Is there added pressure when creating a design of someone still very much alive and in the public eye?
David Williams: My greatest concern was to maintain authenticity and believability. Pam Anderson and Tommy Lee were both superstars when their galaxies collided in the midnineties. We were very conscious not to make caricatures of them. Much of the script reflects their time alone, so we wanted to present the softer, natural look of Pam. She was the fresh-faced all-American girl — from Canada — from the day she landed in Los Angeles.
Jason Collins: There is an intense pressure when doing a likeness makeup in a biopic where the person is still living, especially when you’re engaging a subject matter where two people’s privacy was stolen. You want to be sure to have a very respectful trajectory into the material and your approach. It’s daunting and doubly so when the subject is still alive and in the relevant zeitgeist of the American culture.
How much of the transformations were makeup and how much were prosthetic?
DW: The work encompassed all aspects of makeup: prosthetic application to enhance structure, corrective makeup with highlight and shadow to further enhance form, character makeup to indicate emotional state and/or the activity of Pam in a scene, period makeup to set the timeline, and beauty makeup to create the familiar face of Pam. Every day, the teams and I would meet to discuss looks. Team Pam included Jennifer Aspinall, Mo Meinhart and Abby Lyle Clawson. Team Tommy was Bill Myer and Dave Snyder.
JC: This was a world where the two needed to coexist. You don’t want to completely cover an actor’s face and bury them in material where it’s difficult for them to emote properly. Lily’s jawline was a good match for Pam but where we needed help was the forehead. By opening the spatial distance, it allowed hair designer Barry Lee Moe to place the wig half an inch back beyond Lily’s hairline and us to cover her brows by having the piece blend above her eyelids. We then placed hand-tied brows made by Sasha Camacho Van Dyke. We wanted to push out her lips slightly and upper/lower dentures helped with that internally. We were able to match Pam’s smile as well.
What were the keys to transforming Lily James into Pamela Anderson and Sebastian Stan into Tommy Lee?
DW: The entire team worked closely to ensure that all the looks worked seamlessly. Pam had many iconic looks: Baywatch, Playboy, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and Barb Wire. These all needed to be immediately identifiable and believable. Throughout the series, Lily was also transformed back to Pam’s teen years in the ‘80s, which included the preimplant days. The breastplate was part of the structure indicating the change in bust size. The forehead prosthetic gave us the difference in forehead space between Lily and Pam, and the ability to apply hand-sewn, narrow, higharched brows. Pam’s brows were one of her most identifiable facial features. Plus having one of the best hairstylists in the industry, Barry Lee Moe, frame Pam’s face with her wellknown mane of blonde hair to help create our “Baby Bardo.” Sebastian’s team had the three-hour daily task of applying Tommy’s extensive tattoos — full sleeve, body, back, and leg — and piercings. For legal purposes, tattoos need to be altered, and Autonomous FX artfully mirrored Tommy’s original designs. Prosthetic nipple covers were applied for Tommy’s nipple rings. Sebastian’s facial hair was shaped into a soul patch and he wore a nose ring. There was a bit of strategic artistry involved to create a rock star look to roughen up Sebastian’s natural look.
How do you ensure that you go just far enough, but not so far that the actor becomes a caricature of the person?
DW: I’ve been fortunate to have had success in both biopics and sketch comedy. In both situations, the audience will form their opinion about believability within seconds. In biopic recreations, you focus on the base and the structure because it will carry a multitude of looks throughout a more extensive piece. This gives the audience the time to see the character as a full person. Part of that is what we do as makeup artists, and the other part is what the actor brings to the role. We gave Pam dimension, but Lily gave her life.
JC: That’s always the trick, and something I learn with each new makeup. I try to keep the pieces minimal and specific to what I need. I try to find what traits Lily and Pam share and build upon them. There are always choices you have to make to keep it natural and the audience engaged.
What products were must-haves for this project?
DW: Make Up For Ever HD Foundation palette for contouring and highlighting once the prosthetic forehead was on. European Body Art was used head to toe to keep Pam’s California tan. MAC Spice, Chanel Nude and Vamp lip liners and Bobbi Brown ten lipsticks served as our lip color base. Stila and Senna’s cream blushes gave a soft glow to the cheeks. The darker smokey eye was achieved with Make Up For Ever Aqua liners and a discontinued Lancôme one. Lashes from Ardell were used daily.
JC: I could not have done this show without PPI Telesis adhesive and Skin illustrator paints. They are invaluable assets to prosthetic makeups. Their adhesive is the best in the industry. We also could not do this without Sasha Camacho Van Dyke’s amazing lace brows. After all, you can’t do a Pamela Anderson makeup without those amazing brows.
Words Shannon Levy
Photos Courtesy Hulu