‘Rings of Energy’: Inside Owain Arthur’s Beard Transformation

It took a village — and a number of other hours a day — to remodel “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” actor Owain Arthur into Prince Durin IV for the Amazon Prime Video collection launching Sept. 2.

The Peter Jackson movies based mostly on J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings” introduced Center Earth to life and established an elaborately detailed fashion for its inhabitants. The brand new collection, which value $462 million for the primary season alone, brings the same cinematic blockbuster high quality to the small display. Set within the Second Age of Center Earth, it introduces a brand new world of characters, together with Durin IV, who leads a clan of dwarves generally known as Longbeards.

Hair and make-up division head Jane O’Kane wished Durin IV “to be bigger than life and to have an enormous presence in a room amongst the heightened elves.” It took layer upon layer of make-up and hair, and loads of glue, to realize the appropriate look.

The workforce included make-up and hair artist Aly Webby, prosthetics artist Simon Rose, wigmaker Alex Rouse and facial hair postiche maker Sarah Weatherburn. Throughout early testing, O’Kane and crew would dedicate entire days to working with Arthur to get issues good — and ship a glance impressed by Scottish knights and kings.

One of many workforce’s objectives was to whittle down the prep time to allow a full day of taking pictures. By the beginning of manufacturing, O’Kane says, “we acquired Owain’s complete time down to 2 and a half hours with two artists engaged on him.”

The primary hour was devoted to Rose’s software of the char- acter’s prosthetic nostril and ears. Subsequent, the actor was prepped for in depth hair work. The beard got here in 16 items, Arthur says. The concept was for it to be “connected to my face so it will transfer however not pull.” Among the many tiny items have been what the workforce calls “nostril cones.” Explains Arthur, “They connected to the sting of the nostril and curled upwards.”
To maintain the lengthy beard in place, costume designer Kate Hawley integrated a small hook close to the bottom of Arthur’s outfit. The beard “weighs as a lot as a new child child,” Arthur explains, and the “hook takes numerous the burden. It’s additionally connected to the wig on the again” to additional share the load.

On a regular basis he spent in hair and make-up however, Arthur says, nobody wished the beard to develop into an issue: “We wish to see you categorical your self,” Patrick McKay, one of many present’s screenwriters, informed him, “and never have the make-up be a hindrance.” With that in thoughts, the workforce lowered the beard on Arthur’s face in order that his expressions could possibly be seen.

The hair work consisted of a full wig with neck-hair additions, an underneath beard, sideburns, break up chin items, a mustache and nostril hair. All have been custom-made from a mixture of human, angora goat, horse and yak hair. “We built-in actual copper threads to provide it one thing distinctive in gentle reflection and texture,” O’Kane says. “There have been additionally felt dread sections within the beard, all handmade.”

Simply becoming the character’s wig and making use of make-up took one other 45 minutes. “It was an intensive jigsaw puzzle of facial hair,” O’Kane says.

Hawley was additionally a key participant within the early testing of Arthur’s look, O’Kane explains. “Working with Kate [on Owain’s costumes] allowed us to combine our designs in order that they not solely functioned however naturally and seamlessly complemented one another. This was an enormous focus for us—to make every thing actual in his world.”

Essentially the most difficult a part of reworking Arthur was not a lot the prosthetics functions as the sensible parts that got here with the present being shot throughout the New Zealand summer time — February to August. To mitigate the extraordinary warmth, Arthur was outfitted with a cooling vest whereas sitting within the make-up chair.

O’Kane, having labored within the discipline with prosthetics for the reason that Eighties, notes that not solely did technological advances make her work simpler, however there was little to no want for visible results to finish Arthur’s transformation

“That silicone — the fabric used on the prosthetic items — has improved a lot that it seamlessly blended into Arthur’s pores and skin alongside high-quality wig la e and skilled knotting work to sink the hair work into the pores and skin,” she says.

However one manufacturing problem was resolved by strategies that included a decidedly low-tech strategy: making the 5-foot-9- inch Arthur seem dwarfed by his fellow actors. Whereas scale and visible results have been used, Arthur reveals that the most effective technique was far easier. “I’d be down on my knees,” he says, “and Robert Aramayo, who performs Elrond, could be on a ladder.”