‘Interview With the Vampire’s Emmy-Nominated Hair & Make-up Workforce Break Down Their Course of

After they change into a vampire, they will’t change anymore [with] the size and the colour of the hair and the facial hair, so we needed to maintain these particulars for the entire present. For instance, even when it was within the ’40s, as a result of most of [Season 2] is on the finish of the ’40s, some [characters] got here from the 18th century or some from Vietnam. So we needed to match the previous with the ’40s, and it was good. The wigs helped me rather a lot.

Season 2 had exhibits inside the present on the Théâtres des Vampires, so that you needed to design seems to be for the characters themselves along with the characters they performed on stage. What had been the challenges of that?

Vincenzo Mastrantonio: It was a problem as a result of we needed to do quite a lot of make-up, and we modified them rather a lot for each character. And we had the individuals within the viewers who wished to be like them, so we needed to additionally create the search for them that was near the vampire look on stage. It was arduous, however it was very nice, very nice to succeed in this consequence. I couldn’t imagine it. I nonetheless can’t imagine it. I watch it once more, and it’s very nice what we’ve finished.

How did you choose the mime aesthetic for the theater? And why do some members of the troupe have extra white face paint than others for this look?

Mastrantonio: The musicians needed to be extra pale in comparison with the actors [to differentiate between their roles in the company], so we made them look not very, very white, however white. And after, we did some coloration on the eyes and so they seemed superb, they seemed very nice. For Celeste and Estelle, the bottom that we had finished there wasn’t so pale just like the musicians. So we made them slightly bit completely different, however after we added extra coloration, extra make-up in accordance with the character that they needed to do.

Santiago’s look is specifically curated, along with his bleach-blonde hair from earlier than he turned a vampire. Sam Reid joked that Santiago dyed it to seem like Lestat. Are you able to develop on the inspiration for this design?

Pegoretti: We discovered some images of a well-known actor to start with of twentieth century, Laurence Olivier. Within the ’20s, he was blonde too. We determined to make [Santiago] as a well-known actor who turned a vampire across the ’20s of the twentieth century, so he was very posh and stylish. We discovered this reference with Laurence Olivier and one other few actors from London. They used to bleach the hair blonde, very blonde with this very pretend make-up, so we determined with the actor and the showrunner [Rolin Jones] to make [Santiago] like that.

For Lestat, it’s completely different as a result of [Reid’s] pure hair is a really lovely blonde. I put just a few extensions to make it good and provides extra quantity to him. The blonde is completely different as a result of it’s pure and an actual blonde as a chic man from the 18th century. We determined to regulate from the primary season, with the showrunner, to vary the size, to depart it slightly bit longer as a result of they discovered the size of the primary season slightly bit quick.

Armand among the many 1700s theater viewers in Season 2 Episode 3, ‘No Ache’ (Larry Horricks / AMC)

As a result of the present is taking part in with reminiscence a lot, you will get away with altering the looks of vampires who’re frozen of their look. How did the idea of defective reminiscence issue into your designs?

Pegoretti: Even for Louis, we modified the haircut a tiny bit. As a result of we modified Claudia [Hayles took over the role from Bailey Bass in Season 2], in some unspecified time in the future we determined to vary some little particulars, to maintain the principle particulars, however we modified some issues. We had been fortunate as a result of 90 % of the forged was new, and likewise it’s a distinct second. The primary season is round 1900, the start of the twentieth century. [Season 2] is round after the Second World Conflict, some within the Seventies. We additionally modified some within the modern second throughout the [2022] interview. It was good as a result of we needed to go from completely different durations. It was attention-grabbing. Even for Santiago, we modified many issues, as a result of when he’s on stage, it’s a distinct look. It is dependent upon who he’s going to play on stage. Generally it’s messy, generally sweaty. We performed rather a lot with him.

Mastrantonio: Generally with the mustache. Generally we modified the eyebrow rather a lot in each path.

Pegoretti: And likewise with him, we placed on him a pretend wig when he’s a decide throughout [Episode 7]. I’ve to say, the forged was very good with us. We labored very nicely along with all of them, so we created collectively the characters. As a result of it was a protracted [process], we had quite a lot of completely different conditions between the stage, outdoors the theater, and within the flashbacks too. We shot the Youngsters of Darkness [scenes from Episode 3] within the 18th century when it was soiled. With Armand, with Celeste, it was soiled, ugly, a bit wild. And so they change into actors. They change into extra elegant, so we’d change the make-up.

Larry Horricks / AMC

Delainey made Claudia really feel each acquainted and new after taking on the position from Bailey. How did you’re employed collectively to create that very same feeling along with her look? How did you mix the 2 Claudias?

