How Do You Make Donald Trump’s Skin Orange? Very Carefully

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As a makeup artist who has spent countless hours transforming actors into iconic figures, I can confidently say that the transformation of Sebastian Stan into Donald Trump was nothing short of extraordinary. The dedication and precision put into this project were truly remarkable, especially considering the tight shooting schedule and numerous locations they had to cover in just 30 days.

If you think you’ve been seeing a lot of Donald Trump lately, just imagine being Brandi Boulet.

A Toronto-based artist specializing in prosthetics and makeup, who contributed to the production of “The Apprentice”, spent several months meticulously analyzing both the current and future appearances of the then-president, focusing on capturing the transformation of his hair, face, and body over time.

She explained how they transformed Sebastian Stan into a character resembling the President. This involved adjusting his base color as he became slightly darker, but not quite orange yet. His sideburns were altered based on different stages of the character’s life. The color of his eyebrows, wig, and even the bald cap under his wig were all modified as his hair began to thin. When the character was at his worst, looking haggard and taking diet pills, they made him appear sweaty and added makeup effects with broken capillaries to show signs of distress on his skin.

The process involved in crafting the on-screen personas for both Trump and Roy Cohn (portrayed by Jeremy Strong), as depicted in Ali Abbasi’s recent indie drama, was an extensive and wide-ranging one, focusing on creating cinematic portrayals of the mogul-turned-politician and his controversial attorney.

Colin Penman, head of the makeup department, along with Michelle Côté in charge of the hair department and Sean Sansom leading the prosthetics team, tirelessly worked to prepare the actors for their roles.

The research initiated the process, and according to Côté, there was an abundance of archived records on Trump’s life, making it straightforward to locate images for recreating his iconic hairstyle. She shares with THR that she had three wigs at her disposal, each representing a different phase in Trump’s life.

Boulet and Sansom modified the prosthetics to mark different phases in the character. “During his youthful phase, he had a fairer complexion and blond hair,” explains Boulet. “For every stage of the character throughout the film, we employed one prosthetic appliance. The way we applied this remained consistent, but it was modified depending on whether he appeared younger, older or heavier. To create the appearance of youth, we elevated [Sebastian]’s facial features using lifts.” Sansom continues, “This adjustment made his profile more recognizable – his neck became straighter and more aligned with his chin.” Later, for the ‘business’ phase, they switched techniques and added a prosthetic belly.

To emulate Roy Cohn’s distinctive appearance, Penman referred to documentaries like Matt Tyrnauer’s 2019 production “Where’s My Roy Cohn?“, as he noted that Cohn had unique characteristics. For instance, Cohn had a bone spur removed from his nose in his youth, which gave him a particular look, and he was known for his intense, unblinking gaze. To replicate this, Sean created impressive prosthetics to slightly sag Penman’s eyes. Moreover, extensive tanning was necessary since “Cohn believed one could never have enough wealth or tan.

Additionally, the team worked hand-in-hand with Jeremy Strong when it came to refining Cohn’s appearance. Prior to joining the process, Jeremy had already conducted extensive research independently. According to Penman, “Jeremy had a wealth of innovative ideas.” Working alongside someone like Jeremy certainly challenges you to step out of your comfort zone.

Throughout the film, Cohn grows weaker and sicker as he battles a condition he said was liver disease, though it is widely believed he died from AIDS-related complications. (He died in 1986 at the age of 59.) The makeup department used Cohn’s desire to be tanned as a device to show his sickness taking a toll on his body.

Penman notes that he gradually turned increasingly pale, eventually reaching sickly yellows with unusual tones. Additionally, Sean designed a second apparatus for under his eyes which emphasized his prominent hollow cheeks, and there was heavy shading on these remarkable sculptures that further highlighted his facial structure. Michelle lightened his hair, and the clothing became looser to enhance this effect.

Finding a suitable likeness for the late Ivana Trump proved tricky; there weren’t numerous photos of her from her modeling years prior to meeting Trump. “Once she stepped into the limelight, there were plenty of pictures to work with, and we also utilized other images from New York during that time, which provided us with a wealth of material to consider,” explains Penman.

Artists aimed to closely resemble Donald Trump’s distinctive features while still leaving room for artistic interpretation, keeping their creative freedom in check.

In their words, “Certain shots we filmed were inspired by real-life occurrences that had been thoroughly recorded, making it convenient to acquire relevant historical photographs.” Boulet further explains, “Our costumes, hairstyles, and make-up closely mirrored what was depicted in the interviews we studied.

In an effort to closely resemble Trump’s appearance, they worked tirelessly,” she explains, adding that the fast-paced filming schedule, which spanned across 50 locations in just 30 days, occasionally necessitated adjustments to Trump’s appearance mid-shoot. “Certain creative choices were made, such as making him appear extremely red and sweaty towards the end of the movie, although it’s important to note that he may not have looked like that every day in real life.

Initially, it took Côté approximately two and a half hours daily to style Stan as desired, but towards the end of filming, they managed to reduce this time to just 75 minutes. The makeup team, including Penman and Sansom, had mastered Strong’s makeup application to about 30 minutes per day, and they would also maintain his tan efficiently by setting up a spray booth directly on set for touch-ups.

“It’s too bad we didn’t have a camera, like a time-lapse, capturing it all,” Penman says.

For their efforts, Trump weighed in with his review.

In a post on Truth Social, he labeled the film as “phony and tasteless,” stating his belief that the motion picture was a low-quality, malicious, and politically offensive attack.

This tale was initially published in a special December edition of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To get the magazine, simply click here to subscribe.

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2024-12-03 22:25