Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1541402
36 • THE ARTISAN WINTER 2026 PHOTOS COURTESY OF REAL AMERICAN HERO LLC BUILDING BLOCKS FOR B Y K A Z U H I R O P R O T H E T I C M A K E - U P D E S I G N E R T racey Landon contacted me about The Smashing Machine, directed, written, and edited by Benny Safdie, starring Dwayne Johnson (DJ) as Mark Kerr, for A24 Films. Tracey is one of the best producers I've ever worked with, so I was immediately interested in the project. After reading the script and speaking with Benny, I watched the 2002 documentary about Mark Kerr (MK). I became deeply fascinated by who MK was. I was assigned to design the likeness make-up for DJ to transform into MK. At our first meeting, I 3D-scanned DJ's full head and body, including several body sections and a partial life cast. I also photographed him extensively. In addition to the likeness make-up, I was responsible for several other make-up effects. After processing the 3D scans and life casts, I combined and 3D-printed the head cast. I've worked with Vincent Van Dyke (VVD) and his crew for more than 10 years—they've consistently molded my sculptures and cast prosthetics for my projects. They're a talented team I trust completely. All molds were made by Carl Lyon, Rob Freitas and Adele Wurl. Prosthetics were cast by William Thornton, Stephen Imhoff Jr. and Michael Regan. Since this was Benny's first time using prosthetic character make-up in a film—and with somewhat limited pre-production time—I proposed sculpting two versions: one as close as possible to MK, and the other a more subtle version. Once both sculptures were finished, Benny and I discussed the direction to take. He wanted to preserve DJ's presence while adding the essence of MK. Considering the physical demands of the fight scenes, we agreed to go with the more subtle version. This choice made on-set touch-ups easier and allowed for more realistic sweating through exposed skin. After creating a wig block and deciding on the hairline and direction, I reached out to Diana Choi to begin making the wig. MK had thin hair, with visible scalp on the back of his head—so hair direction and texture were crucial. As always, I asked Diana to try something new. Knowing the hair would go through various conditions, I requested she ventilate each hair strand in a specific way so it would look natural even when wet. She ventilated the entire wig with single hair and did an amazing job, as always. For the basic likeness look, DJ wore a brow bone/eyelid piece, a nose appliance, cauliflower ears, and a wig. Sasha Camacho crafted beautiful, custom eyebrows—MK's eyebrows are much lower than DJ's—and she also made a goatee for a different stage of the character. I made a custom core for the brow bone piece, which extended low over DJ's eyelids, altering his eyes. It had to allow for full eyelid movement. The appliance had a thin gluing edge at the bottom, with empty space extending up to just under DJ's natural brows, enabling compression and stretch without affecting movement. THE SMASHING MACHINE