The transformation of actor Jonathan Bailey, recently crowned the Sexiest Man Alive, into the hessian-faced scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz for the hotly anticipated sequel to Wicked was a serious undertaking.
"It was an average of four hours," Oscar-winning makeup artist Frances Hannon, the woman responsible for transforming Cynthia Erivo into her striking green character and Ariana Grande into an ethereal Good Witch for both blockbuster Wicked Films, reveals exclusively to HELLO!.
© StillMoving.Net/Shutterstock"We chucked away the contact lenses that we had blue for Fiyero (which Jonathan played in the first film), because he was a blue-eyed boy from Winkie Town, and went back to the earthy colour of Jonathan's own eyes, which are really a pool of dark brown," she says. "All those little touches really brought it together.
" I can quite see why he's got the title, and he so deserves it, but it's his soul. It's from the inside out that he's got that title. "
"We looked at a burlap (jute material) that would be soft and skin-like in texture, and looked to see if you put it on a 60-foot screen, he would still be attractive," she says. "We looked at the old Wizard of Oz, and there was a nod to that, too."
© Mitsis/SOPA Images/ShutterstockAs for Jonathan's official recognition as Hollywood's most handsome heartthrob, she adds: "I can quite see why he's got the title, and he so deserves it, but it's his soul. It's from the inside out that he's got that title. There’s nobody kinder or more giving or more grateful than anybody than Jonathan Bailey in the world."
"Those two women are really special in life and that really comes across on the screen."
It's been almost three years since Frances, 59, who won an Academy Award for makeup on The Grand Budapest Hotel in 2014 and was nominated again for her work on Wicked, teamed up with Hollywood director Jon M. Chu and producer Mark Platt to bring the beloved Broadway musical to the big screen. Wicked: For Good comes a year after the release of the first film, and for Frances, the collaboration has been "the best of her whole career".
© BAFTA via Getty ImagesA memory she'll always treasure was hearing "two phenomenal people", Cynthia Erivo, 38, and Ariana Grande, 32, who play the heroine duo, Elphaba Thropp and Glinda Upland, sing every day on set.
"They're both amazing," she says. “Those two women are really special in life and that really comes across on the screen. Many people pay hundreds of pounds per ticket to see it once, and I got it every day for 12 hours. You can't believe how uplifting that is."
Both Ariana and Cynthia, who shaved her head to accommodate her multiple wig changes, "were very involved in their looks, for make-up, hair and costume, all the time,” says Frances.
© UniversalIn the second film, Glinda becomes Glinda the Good, residing at the heart of the Emerald City, while Elphaba is on the run, seeking refuge in a magical treehouse away from there.
"Ariana's wigs were much paler and about six to eight inches longer, not only to show the passage of time, but also to give her a much more princess-like quality," Frances reveals, adding that Ariana "was completely open to anything."
© WireImageWhile the first film saw surprise cameos from the musical's original Broadway stars Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, Wicked: For Good welcomed a brief appearance from Colman Domingo, who plays the cowardly lion.
"I take no credit. The wonderful Pablo Helman did all that," Frances says of the Running Man actor, whose on-screen transformation was all CGI.
As for saying goodbye to Wicked, Frances, whose next project is mystery film Jack of Spades, with Lesley Manville, is sanguine. "I'm not sad this chapter is coming to a close - I've moved on. I'm proud, but not sad."
