Tim Curry Went Through an Excruciating Process to Become the Lord of Darkness in LEGEND
Legendary actor Tim Curry has had some wild costumes in his films over the years, namely The Rocky Horror Picture Show and It come to mind. But one that was even more taxing was the one he wore in the 1985 fantasy adventure film Legend, directed by Ridley Scott.
Curry’s co-stars in the movie were a young Tom Cruise and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off star Mia Sara, and in the movie, he played The Lord of Darkness, but he had no idea how extensive this character’s costume would be until he was signed on for the part.
According to Monsters of Makeup, Curry has already signed on for Legend before the design for the Lord of Darkness had been finalized. Much to his dismay, he found that with each new piece of concept art, more and more of his actual face was being covered over to play the character.
The process of applying Curry's makeup and costume took eight hours a day at first, although the film's artists shaved it down to a "mere" five-and-a-half hours after a while. Of course, it wasn't just his face they were altering. His hands were also fitted with devilish nails and skin, with three-foot-long fiberglass horns strapped to the top of his head. The horns were initially too heavy and had to be reduced so as to avoid straining Curry's back. In their final form, Scott found it "weird" and "disarming" how light they actually were.
Every day, after filming was finished, Curry would have to sit in a bath for an hour just to remove all the adhesives that had been applied to him face and body. He couldn't remove the makeup by force, either, as he learned the hard way after losing patience one day and trying to rip the material off, tearing up his skin in the process. Scott spent a week shooting around Curry to "calm him down" after.
The movie ended up bombing at the box office, so it seems like all that trouble may have been for nothing. But we can look back on the film and appreciate the artistry and hard work that went into the costume for sure. Did you like the movie Legend?
source: /Film