The more real-looking the outfit is the harder it is for actors to wear it on the stage, as a rule. The history of filmmaking is packed with many examples of the wardrobe being a true instrument of torture.
We were shocked at the stories hidden behind some of the movie’s cult costumes, and we strongly believe that each of the characters in our article deserves an individual Oscar statuette for their endurance and endurance. We’re going to tell you at the end of the article why the actors who portrayed Batman on the screen dislike his cult clothes.
Rebecca Romijn — X-Men
This actress had to wait for 12 draining hours of makeup during the filming of the first part of this franchise in order to turn into the blue-skinned mutant Mystique. Later the crew managed to whittle this time down to 7 hours. But still, Rebecca had to spend much of her time in the makeup artist’s chair. At midnight, the actress would go for makeup treatments so that she could be ready along with other actors on the set by 9 AM. Scales were stuck to her body at first then blue paint coated her face. The most irritating thing about the costume was that anywhere it left blue traces. Later thanks to the vibrant trace she left on the toilet seat, Romijn would joke that her peers could easily understand when she used the lavatory.
Jeff Bridges — Tron
To deprive Bridges’ character, the “digitized” Flynn, of any anatomical features, the costume designers had one major mission. The actor was wrapped in a special bandage, covered with tight overalls, for that. The lower section of the mask was so close to the body that the actor once jokingly said there were already marks on his skin from the bandages.
Doug Jones — The Shape of Water
Doug Jones’ set of positions is full of different creatures. That’s why surprising him with makeup seems to be very difficult. But now for a long time, Doug will be recalling his work in the film The Shape of Water. Three hours earlier than his colleagues, the actor’s shooting day will start because that’s how much time was spent on makeup. At first, four assistants would pull the latex suit over the body of Jones, then placed it on gloves with membranes on it and finally, fiberglass neck pads and a helmet were added to him, in which a special gill control system was installed. The actor admitted to feeling utterly powerless because he couldn’t even open a door on his own and couldn’t breathe through his mouth either.
Emma Stone — The Favourite
The movie’s action takes place in England in the 18th century, when, for the sake of fashion, ladies still wore tight corsets. The movie actresses all knew what it was like to be crammed into a “whale shell.” Emma Stone admitted that during the first month of filming, she could not breathe normally and that during that time, smelling menthol would aid her greatly. But that was not the only trouble she faced: the inner organs of the actress changed after a while. Luckily, Emma was soon able to solve these problems, but for a long time, she would certainly not forget the experience.
Oscar Isaac — X-Men: Apocalypse
The X-costume: Men’s the main character of the Apocalypse film weighed 40 pounds, although it took several hours to get made up, consisting of adding several layers of glue and latex. Isaac was enthusiastic about the chance to collaborate with several talented actors prior to the beginning of the film. And when he finally had to spend much of his shooting in isolation, he was deeply frustrated. He was placed on a specially built saddle in between takes and rolled into a cool tent to get some relief. Every day this happens. Just as inconvenient was the method of removing the makeup: it was ripped off his skin in bits, which sounds like torture, isn’t it?
Michelle Pfeiffer — Batman Returns
It has been almost 30 years since the filming of Batman Returns, but the actress still remembers this nightmare encounter. Technologies were not as advanced as they are today in 1992, and Michelle had to go through real torture in order to get dressed in a latex suit. Initially, from head to toe, she was sprinkled with talc. With the help of a vacuum system, they would suck out the extra air from inside after she eventually managed to fit into the clothes. Finally, to provide it with more shine, the latex was coated with a silicone-based gel. An ordinary visit to the bathroom even turned the multi-hour wearing of the suit into a true adventure.
Anthony Daniels — Star Wars: A New Hope (Episode IV)
The 60-pound costume took about 2 hours to put on. In addition, in Tunisia, which has an exceptionally hot climate, part of the shooting took place. Part of the costume’s left leg shattered and sliced the actor’s leg on the very first workday. But the most awful thing, maybe, was the crew’s indifference: many people would completely forget that behind that armor was a real human.
Peter Mayhew — Star Wars
The pain of Peter Mayhew can be better understood and empathized with by dog owners. The thing is the outfit of Chewbacca was made of mohair and yak hair (a cloven-hoofed bull). And because the shooting took place in the snowy region of the second part of the saga, Chewbacca’s skin would often get damp and begin to smell bad. We bet that not only was it challenging for Peter, but also for the rest of the crew.
Paul Bettany — Avengers: Age of Ultron
Paul initially did the voice over for artificial intelligence named J.A.R.V.I.S. But when the actor was asked to turn into Vision, something changed in the film Avengers: Age of Ultron. In the makeup artists’ chair, Bettany had to spend 3.5 hours. At first, multi-layered makeup concealed his face and then the star was dressed in a tight spandex suit. To prevent the actor from overheating, the suit was also fitted with some sort of cooler (tubes of ice water).
Lily James — Cinderella
It took 45 minutes to put on the magical dress, which consisted of 12 layers of silk in various colors. Lily will wear an incredibly tight corset to make her waist look stunning without retouching. It was so rough that while filming the movie, the actress had to begin a special diet. When the corset] was on, Lily shared, “we would be on continuous days so that we wouldn’t stop for lunch, you would be kind of eating on the move.” I couldn’t untie the corset in that situation. So if you ate food, it didn’t really digest well, and I would be burping in [Richard Madden’s] face all afternoon, and it was just kind of gross. I’d have soup to keep me eating, but it wouldn’t get stuck.
Bonus: Batman
It seems that disdain for this cult costume is the only thing that unites all the actors who played the legendary Batman. They all said that it was a real torment to wear the clothes of this superhero. It took him one hour to put on the costume and 45 minutes to take it off, Val Kilmer said. And to do this, he needed a large team of assistants. The outfit also had no ear openings, which created hearing problems.
But the worst thing was that the suit lacked a fly and the actors had to use the aid of the on-set assistants in order to use the bathroom. Later, designers were urged by Christian Bale to solve this problem and make it simpler for his successors.
Which of these stories most inspired you? Do you think that torture is worth the result?
