Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1504732
34 • THE ARTISAN FALL 2023 W hite House Plumbers is a limited series that takes us on a satirical journey behind the Watergate scandal from the point of view of the main conspirators, Howard Hunt and G. Gordon Liddy. I was excited for the opportunity to work with director David Mandel (Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Veep) on this historic topic! We filmed in NY, DC and LA for more than six months in the summer of 2021. David wanted to depict the early '70s in a cinematic and artistic way. It was paramount for him that we demonstrate authenticity in make-up and hair when recreating these historic figures. When the actors were not a close physical match, we would draw inspiration from the essence of the character and similar public figures of the time. We had a cast of 300-plus principal actors and thousands of background performers, many of whom were meant to depict the widely watched hearings. Prep consisted of endless research! We dug through a huge amount of newspaper articles, magazines, photographs, yearbooks and watched TV interviews and movies of that time period. e show's creators even gave us photos from the Hunts' personal archives! ere were several categories of characters in this story. Government workers were more conservatively styled toward the '50s and '60s with shorter sideburns and muted make-up. Court attendees were carefully matched to chronicled images and television footage. Most college students were more natural. LA/Miami individuals had a brighter color palette and we used magazines as reference. I worked closely with my friends, Kat Drazen, Department Head Hair, and extraordinary make-up key, Michelle Kearns. We created a shared interdepartmental presentation in the keynote app. Each page represented a character and reference images were added (or inspo if documentation didn't exist). Once a role was cast, every principal went through the trailer for a make-up test. Creating a balance between historical accuracy and practicality for various characters was a fun challenge. For likeness to E. Howard Hunt, Woody Harrelson wore custom upper dentures, sculpted by Tony Gardner of Alterian Inc. and produced by Fangs FX. I dyed the false teeth with black tea to make it look less artificial. Woody uses all vegan products, so per his request, I had coconut oil and Aloe Vera leaves as moisturizers/removers. I B Y S A R I T K L E I N D E P A R T M E N T H E A D M A K E - U P WHITE HOUSE PLUMBERS Finding the Watergate (Scandal) Leak darkened his brows with Beautycounter Blond Brow Gel and used oils for sweat. To play Gordon Liddy, Justin eroux assured me he can grow the amount of hair needed for the famous "Liddy" mustache in time for the camera test, and he did! I initially reshaped his stash and sideburns and once he dyed his hair at home, I maintained that look daily by grooming and darkening lighter areas with European Body Art Hair & Brow alcohol-based palette. Justin has wavy, shorter brows so I elongated and squared them with waterproof Make Up For Ever Aqua Brow. To color-correct his skin and conceal redness, I applied Maqpro Fard Creme and thinned out Charlotte Tilbury Magic foundation. I stippled "Dusty Mauve" from Sian Richard's Vida 4K long wear crème palette to add lividity. He wore brown contact lenses and I added a so-brown bottom liner to make his eyes stand out. Designs to Deceive owner Josh Turi fabricated bottom dental plumpers to widen Justin's jaw. He loved them and they altered his voice so much that when he said wild lines and did ADR, he asked to use them! To finish off the Liddy look, Kat blow dried his hair and created hair color and scalp tint to give him that bold look. With only a couple of research pictures to work with, I transformed Lena Headey into Dorothy Hunt by using Lena Headey as Dorothy Hunt