THE MAKEUP ARTISTS
Makeup and hair artists Lisa Westcott and Veronica Brebner first worked together on a small movie director John Madden was shooting in 16 millimeter for British television. That film, “Mrs. Brown,” was picked up by Miramax Films, and the next thing they knew, the two (along with Beverly Binda) received their first Academy Award nominations.
For “Shakespeare in Love,” Westcott designed the look for almost all the characters and oversaw virtually all the makeup. Brebner, the key makeup and hair artist on the film, personally did the makeup and hair for nominees Judi Dench and Geoffrey Rush. (Neither of the women worked on lead actress Gwyneth Paltrow, who had her own makeup artist, Tina Earnshaw, who does not share in the nomination.)
Describe what you do
Westcott: Golly, let’s see. Well, we create characters within a framework of a story. I decide how they’re going to look and then work within a budget.
Brebner: In America, you have different people for hair and makeup. In England, the same people create the overall look of the characters.
How did you become involved in the film?
Westcott: We’d worked with John [Madden] on “Mrs. Brown,” and John is one of those very collaborative directors who likes to work with the same team. Actually the first time he asked me to do “Shakespeare” I had to say no because I was working on another project. Then the production got delayed and he asked me again, but I was just too tired. The production was delayed once again, and the third time he asked me I read the script and I just knew that this film was very special and I couldn’t say no.
Brebner: I really enjoyed working with John and Judi [Dench] again. In “Mrs. Brown” we transformed her into Queen Victoria, and on this film we made her Queen Elizabeth. Judi and I think we may be each other’s good luck charms.
What’s your favorite part of the job?
Westcott: My specialty is big period productions and I really love the research. I go to lots of museums--the Victoria and Albert Museum, the National Portrait Gallery--and read lots of books. For this film I consulted with several experts in early theater.
Brebner: Transforming a person’s face is quite thrilling. Judi has quite a small, cute nose, but Queen Elizabeth had a rather hooked, aristocratic nose, so we gave Judi a prosthetic nose. Elizabeth also had wooden teeth, so we used three different colors of tooth enamel on Judi’s own teeth. Geoffrey’s character had quite rotten teeth, so he wore a fake set.
What was the biggest challenge?
Brebner: In some of the larger scenes we had 500 extras, so it’s a lot of work to get them to all look right. In the scenes with the nobility, everyone wore wigs. In the large playhouse scenes and town scenes, the people had to look quite grimy. The living conditions in the 16th century were deplorable, and people didn’t get to bathe that often.
Westcott: You should never know we [the hair and makeup artists] have been there. You should look at the characters and accept them completely. You should be able to almost smell their rotting breath.
What are you working on now?
Westcott: A four-part film for the BBC called “Wives and Daughters.”
Brebner: Over Christmas I worked on “Mansfield Park,” and I’m about to start a film called “Five Seconds to Spare” for director Tom Connelly. It’s contemporary, which is nice because I don’t want to get pigeonholed as someone who only does historical, costume projects.
If you win the Oscar, what will it mean to your career?
Westcott: I don’t know really. I’ve won a lot of awards, but for me it’s all about the work.
Brebner: I’m afraid I won’t get as much work because everyone will think they can’t afford me!