Actors’ faces are putty in his hands

Jake Garber

Makeup artist

Specialty: Special-effects makeup/special makeup effects

Latest project: Ron Perlman’s devil makeup for “Hellboy”

What the job entails: “What most people consider special-effects makeup, or special makeup effects, is when some type of prosthetic is involved. You are essentially gluing pieces of rubber or plastic onto an actor’s face to alter their appearance and then doing coloration on it so nobody knows it’s there. I guess the easiest way to describe it is that with regular makeup you are trying to hide the imperfections, but with prosthetic makeup, you are trying to add imperfections to make it more real.”

On the imperfections that turned Perlman into Hellboy: “There was a [foam latex] piece that went from his jaw line down to his pecs and then there was another glued to the top of the headpiece that had the horns incorporated. There was a facial piece that pretty much covered his whole face with the exception of his lower lip. There was a wig that was made and three more hairpieces, and there were also colorization, teeth and contact lenses. The only part you actually see of him is his eyelashes.”

On doing the 2 1/2-to-4-hour makeover: “We had to incorporate break times. It can be pretty tough to sit in a chair that long.”

Why it took (just) 45 minutes to get the makeup off: “The solvents to take off the stuff have definitely gotten better.”

Guild or Union: IATSE (the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees) No. 706

What the work pays: “It depends. It can run from $10,000 a year to hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

Age: 39

Resides in: Sherman Oaks

Background: “I am from Minnesota and went to the University of Minnesota and studied theater there. I had some technical classes that glazed over makeup, but I would say I was self-taught. I started doing makeup there doing music videos and corporate training films. I came out here 15 years ago. I pretty much knocked on doors. I came out here with a halfway decent portfolio.”

Credits: Was nominated along with Michael Westmore and Scott Wheeler for an Oscar for 1996’s “Star Trek: First Contact” and nominated for a Hollywood Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist Award for best special makeup effects for “The Cell.” Also worked on both “Kill Bill” movies; “Star Trek: Nemesis,” in which he did the makeup for Perlman; “Once Upon a Time In Mexico”; “The Time Machine”; “Pearl Harbor”; and “Death Becomes Her,” in which he worked with makeup legend Dick Smith.

Heroes: John Chambers, who did the original “Planet of the Apes” and Smith, perhaps best known for “The Exorcist” and “The Godfather.” “Rick Baker [the special-effects makeup artist on “Hellboy”] is another guy I really admired when I was growing up. It is really neat to be working or having dinner with these guys that I was reading about when I was growing up. It’s a real treat.”

Why he got into it: “I always say it is a Halloween hobby gone bad. I used to love, and still do, old Universal horror movies. One of the first makeups I did was on myself, maybe in the fourth or fifth grade. There was a book out that showed how to make a Frankenstein head out of a brown paper bag and papier-mache. I had a blast with it.”

-- Susan King