what really goes on at Madame Tussauds
Wax, hair and acrylic makes a perfect celeb… and their waxwork
In a bustling, starlit room, Brad Pitt’s getting his bum squeezed by an overzealous fan, while Victoria Beckham’s pretending to ignore the stranger who’s draping her arms around David. Nearby, Dame Helen Mirren is making come-hither eyes at George Clooney, as Benedict Cumberbatch desperately avoids a Kim Kardashian selfie. Next door, security barely blink as members of the public brazenly reach out to touch Her Majesty. And then there’s Barack Obama, who’s handing out presidential handshakes like free flyers. Yes, in terms of VIP turnout, Madame Tussauds is winning the game.
How it begins
Nowadays, in a world of Twitter, Instagram and reality TV, celebs seem closer than ever, with fans easily being able to follow their every move – yet there’s still that screen dividing us and them. That’s where Madame Tussauds comes in. For more than 200 years, London’s world-renowned wax museum has been allowing us non-famous folk to get up close and oh-so personal with some of the best-known faces on the planet, thus creating an eerie celebri-sphere where reality and illusion melt and mould. But what goes into building a big shot? According to the insiders we spoke to, it takes 250 precise measurements, four months of intensive labour, around £150k, and a whole lot of human hair.
“Each strand is inserted individually by hand – it takes approximately five weeks to complete each head of hair,” explains a Madame Tussauds artist, one of a team of 20 people who work on any given figure – all the waxworks for Tussauds’ 21 museums worldwide are made in London. The artist adds, “We work collaboratively and always welcome outfit ideas from celebrities. You can spot quite a few pieces of clothing that have been given to us – Will.i.am and Dua Lipa donated their whole looks. Stylists and hairdressers are also consulted to ensure total accuracy, right down to the shade of nail polish or lipstick.”
When a waxwork has been commissioned, the celebrity is invited for a sitting, and it is there that the team record every micro-wrinkle and mini-smirk. Some jump at the chance to sit, while others (politely) decline. That’s when it’s time for extensive research, with artists “analysing different pictures and video footage of the subject from every angle imaginable”.
As Madame Tussauds’ principal sculptor Stephen Mansfield tells heat, it’s a “very scientific process” where “comparative measurements” are used to sizeup the celebrity standing next to someone whose stats they know. “Nine times out of ten, we tend to use the Queen,” he explains. “She’s had photos with everyone.” As for intimate measurements, Stephen assures us that it’s a modest operation. “They’re designed to look right in the clothes they’re wearing,” he says. “If there’s any flesh on show, like arms, that needs to be right. But the important thing is that they’re seen in clothes. We do as much or as little as necessary, but it depends on each individual.”
By all accounts, the creative
process is intricate – involving everything from fibreglass and wax to clay and chicken wire. But that’s just half the story. Once the celebrity hits the floor, it’s an endless task to keep them looking perfectly preened – especially when their fans get handsy.
“Our studio teams come in early every day to ensure our figures are looking their best,” says a museum curator, who cites actor Tom Hardy as a particularly popular attraction. “Their work involves everything from re-curling hair to touching up make-up and readjusting outfits. We often find lipstick marks on some of our figures, and the odd love note has been left in people’s pockets. Tom has a lot of admirers, but the most-visited figure is the Queen – she’s so popular that we’ve created two for our guests to see.”
Making the cut
Like Hollywood’s Walk of Fame, getting your own official waxwork is a badge of honour. So, on the flip side, finding out that your model self is being relegated to storage must sting like molten wax. Earlier this year, the museum hit the headlines for removing Cheryl from display, amid fears that she was “no longer relevant”. And according to our insider, a celeb’s got to earn their keep. “We have a team at the attraction who are constantly reviewing whether a celebrity is no longer ‘famous’ enough,” says our insider, who confirms that sometimes the rich and famous request to have their waxworks made. “It’s not uncommon for our figures to be removed or taken off the floor for a little while,” the insider continues. “The showbiz world is ever-changing, and we reflect this with our figures.”
But what happens to the retirees? Is it true, as legend says, that they get melted down into balls of wax and repurposed, Frankenstein-style, for their next-generation rivals? Is Cheryl’s left forearm now Beyoncé’s femur? Apparently not.
“The myth is that we melt or repurpose our figures, but we don’t do this,” we’re told. “We store them in our archive, although the heads and hands are kept separate from the bodies.”
As Stephen rightly points out, “You never know with fame. It’s up and down – a person can be out
‘Tom Hardy has a lot of admirers’
one moment and back the next.”
Inevitably, the question of public indecency crops up (or is that just us?). Surely there must be one museum visitor who fancies their luck with an A-list star? According to our insider, most people settle for a cheeky selfie. “It’s important to us that guests can get up close to our figures, so that they really feel that they’re meeting their favourite stars,” we’re told. “In the main, people are respectful. They’re more focused on getting the perfect photo or seeing if the celebrity really is as tall as they expected.”
As you would imagine, creating a person’s doppelgänger is an intimate experience. “You do develop a connection with the person,” says Stephen. “Their image is very important to them and I feel very protective of the figure once it’s made – they’ve been in my life for a long period.”
As for divas, Stephen says that most celebrities are humbled by the process and are fascinated to learn more. Still, he concedes, the majority of them are bigheaded… as a matter of necessity.
“The clay head is made two per cent bigger than actual size, because the mould shrinks when the beeswax is poured in,” he tells us. But rest assured, “Their heads are back to a normal size by the time they’re on display.”
The waxworks, that is. Who knows about the celebrities. n