‘Star Trek: Discovery’ actor Doug Jones hangs up sweaty, smelly Saru alien mask: ‘Silicone doesn’t breathe’

nypost.com:

he suited up as its red-winged school mascot, Charlie Cardinal, before landing a gig as Mac Tonight, a singing, piano-playing “moon man” in numerous McDonald’s commercials.But even after decades of transforming into zombies, aliens, demons, sea creatures and vampires in movies like “Hocus Pocus” and “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer” — not to mention a string of freaky films by writer/director Guillermo del Toro including “Hellboy,” “Pan’s Labyrinth” and 2018 Best Picture Oscar winner “The Shape of Water” — Jones seems especially connected to his “Trek” creation.“I’ve gotten to know this character better than anyone else I’ve ever played over my entire 38-year career,” he said of fan-beloved Saru. “I’ve spent the most time with him, the most time peeling back his layers … It’s been quite a journey.” Not that it’s always been an easy galaxy-hopping trip.He would spend two hours daily squeezing into an extensive costume that included a four-piece, all-encompassing rubber alien head — plus large, aquamarine contact lenses that required revitalizing eye drops every 20 minutes.And then would marinate in his sweat for hours more. “Silicone doesn’t breathe.

It’s like being wrapped in Saran Wrap, so you get moisture going in there,” he recalled to The Post.“By the end of the day, I could do this” — Jones mimicked rocking his head side-to-side during the interview — “and hear sloshing going back and forth in my head.”The 6-foot-4 actor said colleagues even had a name for the disgusting byproduct.“We would call it hot dog water,” he joked.And then there were his character’s towering boots that required what he has called a “supermodel walk” to remain properly balanced while moving through scenes.