In his 28 years in the business, Local 706 member and veteran makeup artist Edouard F. Henriques III has built a reputation for generously giving back to the makeup crafts and helping up-and-coming artists. Henriques’ professional largesse, combined with his rock-solid talent and experience, make him a key addition to any crew he joins. His work spans every genre of film, every technique of makeup application, and includes many memorable films since his first feature, The Deep. Most recently he worked as makeup department head for the DreamWorks sci-fi thriller The Island, directed by Michael Bay.Below the Line: The Island is a futuristic sci-fi thriller; how did you envision the looks for the actors?Ed Henriques: The Island calls for everything, from extremely beautiful women to chiseled-cut tough guys who sweat and bleed in the action. As the story begins we are in what appears to be a space colony or prison. We later leave the confines of this place and journey through the outside world in the future. The director felt the looks in this real world should be very much like today. This creates a horrifying realization that human beings are being cloned in the not so distant future. Our heroes are hunted through harsh deserts to a city of the future. Makeup designs are clean and classic. BTL: Are there prosthetics and/or heavy special effects makeup?Henriques: We are shooting scenes where actors must play both a character and its clone on camera simultaneously. I am using cut appliances, scrapes, and makeup coloration to set up differences in the twins’ looks. While one character is tan and sunburned with cuts and scrapes from several days of eluding capture, his exact duplicate is sickly and pale.BTL: Talk about your team for this film. Who did you assemble to work with you and why?Henriques: My second on this film was Greg Funk. He is a great all-round makeup artist, able to handle any challenge from beauty to special effects. If we need an appliance made on set he is an accomplished lab man as well. Greg is one of Local 706’s most talented young makeup artists. I try to pass on helpful makeup philosophy to him. Heba Thorisdotter is my third team member. She has many years of experience in film and print makeup, and has department-headed on films such as Kill Bill 2. Heba is responsible for our female lead as well as her share of other principals.BTL: You did The Island of Doctor Moreau back in 1977. Was this your first big feature? What films are you most proud of in your long career?Henriques: I was a member of the large makeup crew for The Island of Doctor Moreau, headed by John Chambers and Dan Striepeke, but I had completed my first department-head job a month earlier on The Deep in Bermuda. My years in makeup have been a wonderful series of memorable experiences. The Deep led to 15 years as Nick Nolte’s makeup artist. I also worked for many years with Jeff Bridges on films such as Wild Bill and Fearless. I have had the pleasure of working with many great directors like Peter Weir on Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. The Island is my third experience with Michael Bay. The others were Pearl Harbor and Armageddon.BTL: How has your craft changed over the years? And is there a kit staple that you have used your entire career?Henriques: The goals and techniques of the craft are much the same today as when I first started. The actual process of appliance making goes back as far as the 1930s. Products have changed drastically and continue to make even more realistic and impressive makeups possible. There are continually better molding products and appliance materials being developed and used. Makeup bases are more sheer, and have better coverage giving luminous, beautiful results. However, the makeup artist still needs a good eye and the ability to create the illusions makeup can achieve.Early in my career I was designing a 1940s beauty makeup. My mother told me she spent the war years doing her makeup using only lipstick, an eyebrow pencil and a powder compact. I created that makeup using only those items and to this day, I would not be without them.
Written by April MacIntyre
