makeups and actually on set. It’s like a dream come true.” We also are so in love with the original movie, the pair of us, it influenced both of us so much and werewolves are such an important part of what excites me about makeup effects and things, and always have. We wanted to make what was old new again, that was kind of our goal. And some of the people that worked on the film were not into that idea at all. And that became a battle, I mean there was talk of werewolves with no hair. There was talk of werewolves wearing suits, walking around, Victorian clothes, frock coats, cravats and things. And we’re saying, “This is the Wolfman. We really, really want to pay tribute to the Wolfman; we want to give it a good start.”
FM. Now with actors like Benecio Del Toro and Anthony Hopkins, they seem like they’re actors that love to challenge themselves, and I know that the makeups were pretty intense builds. Did they enjoy getting into the characters, getting into the costumes and having all the builds put on them? DE. They were definitely into the idea of being in the makeup. Benicio del Toro wanted to be the Wolfman. In fact, he said to us at one point, he said “I’m more interested in the Wolfman than in Lawrence Talbot. That’s why I wanted to do the film.” and Anthony Hopkins is a professional and loves makeup, just really enjoys it. Neither of them ever complained about being in the makeup, and it was a big makeup to put on an actor of that stature. Suits, feet, hands, everything.
FM. So do you feel that you and Rick had a very good working relationship? You guys, as friends, really came together and complimented each other well. DE. Yeah, I like to think so. Rick would say something funny. We did, we did. We had fun. There were moments when we would literally nudge each other on set and we were like so excited that we were on the Wolfman. And there very first time we had the Wolfman on set, there was a full moon! We were like this is such a good thing! This is so cool! The werewolf, we’ve got it here for the first time and there’s a full moon as well! And that was the gypsy camp. And we loved working here. I’m surprised at how well we did work together, because we did stick on the makeup everyday between us. And we didn’t bump into each other as much as you might think and we both kind of enjoyed the process. And I learned a lot from Rick. Because Rick’s just on another level from every other makeup artist that I’ve ever worked with. The things he knows, the things he’s done. Just some of his methods, they’re just so interesting and unusual. And nobody’s better at doing hair than he is.
FM. You bring up a good point. People like you, people like Rick, people that do this at a high level, the one thing they all seem to have in common is a voracious appetite for knowledge. At no point do you think, I know enough and I’m a master at what I do. It’s always, what’s next? What else can I learn? DE. Absolutely. I mean that’s the kind of Dick Smith thing. Just always, always keep your eyes open and try to be better every time you do something, try something new. Rick’s definitely done that in his career. And I’ve certainly tried to do that in my career.
A bit of Mr. Elsey’s handiwork (from top): Scorpius from FARSCAPE (Bruce Spence), The Supreme Chancellor Palpatine from REVENGE OF THE SITH (Ian McDiarmid), THE BEAST (Duncan Young)
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