Inside the World of ‘Emilia Pérez’: How Mickey Rourke and Catherine Deneuve Inspired the Title Character’s Looks

variety.com:

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor SPOILER ALERT: This story discusses major plot points, including the ending for “Emilia Pérez,” currently streaming on Netflix.

Mickey Rourke’s Randy Robinson in “The Wrestler” and the timeless looks of Catherine Deneuve served as inspiration for the titular character in Jacques Audiard’s “Emilia Pérez.” The film follows Emilia (Karla Sofia Gascón), a feared cartel leader who seeks the help of a lawyer, Rita (Zoe Saldaña), to fake her death and undergo gender-affirming surgery to finally live life authentically as her true self.

Gascón was confident she could play both roles in Emilia’s transition journey, which set up a mammoth task for the team of artisans.

When audiences first meet Emilia, the character is a fearsome drug lord whose penchant for killing creates a sense of terror. “Manitas is just trying to survive and to get ahead in society,” Gascón explains. “All he had left was pretending to be something that he was not.