How ‘The Sympathizer’ Makeup and Hair Artists Believably Transformed Robert Downey Jr. Into Four Different Characters
29.04.2024 - 04:25
/ variety.com
Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor When “The Sympathizer” showrunner and director Park Chan-Wook brainstormed ideas for HBO’s newest miniseries, one scene struck him as a “quintessential American institution and represented the idea of America.” It took place in a steakhouse with several characters coming together. Based on the best-selling novel by Viet Thanh Nguyen and set at the end of the Vietnam War, “The Sympathizer” follows a captain, played by Hoa Xuande, in the South Vietnamese army who’s secretly spying for the North Vietnamese communists. As Saigon falls and the U.S.
retreats, the Captain remains embedded and escapes to Los Angeles. Throughout, Robert Downey Jr. pops up as various characters who interact with the Captain including Claude, the Captain’s CIA contact, as well as a professor, a congressman and an auteur.
Park toyed with the idea of casting Mark Ruffalo and even Josh Brolin along the way, but in the end, he decided to flip the script and have one actor represent America through the roles. Park thought, “Despite having different jobs and characteristics, they are all sharing one body.” He adds, “Essentially, they’re representing America as a whole.” And so Downey seemed the perfect choice. But it took a group of artisans to transform the actor into the various characters.
Here, they break down the looks and what went into transforming the actor. Claude The idea of Claude’s relationship with the Captain was that he was a paternal figure to him. Downey’s transformation began with Vincent Van Dyke (FX prosthetic designer).
Due to time constraints, he opted not to go into any digital concept work. “I started sculpting immediately and I had all four plaster heads on one table,” Van Dyke says. “I was sculpting
.