Top 10 Actors Who Really SUFFERED for the Makeup

#10: Walton Goggins

“Fallout” (2024-)

With red skin, sunken eye sockets, and an open nasal cavity, Walton Goggins transformed into Cooper Howard, known more ominously as The Ghoul. In the world of “Fallout,” ghouls are human beings who have been exposed to prolonged radiation, turning their skin rotten and causing them to go mad. According to Goggins, he wanted the Ghoul to look like “Kris Kristofferson if he were 250 years old and had been walking the wasteland, and had been drinking all night.” This required five hours in the makeup chair, in what Goggins has described as “an intense process.” Luckily for him, his nose was digitally removed in post, so that saved him an extra hour or two!

#9: Rebecca Romijn & Jennifer Lawrence

“X-Men” franchise (2000-)

It turns out that making someone’s entire body blue is quite the process. Who’d have thought? Rebecca Romijn had a tough time transforming into Mystique, requiring over 100 silicone prosthetics and up to nine hours in the makeup chair. She was also forced to inhale the paint fumes, as the facility did not have a proper exhaust system, and she didn’t often interact with the cast or crew, spending most of her day in the makeup room. She has since called the process “hell.” No doubt. Jennifer Lawrence also endured hell on the set of “First Class,” as the makeup took about eight hours to apply and caused blisters to form on her skin.

#8: Tim Curry

“Legend” (1985)

Tim Curry is unrecognizable in Ridley Scott’s “Legend,” playing the red-skinned Lord of Darkness. The creature certainly looks the part, with sharp claws, massive horns, a long chin, hooves, yellow eyes, and sharp teeth. Basically, every square inch of Curry’s body was covered with prosthetics, and unsurprisingly, it was quite the process to apply. Curry spent nearly six hours in the chair, plus an extra hour in the bath to remove the adhesives. Every. Single. Day. The makeup also caused physical and psychological damage. The heavy horns often strained Curry’s neck, and the layers of makeup made him claustrophobic. At one point he even panicked and tore the makeup off himself, accidentally peeling a layer of skin in the process.

#7: Dave Bautista

Marvel Cinematic Universe (2008-)

Katathians are known for their teal skin and red tattoos that plaster much of their upper bodies, and Drax is no different. Unfortunately for Dave Bautista, he does not naturally have teal skin or red tattoos plastering much of his upper body. Turning the human actor into a Katathian took between five and six hours, and by the end of the day, the makeup would often be sloughing off his body. Bautista also claimed that the makeup was very abrasive,e so he spent up to one hour in the sauna every day so that he could sweat and loosen the glue. And when it was loose enough, the makeup team would slowly and painfully peel it off his skin. Sounds like fun!

#6: Peter Weller

“RoboCop” (1987)

Just two years after working on “Legend,” makeup artist Rob Bottin was tasked with turning Peter Weller into RoboCop. Bottin designed the suit himself, being influenced by classic science fiction and anime. It not only took six months to build, but it also went way over budget and schedule. And then came Weller. According to him, doing the human face took nearly seven hours, and simply getting into the suit required an extra ninety minutes. So that’s over eight hours physically getting into character, plus an extra five shooting his scenes. Now that’s a long day. According to the actor, the whole experience “demanded a Zen sort of discipline.”

#5: Jamie Campbell Bower

“Stranger Things” (2016-)

The fourth season of “Stranger Things” introduced Vecna, the grotesque and malicious ruler of the Upside Down. As befitting the show’s ‘80s theme, the filmmaking team decided to forgo CGI in favor of prosthetics - much to the chagrin of actor Jamie Campbell Bower. Makeup artist Barrie Gower claimed that they really put her through the wringer, including seven hours of application every single day. Bower was also essentially confined to an air-conditioned makeup tent for much of the shoot, as the hot studio lights threatened to melt his costume. So it was seven hours of makeup, run out, shoot a scene, then go back to the tent to just to (literally) chill. Repeat for many, many long days.

#4: John Hurt

“The Elephant Man” (1980)

David Lynch’s “The Elephant Man” chronicles the life of Joseph Merrick, whose physical appearance attracted great attention in late 19th century London. The task of playing Merrick fell on John Hurt, who earned his second Oscar nomination for the performance. But he is unrecognizable under the pounds of makeup. The team used real casts of Merrick’s body as a reference, and Hurt spent ten hours each day in the makeup chair - eight hours to apply the prosthetics, and two to remove them. He would arrive on set at 5 AM and wouldn’t leave until 10 PM. But the results were well worth it; it was considered so good that the Academy created the Best Makeup category in response.

#3: John Rhys-Davies

“The Lord of the Rings” Trilogy (2001-03)

Making “The Lord of the Rings” was no easy feat. Virtually every aspect of the production was a monumental challenge, and that included turning the 6 foot 1 inch John Rhys-Davies into a dwarf. Fancy camera angles and stunt doubles took care of his physical height, but what about his face? One makeup ordeal coming up! Rhys-Davies spent up to five hours in the makeup chair and even suffered an allergic reaction to the prosthetics, which often caused his eyes to swell shut. It eventually got so bad that Rhys-Davies received every third day off so as to spare him the misery. He later declined a role in “The Hobbit,” citing the brutal makeup process as the reason.

#2: Buddy Ebsen

“The Wizard of Oz” (1939)

We’ve come a long way when it comes to movie makeup. Just look at the case of poor Buddy Ebsen. Ebsen was originally cast as The Tin Man in “The Wizard of Oz,” and even recorded all of his songs before filming began. Ebsen made it just a few days into shooting before the aluminum dust in the Tin Man makeup started causing problems. Yes, you heard that right - aluminum dust. Ebsen would inhale this dust throughout the day, and it slowly coated his lungs. He was eventually hospitalized after suffering from numerous ailments, including cramps and shortness of breath. He was then replaced by Jack Haley and would later blame “that damned movie” for his life-long breathing problems.

#1: Jim Carrey

“How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (2000)

Dr. Seuss created some delightfully bizarre characters, but that wonderful whimsy eventually had a big cost for Jim Carrey. Carrey was cast to play the iconic Grump, with seven-time Oscar winner Rick Baker providing the makeup. The process was absolutely miserable for Carrey, who likened putting on the green furry spandex suit to being buried alive. A consultant who also trained CIA operatives to withstand mistreatment was eventually hired to calm Carrey down and help him navigate the entire ordeal, since it was bringing him immense discomfort and frustration. The necessary yellow contact lenses also irritated Carrey’s eyes, to the point that he refused to wear them and his eyes in some scenes were colored in post.


Would you be able to handle eight hours in a makeup chair? Let us know in the comments below!