‘Elvis’ Prosthetic Designers Jason Baird & Mark Coulier On The “Subtleties” Of Transforming Austin Butler Into The King Of Rock And Roll
deadline.comFor Elvis, prosthetic designers Jason Baird and Mark Coulier thought the bulk of their work would be transforming Tom Hanks into Colonel Tom Parker.
They were surprised to find that the real challenge was the subtle changes for Austin Butler as Elvis throughout the film. Baz Luhrmann’s biopic takes a 20-year look at the unprecedented superstardom of the legendary Elvis Presley (Austin Butler.) The story is told through the eyes of his manager, Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks), as he navigates Presley’s career through rock ’n’ roll, Hollywood movies, and a Las Vegas residency.
As he aged, the prosthetics on Elvis needed to change gradually, to create an almost imperceptible difference to simulate his natural aging. DEADLINE: Can you walk me through how Austin Butler’s prosthetics change throughout the film? MARK COULIER: That was a really interesting thing because originally, we were thinking about the makeup for Colonel Tom Parker on Tom Hanks.
So, that’s a fat, bullfrog neck and bald head, and then there might be a few things to do on Elvis as well. Obviously, the fat makeup at the end, you know, the heavier makeup when he is doing the “Unchained Melody” at the end of the movie.
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