The Academy Awards is one of the biggest events in the entertainment industry, and every year, many categories are awarded to the best and brightest in the field. One such category is Best Makeup and Hairstyling, which is all about making actors look like the real-life people they’re portraying. This race used to be all about special FX makeup and prosthetics, but in recent years, it has become more about transforming actors into their characters.
For example, in 2011, Meryl Streep required quite a lot of makeup to make her look more like British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in “The Iron Lady,” and both she and her makeup team won awards for their work. Similarly, Gary Oldman won his first Oscar in 2018 for playing Winston Churchill in “Darkest Hour,” for which the makeup and hair team also won.
Other examples of makeup and hairstyling winners that helped actors transform into real people include “Dallas Buyers Club,” “Frida,” and “Vice.” This year, the two Best Makeup and Hairstyling nominees, “Elvis” and “The Whale,” both directly connect to an actor’s performance. Although Austin Butler’s portrayal of Elvis Presley might give him a slight advantage in the category, the prosthetic makeup used to turn Brendan Fraser into a 600-pound shut-in is favored to win.
There are also other nominees in the category, such as “The Batman,” which received a nomination primarily for the makeup used to turn Colin Farrell into The Penguin, and “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” and “All Quiet on the Western Front,” which are nominated in enough other categories that being an outlier in this category shouldn’t matter much.
In conclusion, the Best Makeup and Hairstyling category is an important one that recognizes the work of makeup and hair teams in transforming actors into their characters. As the category evolves, it is clear that more emphasis is being placed on realistic portrayals rather than special effects and prosthetics. The nominees this year offer a variety of examples of this trend, and it will be interesting to see who takes home the award.
