How Sean Penn’s ‘Gaslit’ Transformation Came Down to an Unexpected Prosthetic

variety.com:

Jazz Tangcay Artisans EditorTurning Julia Roberts into 1970s political wife Martha Mitchell for Starz series “Gaslit” called for a light touch from the hairstyling, makeup and effects team — unlike the heavy prosthetics and bald cap sported by co-star Sean Penn.In the eight-part series, which comes to an end June 5, Penn is unrecognizable as Attorney General John Mitchell, while Roberts’ portrayal of his then-wife Martha, who would become a key player in bringing the Watergate scandal to light, relies on a combination of subtle touches.For Oscar-winning special effects makeup artist Kazu Hiro, it was all about working with Penn to see what could and could not be done.

Penn did not want to shave his head, so Hiro had a starting point knowing that would need to be covered. But Hiro had to find a balance so Penn could still have freedom in his performance.

The transformation took about two and a half hours each day, longer than Roberts’ makeup for Martha Mitchell. “We made a bodysuit because John Mitchell was much heavier,” explains Hiro, who also worked on Gary Oldman’s transformation into Winston Churchhill in “Darkest Hour.” His challenge was also in matching Penn’s skin tone to Mitchell’s. “The tricky part was his skin tone.

Sean was darker, complexion-wise, and when I use silicone, I try not to paint so much, but his forehead was dark, so I had to cover that up.”In one sequence, Hiro was tasked with de-aging Penn. “We brought in more hair and added that.