14 Movie Roles That Were a Huge Challenge Because of the Costumes

Movie costumes don’t just recreate a certain historical period or communicate a mood, but they fill characters with love. Actors are ready to spend hours in the dressing room and wear tight and heavy costumes for hours just to make their characters more convincing.

We at Now I’ve Seen Everything are convinced that what the actors are ready to do for a good film deserves a lot of respect.

Peter Mayhew — Star Wars

Chewbacca’s costume was made of yak hair and mohair. Even though it weighed just over 7 pounds, it was still a lot of trouble for Peter Mayhew. It was extremely hot, and when it became wet, it smelled terrible.

Gwyneth Paltrow — Shallow Hal

Costumes can bring not only physical problems and discomfort but also huge emotional stress. So, Paltrow experienced what people with extra weight feel every day, and she didn’t like it, “The first day I tried the fat suit on, I was in the Tribeca Grand, and I walked through the lobby. It was so sad. It was so disturbing. No one would make eye contact with me because I was obese. I felt humiliated because people were really dismissive.”

Helena Bonham Carter — Planet of the Apes

The filming would start at 7 a.m., and Helena Bonham Carter had to wake up at 2-3 a.m. because the makeup process would take around 4 hours. She shared, “That’s hard to endure, and by the end of the filming your nerves become completely frayed.”

It was hard to eat and drink in the costume: she needed to use a special mirror to know exactly where her mouth was under the mask and not ruin her makeup. And it was really hard to actually act because the makeup would affect her facial expressions, and she couldn’t hear her colleagues because of the giant ears.

Tilda Swinton — The Grand Budapest Hotel

Tilda Swinton would spend 5 hours with makeup artists, patiently waiting for them to make her look like a very old lady. “It was fascinating watching the way these guys work. I had a whole team taking these bits of what looked like bacon and putting them on my face and arms and earlobes. It’s fascinating. I’m such a nerd about that kind of stuff. I really, really loved it.”

The artists needed about the same amount of time to remove the makeup. Luckily, Tilda was only needed on the set just for 2 days.

Ralph Fiennes — Harry Potter

The actors recalls not only the makeup of the Dark Lord with dread but also the costume. Ralph Fiennes didn’t just stumble because of the costume, he also needed to wear tights under it. It would slip off all the time, and it was really uncomfortable, and he couldn’t walk as graciously as Voldemort would need to. Fiennes asked the costume designer to do something about it and the top of the tights was cut off, which meant he only wore stockings.

Orlando Bloom — The Lord of the Rings

The actor has dark brown eyes, so he had to wear blue lenses. Bloom hated them because they would fall out all the time and irritate his eyes. When Orlando returned to the role in The Hobbit trilogy, he refused to wear them, so his eye color was digitally altered in post-production.

Angelina Jolie — Maleficent

It wasn’t an easy task to turn the gorgeous Jolie into Maleficent. The makeup team would spend 2.5 hours on her makeup, and the actress is not the most patient person in the world. Angelina had prosthetics on her nose, cheekbones, and ears to make her look intimidating and alien-like. She also had special white fangs and lenses. Here, you can see a video of how she turned into Maleficent.

But the giant horns were the most trouble. In an interview, Jolie said that they were quite heavy, so her neck would get tired quickly. Besides, she wore 5-inch heels and would constantly hit the horns on the props.

Gary Oldman — Darkest Hour

The iconic transformation of Oldman into the Great Britain Prime Minister took around 4 hours. Aside from the complex makeup, the actor would get a special lining on his body, like a Victorian corset. Oldman was worried he wouldn’t be able to handle the extreme schedule: he was in the costume for 18-20 hours, 48 days in a row. And he was scared the skin wouldn’t hold everything that was glued to it.

If you are interested in the details of this Oscar-winning makeup, you should watch this short video.

Christina Ricci — Penelope

The makeup team would spend around 1.5 hours putting the prosthetic nose on Christina Ricci. The actress couldn’t move her mouth while they were doing it. After the nose was applied, her hair and regular makeup would be done.

Brie Larson — Captain Marvel

Brie Larson complained that her costume was incredibly uncomfortable. She couldn’t put it on alone: she needed the help of 2 assistants and around 30 minutes for them to dress her. It was really hard to use the bathroom: for that, she needed a team of 5 people.

Sean Wayans and Marlon Wayans — White Chicks

The transformation from brothers into sisters was a difficult task for both the makeup team and the actors. The process took around 7 hours a day, but then the artists were able to cut it down to 5. They did it for 60 days total, and it was exhausting. When they ate or drank something, their makeup needed to be fixed. The guys got almost no sleep between the filming and the applying of makeup.

Rachel Brosnahan — The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Because the series is set in the US in the 1960s, the actress always had to wear a corset under her dresses. In an interview, she revealed that she got injured because of the corset. In the series, they talk very fast, and they have almost no time to breathe. She didn’t breathe enough, so a couple of her ribs grew together. And now, she can’t take a deep breath.

Renée Zellweger — The Thing About Pam

The series The Thing About Pam has not yet been released, but it’s already known that Renée Zellweger had some problems during filming. The 52-year-old actress had to wear a special costume that added some weight to her and fans had a very negative reaction to it, blaming the star for fat-shaming.

By the way, did you know that for the role of Bridget, Renée Zellweger put on around 15 pounds? It probably had a negative influence on her well-being. And now, when she put on the costume that made her look heavier, she was heavily criticized. Do you think that these costumes make the attitude toward overweight people worse? Should a star think about their own health when agreeing to play a part like this?