Re-creating a Public Figure Without Losing the Actor

THE CROWN’S AND SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE’S HAIR AND MAKEUP TEAMS USE CREATIVE METHODS TO TURN THEIR CASTMEMBERS INTO REAL-LIFE ROYALS AND POLITICIANS. BUT WHILE ONE STRIVES FOR SERIOUS ACCURACY, THE OTHER EMBRACES ABSURDITY By Carolyn Giardina

The Crown’s and Saturday Night Live’s hair and makeup teams use creative methods to turn castmembers into real-life royals and politicians. But while one strives for serious accuracy, the other embraces absurdity.

The Crown

Diana’s iconic haircut was a key to transforming Emmy nominee Emma Corrin (pictured, left) into the princess and involved six different wigs during the course of the season, which covers roughly 12 years. “We [created] a shape initially that was quite round, very natural and very soft, because we felt like that would emphasize Emma’s youth and the vulnerable person who Charles first meets,” explains hair and makeup designer Cate Hall. “As she becomes more media-worn, we wanted the hair to look more processed. We were dying the roots to give it some shadow and highlighting it more and more. The Princess of Wales was using those styling techniques as a kind of armor against the media. We wanted her to look ever more manufactured, and we felt it really helped to age Emma through the series.” Hall was guided by a similar principle for the makeup, keeping the shapes round and soft in Diana’s earlier years. “Because Emma has such great skin, we didn’t use any foundation at the beginning. Just from my experience, I think you can really age yourself using beauty makeup. And then we just piled on more and more makeup as the time progressed,” Hall explains, adding that she relied on shimmery, cool tones that were popular in the ’80s. “From our research, we knew that Diana used more and more of that iconic blue the more vulnerable she felt. We picked moments to signify Diana’s vulnerability by using that blue eyeliner.” In contrast, Charles, played by Emmy nominee Josh O’Connor (pictured, far left), has kept a fairly consistent look. “Like so many members of the royal family, he has had the same hairstyle for decades,” Hall notes, adding that it makes him recognizable. “It’s this very exaggerated, left-head parting that is so deep, going all the way to the crown of his head. That was placed with a tape measure so that it was always precise. We didn’t have a wig for Josh because he has such glorious hair.”