William Dafoe in “Despicable Creatures” – They started making him up at 3 in the morning and called him Kirk Douglas

Good on-screen impersonation requires a lot of dedication, and not only to the role, but also to the physical resemblance to the desired image.

For his role in Les Misérables, William Dafoe spent 6 hours a day in the make-up chair to transform into Dr. Goldwyn Baxter.

In the film by Yorgos Lanmitos, the actor’s character is a disfigured eccentric scientist whose face was damaged by his father, who was also a surgeon. Baxter decides to revive a corpse of a woman by giving it the brain of an unborn child. This is Bella – Emma Stone’s character. The childlike woman explores and learns about the world – and herself.

Physical reincarnation was not easy for Defoe. “4 hours to apply, 2 to remove the makeup. I show up at 3 in the morning, meditate and try to stay still,” the actor told Vanity Fair about the process.

Although the class is insane, Dafoe explains that he can’t sleep while his makeup is being applied because it’s complicated enough and he has to cooperate with the makeup artists.

The rest of the crew arrived at 7 in the morning, when the shooting day officially began, including Dafoe.

“You do a full day and then you take your makeup off. It’s hard work, but I loved working with a mask – it was literally a mask,” the actor shared.

Because of her, he even got a nickname on the set. “They called me Kirk. They thought I looked like Kirk Douglas,” he adds.

This is not the first major transformation for Defoe on set. He has an Oscar nomination for his role in Shadow of the Vampire, where he is unrecognizable, and has stepped into the roles of Jesus and Vincent van Gogh.

He considers the filming of “Creatures” a very positive experience and because of the sets in the production, which perfectly suited his role.

The stage decor was unique and with many beautiful elements. “There were so many things that defined the world of the film. Unless you’re asleep, you have to live in it. It’s perfect for an actor because it’s like nothing else, you merge with it and everything tells you what to do,” he says. Defoe.

The premiere of “Creatures” in cinemas in our country is expected in January.