WILMINGTON | A faceless, eyeless horror.
While nightmarish, this simple description leaves much to the imagination. But for Corey Castellano and his team of makeup artists on Fox’s locally-filmed “Sleepy Hollow,” it gives just enough to inspire a little ghoulish makeup magic.
The creature behind that description is a Native American take on the Sandman, who stalked the dreams of the town’s residents in the season one episode “For the Triumph of Evil.” Originally, writers envisioned a more traditional Native American demon, with a brute skull, skeleton body and wings. The look would’ve needed visual effects, something outside Castellano’s line of work.
“(That vision) wasn’t really practical with makeup, which is an additive process,” Castellano said, standing among his terrifying creations on the show’s set in Wilmington. “You can’t take away. You can only make the illusion.”
Based out of Los Angeles, Castellano has been with the show since its inception last year and acts as the head of the makeup department. The magician with prosthetics has adopted a routine when it comes to delivering on the show’s creature reputation.
When he first gets a script, he reads over the initial descriptions of the episode’s makeup needs, ranging from simple one-piece prosthetics to full-blown creature suits. From there, he drafts rough sketches and renderings, before delivering them to producers and writers for feedback.
Everyone with the right pay grade gets a say in the designs, giving Castellano’s team the necessary notes to finally start crafting.
One “internal bottleneck” Castellano takes into account is if an actor or stunt person will be donning the suit for filming, meaning life casts must be made and fittings must be done.
“The turnarounds for body suits are always brutal no matter what,” Castellano said.
Making the process smoother is the show’s recurring cast of stuntmen and actors, whose body measurements have filled out more than a few monster suits. Marti Matulis played the Sandman, as well as season two’s Horseman of War. Derek Mears, best known as “Friday the 13th’s” Jason, has worn the makeup of both the Golem and Moloch.
Each episode and monster can pose a fun but occasionally cumbersome challenge for the makeup department.
Season one’s scarecrow, played by Martulis, was initially described as a normal scarecrow until writers liked the idea of an “organic, root-based” figure. Castellano delivered. The final product sprung from the very roots in the ground, a full-body suit made of twisted root and dark sockets for eyes. An upcoming episode features a succubus, which was pitched with simplistic description that her mouth “opens impossibly wide.” A preview of the final version — with elevated horns and a piercing stare — is not for the faint of heart.
But as he looks around at the horde of monsters (some in pieces, other in full imposing form) that litter the counters and racks of his makeup trailer, Castellano said the most gratifying part of the job doesn’t simply come from injecting life into these monstrous guest stars.
“It’s that whole transformation element,” Castellano said. “What’s really cool is when the actors get into it. That whole collaborative aspect is really gratifying for us. When the cast has fun with this stuff.”
Fitting an actor with a nose or beard and allowing them to live in it and make it their own is what Castellano looks forward to. He specifically mentioned series star John Noble, who at the end of season one received the long nails and makeup of a man who had spent 200 years in a box.
“He was really enjoying the makeup and helping find the character,” Castellano said.
But Castellano never takes sole credit for even the smallest of achievements.
As he puts it, “It takes a village to make a monster.”
Hunter Ingram is a reporter with the Jacksonville Daily News. He can be reached at Localdesk@JDNews.com.