Scene Stealer: ‘The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian’

Revisiting the mythical realm of Narnia provided opportunities to revise and improve character makeups for the artists at KNB EFX Group. Despite winning an Oscar for their work on “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” KNB co-founder Howard Berger and key prosthetic makeup artist Tami Lane couldn’t wait to mess with success. A key beneficiary was the elderly Hag character, played by young Czech actress-dancer Klára Issová. Unlike “Wardrobe,” where the Hags were seen from a distance, “Prince Caspian’s” Hag had to speak and fight, which demanded a much more elaborate makeup that transformed the ingénue into a wizened, bird-like creature. The detailed makeup, applied by Berger and Kevin Wasner, consisted of several foam latex pieces -- a heavy cowl covering her head that left only her face exposed, a forehead piece, two horseshoe-shaped pieces that added wrinkles to her cheeks and sagging jowls, a nasty acrylic beak and PVC contact lenses. Explaining the complex process to the actress, who spoke no English, was one of the tougher aspects of the job. The result? “We hope it’ll make viewers forget there’s a person underneath,” says Berger.

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Ron Magid