In this exclusive interview, master artisan KAREN HARTLEY THOMAS discusses at length the transformative process of hair and make-up for GOLDA.
SYNOPSIS: GOLDA is a ticking-clock thriller set during the tense 19 days of the Yom Kippur War in 1973. Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir (Helen Mirren), faced with the potential of Israel’s complete destruction, must navigate overwhelming odds, a skeptical cabinet, and a complex relationship with US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger (Liev Schreiber), with millions of lives in the balance. Her tough leadership and compassion would ultimately decide the fate of her nation and leave her with a controversial legacy around the world.
GOLDA is directed by Guy Nattiv with script by Nicholas Martin and stars Helen Mirren, Liev Schreiber, Rami Heuberger, Lior Ashkenazi, and Henry Goodman.
There’s no denying that the BAFTA and Emmy-nominated hair and make-up designer KAREN HARTLEY THOMAS loves what she does. You can hear the passion and joy in her voice as she talks not only about her craft, but the people she works with in using her talents to bring individuals and worlds to life on screen. Her enthusiasm is infectious. While we both reminisced about director Roger Michel with whom Karen worked on three projects, including “The Duke” starring Helen Mirren and Jim Broadbent, we also fan-girled about her film post-GOLDA, Matthew Lopez’ “Red, White & Royal Blue” starring Taylor Zakhar Perez and Nicholas Galitzine, but got down to business talking about GOLDA.
One look at Helen Mirren in the title role and you find yourself doing a double-take as if Gold Meir herself was standing in front of you. And yet, while the silhouette and look is visually defining, it still allows Mirren to capture the essence of Meir and bring her to life as a three-dimensional emotionally complex person.
For KAREN HARTLEY THOMAS, “It was a pleasure doing it because I had worked with Helen before. So you know, there’s a bit of a shortcut there, isn’t it? We sort of had a Zoom about it, and decided it was [to be] a little bit relaxed with prosthetics. She’s never done anything like that before…eyebrows, contact lenses, T-pieces, a bit of a nose…” With only four to five weeks of make-up prep before Karen and Mirren were face to face, “she gets off the plane, Helen, and we sort of did it. And she said all day, ‘it looks really good’. … [W]e wanted to show Helen and to let Helen shine through as one of the best actors in the world.”
Diving into Karen’s work not only with Helen Mirren, but also with Liev Schreiber and the rest of the cast, KAREN HARTLEY THOMAS discussed at length:
- transforming Helen Mirren for the role; subtle changes
- the joy of working with Helen Mirren; GOLDA is “the job of a lifetime for Karen
- creating realistic prosthetics and working with prosthetics designer Suzi Battersby; realism; no seams or joins
- the tight scheduling in light of the prosthetics work
- the importance of revealing Mirren’s eyes and allowing for expressiveness given the number of extreme close-ups
- cinematographer Jasper Wolf and his excellence with light as it relates to the hair and make-up work and capturing the eyes
- subtle make-up and reliance on Liev Schreiber’s physical movement to capture Henry Kissinger; meeting Schreiber just two days before filming (talk about a time crunch!)
- overall filmmaking with hair and make-up for a period drama
- challenges of working on an independent film with limited resources and the need to be quick and adaptable
- challenges of doing hair and make-up for a large cast in a period drama
- working with director Guy Nattiv and his fastidious attention to detail
- the benefit of casting Israeli actors for GOLDA
- what Karen looks for in a project; waiting for the right projects that interest her and that she’s passionate about
- and more!
TAKE A LISTEN. . .
by debbie elias, exclusive interview 12/5/2023
