+
Pop Culture

The way experts create wigs on some of your favorite shows is enough to make your head spin

It's even more involved than it appears.

blonde, blonde ana de armas

Ana De Armas transforming into Marilyn Monroe for "Blonde."

We know that there’s a painstaking amount of detail that goes into bringing characters to life on the big and small screen. But ever so often, a fascinating look behind the scenes will come along that’s so mind-blowing, one can’t help but feel a fresh level of gratitude (and awe) for the effort that goes into modern-day storytelling.

Take, for instance, the hyperrealistic wigs we see in so many films and television shows. Odds are, one of your favorite characters wears one—even when you would bet your life savings that the hairs you see are sprouting from their own head. This illusion is the result of dedicated hours upon hours from artists that are so much at the top of their game, we might as well just call them hair sorcerers.



In a video posted to YouTube by Insider , Rob Pickens, founder of Wigmaker Associates , takes viewers on a tour of the wigmaking process for some of today’s most iconic shows, from start to finish. As Pickens explains, since cameras have become more equipped to pick up every detail, wigs must become more detailed and precise to not only mimic real hair texture, but perfectly fit an actor’s head shape to look as natural as possible.

To do this, hair teams don’t just measure an actor’s head. They create a mold that completely replicates their skull shape using a headwrap made with cellophane and tape—lots of it—after which they trace over the hairline with a sharpie.

wigmaker's hands on a mold of an actor's skull.

Millie Bobbie Brown's skull mold.

Insider/YouTube

That headwrap then goes onto a canvas block (which more or less looks like a mannequin head), and that canvas block is filled with stuffing to match the actor’s exact head shape in a process that Pickens calls “padding the block.”

It might be a laborious endeavor, but once it’s done, that mold can be used for any production in the world. Cranium cloning, if you will.

Next, wigmakers must create a layer of superfine lace that will serve as the piece’s foundation. For very short hair styles, a silk base is used to create the look of skin that might be visible under the hair’s surface. This technique was used for later seasons of Netflix’s “ Stranger Things ” to create Eleven’s signature buzz cut, when actress Millie Bobby Brown couldn’t shave her head.

Actress millie bobby brown seated and having a wig applied by two wigmakers.

Millie Bobby Brown on "Stranger Things."

Insider/YouTube

When actors are portraying real people with different skull shapes and hair lines, the hair team must add an extra step of creating prosthetic pieces to go under the wig’s foundation. In Hulu’s “Pam & Tommy,” for example, a prosthetic forehead was given to actress Lily James to replicate Pamela Anderson's characteristic high forehead.

The next step is the ventilating process, where each hair is stitched into the lace one by one using a variety of knotting techniques. The key here is to match an actor’s natural hair patterns, like which direction the hair at their temples prefers to go, while keeping it malleable enough to part anywhere, just like you can with real hair.

As for the hair itself, the choices come down to either real human hair or synthetic. Synthetic hair, which is more durable but has more of a light-reflecting sheen, is usually used for background actors. But for “hero wigs” that must pass the close-up test, real human hair is required.

Pickens might even add mohair (a durable, resistant hair fiber made from angora goats) to hairlines to mimic baby hairs, which he did for Ana De Armas for her portrayal of Marilyn Monroe in Andrew Dominik’s “Blonde.”

Wigs might evoke a sense of glamor, but in the world of realistic storytelling, accuracy takes precedence. When tasked with creating an aging and syphilis-ridden Al Capone (played by Tom Hardy), Pickens helped convey the story with hair that was “actually a bit sickly before we texturized it.”

Still of actor tom hardy playing Al Capone.

Tom Hardy as Al Capone in "Capone" (2022).

Insider/YouTube

But wait, there’s more. We are now to the coloring process, which, as Pickens puts it, is a blend of “alchemy and color theory and figuring out how that’s going to play on the final product.” Colorists have to understand how a scene might be lit and edited, so that they can make an educated guess as to how to color the hair so it has the desired shade in the final cut, rather than in real life.

“Reds can be quite the nightmare sometimes,” Pickens shared. “If we create a red wig and they put a blue filter over the entire thing, it could look brown.”

And just to make matters more complicated, the looks don’t just get created for the main actors. Anyone performing as a photo double or stunt performer also needs a matching (usually synthetic) wig. Stunt double wigs in particular are tricky, as they need to be durable enough to endure take after take of literally rolling with the punches, yet still be easily removed for when a stunt might go wrong. But also they must look exactly like the hero wig. No big deal, right?

Still from the movie atomic blonde showing actress Charlize Theron and her stunt double in a street fight.

Charlize Theron and her stunt double Monique Ganderton on the set of "Atomic Blonde."

Insider/YouTube

To say that people were floored to learn some of these things would be an understatement. Just check out some of these comments:

“I'm amazed by what they can create to make us believe that their wigs are their real hair because it looks so natural..So many times I've just assumed that the actors must have changed their real hair to look a certain way because it looks too real to be a wig. It was interesting to see what the process looks like.”

“I love learning stuff like this. I never would have thought about how much went into wigs. Unsung masterpieces are everywhere.”

“This is so cool. I honestly had no idea so much detail went into this. I'm impressed.”

More content is being put out now than ever before, causing many shows to have to create costumes and wigs on a mass level (read: faster and cheaper). This undoubtedly leads to a drop in quality that can sometimes take us out of a story—something we covered in a previous article . However, when artists are given the opportunity and resources to really work to their highest potential, magic happens. Kudos to the pros who completely immerse us into a story, strand by strand. Your labor of love is appreciated.

You can watch the full video below, which has even more fascinating info:

via @5kids5catssomedogstoo/TikTok

Lynalice Bandy shares what her home looks like after working six 10-hour days and getting no help from her husband.