Pegoretti: To be trustworthy, in some unspecified time in the future, we couldn’t care in regards to the first season. We stored adjusting the size of the hair, however the scenario was fully completely different as a result of originally [of Season 2] it’s throughout the warfare, into the mud, into the bottom. She began very soiled. And likewise we are able to play along with her as a result of she modified the search for the theater when she’s an actress, so we made [her look like] a doll. But in addition, we needed to change the character as a result of it’s fully new when she arrived in Paris. She modified the form of the hair as a result of she wished to be extra elegant, extra womanly, so she turns into slightly extra fancy. She was doing the waves within the hair, so we fully modified the form and the feel of the hair. We tried simply originally to have some reference to the primary episode, so to maintain this pure hair, not so curly, however the story is totally completely different, so we needed to change the feel fully and the form of the top.

Claudia’s a grown lady trapped in a youngster’s physique without end. In Season 2, she’s attempting to externally present that she’s a lady to keep away from childlike therapy. How did that inform her make-up design?

Mastrantonio: We modified her make-up rather a lot from the primary episode as a result of she wished to be older than this age. We needed to work rather a lot on the bottom. We labored rather a lot on what she did on the theater, the doll. It was a giant effort to vary quite a lot of issues. We didn’t take into consideration the primary season as a result of it was one other particular person fully.

Louis’ hair is completely different within the ’40s, within the ’70s, and in 2022. Inform me about the way you labored collectively to deliver Louis to life in these completely different timelines.

Pegoretti: We modified the form fully. Within the ’40s, the wax Brilliantine was in use. It made the hair shine, pulled again, and really tight. So with the waves, we modified [his hair] fully for this second. For me, it was lovely. We stored his pure hair only for the ’70s. We twisted a bit for the modern [look]. I used, for him, the identical textures, the identical supplies of actual males of the ’40s. The shining wax, Brilliantine, was very well-known. Everyone used it within the ’40s to make their hair flat and glossy.

We [styled Jacob’s] personal hair and simply modified the form and the feel, by no means the size. He retains the identical size for all the present as a result of, as with the opposite vampires, they will’t change the size of their hair. Within the ’40s, all the boys used this wax to be shiny, to be flat, to drag it again. To be very good was typical of the ’40s, so we did this one for him in Paris to let [Louis] really feel extra comfy on the road with the opposite individuals as a result of [everybody’s hair] was flat like that. After which it was his pure texture and hair only for the ’70s. For the modern, we twisted it a bit with a sponge. We had been simply engaged on his hair. We by no means used a wig with him.

Larry Horricks / AMC

How did Lestat’s Harlequin look come collectively for Episode 3? And the way did the truth that that is Lestat from Armand’s perspective play into the design?

Mastrantonio: The massive change was within the 18th century. We made him look extra pale and with the crimson on the cheeks and a few work on the eyes. After that, the look was nearly the identical. We made his face slightly bit paler in comparison with his pure [skin tone]. We did the cheeks, we did the lipstick. Slightly bit darker on the eyes. It wasn’t a giant change. It was just a bit bit extra simply to point out Harlequin, as a result of many of the [design] was [in] the costume. So for us, it needed to be only a theatrical look.

Pegoretti: For me, I simply performed about with the ponytails generally as a result of within the 18th century, they used the ponytails on the again rather a lot. We did it generally, however largely he most popular to stick with the hair down. Once we used this ponytail, I made it longer, extra theatrical search for the theater. I made the hair very lengthy with a giant bow that I made for him. It was typical for the 18th century to make this huge bow. I like it as a result of we additionally noticed him from the again on the stage with the viewers in entrance of him. And likewise when he met Armand with the Youngsters of the Darkness, I made [his hair] very clear and pulled again. It was within the 18th century, however it’s additionally very modern for now with fashions. They need to see the face and the hair pulled again with the bow with the standard ponytail from the 18th century. So we performed a bit with [Lestat] too, however largely we left the pure hair. We modified the feel with him as nicely when he was moist, when Louis has the imaginative and prescient of him lifeless with the blood and the scar on the neck [in Episode 1]. And so that you noticed him messy and sweaty, and generally he’s extra elegant within the theater. We performed with him as nicely.

What are you proudest of out of your work on Season 2?

Pegoretti: The theater was a giant problem. For each theaters — even for the theater on the finish of the 18th century with Lestat, as a result of in that one, the gang was so big, so we had lots of people. Even on stage, we had quite a lot of actors taking part in with him, and we had the Youngsters of the Darkness as nicely. The theater normally was a giant problem as a result of we needed to create the principle character. We modified these characters with a theatrical look, and so you have got many various conditions in regards to the present [that the theater company was performing]. So I’m very proud in regards to the stage, in regards to the theater, this world that we created as a result of additionally it was a primary for me. I’ve by no means finished one thing like that earlier than. I’ve by no means had any probability to create a theater of vampires in Paris on this lovely world after the Second World Conflict. I’m very proud about that. I feel the world of the theater between the 18th century and the 1900s was nice. I’m very completely happy about that.

Larry Horricks / AMC

Mastrantonio: The theater was essentially the most lovely factor for me to have finished. I significantly loved after we did Daciana [Diana Gheorghian] and Madeleine [Roxane Duran].

Pegoretti: That’s an incredible character.