NYTimes.com: FROM the first Shakespearean performer ever cast as Ophelia, wigs have been a necessary staple in the toolbox of props that aid an actor in assuming a character. They’ve allowed Elizabeth Taylor her austere and almost incomprehensibly silky Cleopatra hair, Cher her dowdiness and her dazzle in “Moonstruck,” and Steve Van Zandt a screen career that doesn’t require his E Street Band do-rag.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Finding the Right Wig for the Role on Screen
NYTimes.com: FROM the first Shakespearean performer ever cast as Ophelia, wigs have been a necessary staple in the toolbox of props that aid an actor in assuming a character. They’ve allowed Elizabeth Taylor her austere and almost incomprehensibly silky Cleopatra hair, Cher her dowdiness and her dazzle in “Moonstruck,” and Steve Van Zandt a screen career that doesn’t require his E Street Band do-rag.
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3 comments:
It's always so distracting when someone has an obvious wig. I always thought it was just a bad wig in some way - poorly made, wrong texture or color, something like that. It had never occurred to me that a wig could look bad on someone simply because the person isn't accustomed to it and they are not yet able to present themselves as if it is their natural hair in a realistic way. It seems that it is just a big of a factor as color or fit, but I wonder if it's a harder problem to fix.
This article brought up a lot of uses for wigs that I hadn't really thought about much before. It makes a lot of sense that in addition to making people look like their intended character, the wigs can also be used to protect fragile hair. I also wonder how difficult it is for writers to have to incorporate a hair change when an actor or actress switches to or from their real hair instead of a wig if it was used to modify their hair until it grew back. It's incredible how detailed wig work has to be now with HD filming as well.
I remember Jon Ward talking about the detail that went into constructing a prop, and he mentioned methods I never would have thought of. I never would have thought that this idea of authenticity also applied to wigs, but it makes a whole lot of sense. The reasoning behind why a certain actor would use a wig has such a wide range too. As long as the quality of the wig makes it undetectable and keeps the character consistent, I'm sure it's just as important in character development as any other item that gets applied to an actor's body.
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