El Fauno and The Pale Man in Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
These two unforgettable creations are just two of the characters played by Doug Jones, an American actor who has established a reputation as being the greatest full-body makeup working today. In addition to Guillermo del Toro’s Spanish-language masterpiece, the pair worked together on the Hellboy films, in which Jones played several parts, most notably the hero’s sidekick Abe Sapien; trained as a contortionist, Jones has featured behind the body makeup in films such as Legion, The Watch and Lady in the Water.
"MAKEUP!" It took Jones five hours to get into the Pale Man makeup/costume before shooting his scenes for Pan’s Labyrinth. So unnatural was the visage, the actor had to look through the nose holes of the face prosthetic to see his fellow actors.

Seth Brundle in The Fly (1986)
Shonagh Jabour’s makeup melded seamlessly with Chris Walas’ Oscar-winning prosthetic creature effects, capturing the transformative stages of Jeff Goldblum’s genetically-fused man/fly (pictured, right) with a grotesque commitment to putrid detail that remains unsurpassed today. From early-stage symptons to latter-stage metamorphosis, it is one of the most perfectly refined ‘collaborative performances’ in film history.
"MAKEUP!" Chris Walas’ name is the first to appear when the end credits roll. At the first test screening, audiences cheered; producer Stuart Cornfeld turned to him and reportedly said, “You’re going to win the Oscar…”

John Merrick in The Elephant Man (1980)
From 5am until midday, actor John Hurt would have layers of makeup applied that transformed him into John Merrick, a Victorian era sufferer of Proteus Syndrome that deformed his appearance so radically he would become known as ‘The Elephant Man’. Despite graphic and disturbing in its detail, the malformations portrayed in the film were less severe than those suffered by Merrick in real life.
"MAKEUP!" Below-the-line industry bodies around the world were outraged when the makeup artistry of Christopher Tucker was overlooked at Oscar time, due to their being no category for that discipline. The outcry lead to a Best Makeup award being introduced in 1981, the inaugural honour going to Rick Baker for John Landis’ An American Werewolf in London.