Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1529095
16 • THE ARTISAN WINTER 2025 THE BOOK OF CLARENCE LOOKING AT LaKeith Stanfield as Thomas. Inset: Image on monitor showing Thomas's lighter sage green with hazel ring lenses. e Book of Clarence is a biblical epic set in AD33 and is the story of Clarence, a down-on-his-luck Jerusalemite with a mission to change his destiny by capitalizing on his pretence to be a messiah for his own personal gain. And shooting in Matera, Italy, stepping on 7,000-year-old stone buildings, we were literally inhabiting the past as we filmed. LaKeith Stanfield not only played Clarence but also played his twin brother, omas the Apostle, and when I got the call to design this movie, I knew that this was going to be an exciting challenge. I had loved LaKeith and worked with him on Judas and the Black Messiah and knew he would be up for it all. Our director, Jeymes Samuel (Harder ey Fall), and I had an epic meeting and I knew that his vision was also epic. We would be redefining biblical storytelling and bringing something long overdue to cinema in having a cast more representative of the region than had ever been seen before. I quickly realized that production had not grasped the undertaking make-up and hair would need to have in terms of crew once I saw how many main cast, supporting cast and background this show needed and so, conversations began. LaKeith wanted me to be his personal make-up and wig designer. I was overjoyed but this meant that I would be so absorbed with him that it would make it very difficult to run such a huge movie, so I suggested that I be the make-up designer for the entire movie and we bring in a department head to do the straight make-ups on the main cast and run the show. at person ended up being Matiki Anoff. We also had a fantastic Italian department head for background who ran all the looks for the massive crowd days we had most of the time— that was Laura Borzelli. Our hair designer and Department Head Hair was Nakoya Yancey, who created a beautiful myriad of textures and intricate designs throughout. Indeed, e Book of Clarence ended up being a beautiful collaboration of cultures all working together to bring Jeymes' vision to life. B Y S I Â N R I C H A R D S L E A D M A K E - U P & H A I R D E S I G N E R P E R S O N A L T O L A K E I T H S T A N F I E L D