Daring ‘do’s keep him on cutting edge

For 10 years, Thomas Real worked as a hairdresser in Beverly Hills and the Valley, shaping the locks of stars such as Steve Allen, Dick Van Patten and Merv Griffin. But it took a work-related injury to point the Ventura native’s shears permanently toward Hollywood.

“I was like a workhorse and got tennis elbow from repetitious blow drying,” he says, “and thought, ‘OK, this is the time for me to do the transition.’ ”

After some years doing set work, he was introduced to Adam Sandler by makeup artist Ann Pala Taylor and crafted a wig for the funnyman’s 2000 vehicle “Little Nicky.” Real apparently tressed to impress: He’s been the comedian’s mane man ever since.

Real, 53, says working in films and TV allows him to be more artistic: “You’re dealing with creative people and trying to put their vision on film.”

He had to be especially inventive on the hair-raising “You Don’t Mess With the Zohan,” due in theaters Friday, about an Israeli super soldier (Sandler) who fakes his own death so that he can pursue his greater dream of becoming a hairdresser in New York.

An ‘80s Re-’Do: While stowing away on a flight to New York, Sandler’s Zohan gives two shaggy dogs in the cargo hold the same haircut Zohan flaunts himself: the Avalon. “It’s almost a version of a mullet,” says Real. “Short on the sides, full on the top and a little longer in the back.” The hairdo is a little retro, Real explains, because Zohan’s only styling reference is an old treasured Paul Mitchell book that he’s held onto for years. Real, for his part, says he had no problem with older trends. “That was my heyday, the ‘80s,” Real says. “I had that look going on.” Will this be the start of a resurgent salon craze? “You never know,” he says with a laugh.

Wigging out: Real says he couldn’t simply trim the Old English Sheepdogs’ fur because “these dogs are like show dogs, and their hair doesn’t grow if you cut it.” So he styled wigs from men’s beards (“They sell those already made”) and placed them atop the dogs’ heads, combing the real fur over to blend it all in. “We were trying to make them look handsome,” he says. For Real, the dogs were a dream to work with. “They totally behave better than humans,” he says, laughing, “because they don’t talk back.”

Hairy situation: One of Real’s biggest challenges was finding a way to keep Sandler’s hairpiece on during a scene in which the actor bobs around at sea. “Adam Sandler doesn’t wear a wig like a normal person would wear a wig,” Real says. “Usually, people will pin things down and pin the wig onto the head. He doesn’t like getting pins in his head at all, so he literally puts the wig on like a hat.” To keep the lid on, “I had to sew the wig and rig it around his neck with sewing thread,” he says. “I cinched it underneath his chin, so it was almost like a little bonnet, but you couldn’t see the string because of the beard.” To Real’s credit, the wig didn’t fall off.

A cut above: Before production, Sandler came to Real for tips on how to sell himself as a stylist. “We had a little salon in the back of his office, with doll heads, and we had days where I was like, ‘OK, you’re going to do this kind of a cut today,’ ” says Real. “He really got into it and made it very believable. The way he huddled in front of the woman and talked to her in the mirror, making her feel comfortable . . . He conquered it. That’s what we do: We convince [clients] to change.”