A viral TikTok video highlights an extreme version of inequality that many wives and mothers in heterosexual relationships face. However, the mom in this story hit her limit and won’t deal with it anymore.

Lynalice Bandy, who goes by @5kids5catssomedogstoo on TikTok, posted a video that showed her home looking like a disaster after she worked six 10-hour days straight while her husband did nothing to help.

Her time-lapse video shows every room in the house completely trashed, with toys, food and laundry scattered everywhere. "Shampoo on the carpets in the girls' room, nail polish all over Nugget covers, hair, and carpet. Scissors were used to cut hair, the down comforter, the mattress cover, and two Nugget covers," wrote the mom.

Keep Reading Show less
Identity

Tori Roloff shares how she talks to her 5-year-old son with dwarfism about being different

The “Little People, Big World" mama says, "I WANT him to know he’s different.”

The Roloff family from "Little People, Big World"

It isn’t easy having to explain to a child who is different that they aren’t quite like other children. Most parents would probably prefer to downplay the situation, saying "It's no big deal. You aren’t quite the same as the other children, but everyone is different.”

However, Tori Roloff, 31, star of the TLC’s long-running “Little People, Big World,” has decided to go the other route. She’s asking her 5-year-old son, Jackson, to lean into his uniqueness and use it to help others.

Tori is married to Zach Roloff, 32, who’s been a star of “Little People, Big World” for 24 seasons. Zach and Tori have three children: Josiah and Lilah, 3, and Jackson, 5. All three of them have achondroplasia, the most common form of dwarfism.

Keep Reading Show less
Identity

Gay choir teacher breaks down when his class gives a surprise performance at his wedding

Christopher Landis had kept his marriage secret because he wasn't sure how students or parents would react.

Two men exchanging rings in a wedding ceremony.

Christopher Landis, a choir director at Hingham Middle School in Massachusetts, didn’t tell his students he was engaged to Joe Michienzie three years ago. According to Inside Edition , whenever they asked who Michienzie was, Christopher would say, "That's Joe. He's my friend."

Landis kept his relationship a secret in front of his students because he wasn’t sure how their parents would react. Sadly, even today, LGBTQ people still have to be discreet about their personal lives in some professions.

This is sad for the teachers who have to stay closeted and also for the LGBTQ students who miss out on having a positive role model.

Keep Reading Show less

You're never too old to cheer with the Sun City Poms.

Age is just a number if you ask some people. Once you pass all of the milestone birthdays, time just seems to zoom right on by. You still feel like you're 32, but your birth year is saying you need to add a decade or two. But if you don't feel old, are you actually old or is society trying to put you in an age-shaped box?

If you ask the ladies of Sun City Poms, a cheerleading squad in Arizona for women over 55 years old, age really is just a number. That's right, these ladies, some of whom are well past retirement age, have a cheer squad and man, are they active. Not only do the ladies perform, but they also march, and their practices would be a lot for people half their age.

According to People , the seniors practice three times a week for three hours at a time. That's pretty intense, but it doesn't stop these women from sticking it out, even the ones who are in their 80s.

Keep Reading Show less
Pop Culture

Legendary organist Garth Hudson, 85, makes his first performance ‘in years’ at a low-key show

The backbone of The Band may be frail, but he still stunned the crowd with his soulful playing.

Garth Hudson performing with The Band. Hamburg, May 1971.

Garth Hudson, 85, made a name for himself being a quiet presence in a raucous band ... The Band, that is. Hudson played organ, accordion, and the occasional saxophone in an outfit initially known as The Hawks, which became known as The Band after backing Bob Dylan in the mid-'60s when he controversially went electric.

The Band would also back Dylan on his famous “Basement Tapes” sessions in 1967 that were eventually released in 1975.

After being introduced to the world through Dylan, The Band made a name for itself as one of the most talented ensembles in rock history, recording classic songs including "The Weight," “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down," and "Up on Cripple Creek."

Hudson changed rock history by being one of the first few to play a Hammond organ on stage. He was known as the “mad scientist” in the band who joined only if he could give music lessons to fellow members Levon Helm, Rick Danko, Richard Manuel and Robbie Robertson.

Hudson also composed music that appeared in Martin Scorsese's masterpieces “Raging Bull” and “The King of Comedy.”

Today, Hudson lives in an assisted living facility, and recently fans started an online campaign to show appreciation by sending him cards. But even though Hudson is in the last chapter of his life, he recently revealed that he’s far from finished. On Sunday, April 16, he surprised the rock world by performing at a house show hosted by musician Sarah Perrotta in Kingston, New York.

He performed Duke Ellington’s “Sophisticated Lady” on piano during the show. The footage shows that although Hudson is frail, the music in him is still as strong as ever.

Identity

Hardware store employee builds parallel bars so a boy with cerebral palsy can learn to walk

"Just go the extra mile. And it just may reward you 100 times back.”

A sunny day at Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse.

A story first shared by Fox 29 in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania, is the epitome of customer service that goes above and beyond.

Jessica Getty and her husband, Mark, went to a Lowe’s hardware store in Brookhaven, Pennsylvania, earlier this month to buy materials to help their 5-year-old son, Will, make a significant leap in his development. They were looking to buy PVC pipes to build parallel bars so he could learn to walk.

"He was born very prematurely, just 23 weeks, so as a result, he has quadriplegic spastic cerebral palsy, " Jessica told Fox 29 . People with spastic cerebral palsy have difficulty controlling muscles in their arms, legs, trunk and face, making walking difficult.

The Gettys hoped their son could learn to walk by training on a set of parallel bars that would help him safely remain upright while he moved his legs and feet. “One of our goals for William is to get him walking,” Jessica told Fox 29.

Keep Reading Show less