A look at the makeup, facial prosthetics and wig fitting process that the actress went through for 'Albert Nobbs', where she plays a woman posing as a man.
In Albert Nobbs, Glenn Close plays the role of a 19th century Irish woman who spent 30 years of her life posing as a man in order to have her independence as a butler at a luxurious Dublin hotel. The actress has not only been nominated for an Oscar for her performance in the film, but she is also responsible for co-writing the original story by George Moore.
But now let's talk about makeup, which also has a well-deserved nomination for the Academy Awards (the third in the film goes to Janet McTier as supporting actress) and is a fundamental element in Rodrigo García's new film.
Being faithful to the reality of a nineteenth-century woman who must cross-dress, the bet was less on makeup and more on highlighting the masculine features of the actress's face with prosthetics.
"My goal was for it to be subtle. So we did a nose and earlobes for Glenn, trying to play with his face from the inside," in the words of makeup artist Matthew W. Mungle. In the following video you can see the entire makeup process, placement of prostheses and wig adjustment that the actress underwent each day of filming.
Will the Academy again feel weakness for this transformation, as in the recent cases of Hillary Swank in Boys Don't Cry or Gwyneth Paltrow in Shakespeare in Love?
