Outline:
The Transformation of Timothée Chalamet in "Marty Supreme"
Timothée Chalamet’s portrayal of Marty in the film "Marty Supreme" was a bold departure from his usual on-screen image. The character was designed to represent a young man from the streets of New York, embodying the raw and unfiltered essence of the city’s Lower East Side. Director Josh Safdie aimed for a level of authenticity that extended beyond just visual elements; he wanted the characters to feel real in every aspect of their appearance and demeanor.
Prosthetic makeup designer Mike Fontaine played a crucial role in achieving this goal. Fontaine, who has been nominated at the Makeup and Hair Stylists Guild Awards and is shortlisted for best makeup at the Oscars, worked closely with Safdie and makeup artist Kyra Panchenko to ensure that Chalamet fit seamlessly into the gritty world of the film. According to Fontaine, it wouldn’t make sense to place Chalamet in the role without making him look like someone who had lived a rough life.
Crafting the Look of Marty
The story follows Chalamet as Marty, an ambitious young man from New York’s Lower East Side, who believes that table tennis is his path to success. Set in 1952, Marty works at his family’s shoe store, where he manipulates customers by claiming sizes are out of stock to sell them more expensive pairs. On the side, he’s always seeking the next opportunity to get rich quickly.
Fontaine explained that Safdie wanted Marty to have a realistic appearance, including acne scars and keloid scars, suggesting a history of fights. Marty’s face prominently features a scar on his cheekbone and additional scarring under his chin, which gives the impression of a tough life. In one scene, Marty jumps out of a window and climbs down a fire escape to avoid the police, indicating that this isn’t the first time he’s done something similar.
Balancing Realism and Visibility
During production, the team faced the challenge of determining how far to take the look. They conducted extensive screen tests with Darius Khondji, who filmed those tests with Chalamet on a stage. After reviewing the footage with Chalamet and Safdie, Fontaine realized that the makeup was too extreme and decided to re-sculpt and remake everything. The goal was to ensure that the makeup didn’t distract the audience but rather felt invisible.
Fontaine and his team would spend an hour getting Chalamet ready, working on both hair and makeup simultaneously in his trailer. Kyra would start on the brow, while Jimmy Goode handled the hair styling. In total, Chalamet wore five prosthetics, including large pieces that covered his cheeks to give the acne-pockmarked skin texture. He also had a piece on his cheekbone to create a deep scar on one side, two smaller pieces for scars under his lip, and a long scar under his chin.
Attention to Detail in Every Scene
Since Khondji was shooting close-ups with long lenses, Chalamet’s face was front and center, requiring intricate attention to detail. Fontaine had to "drench him in fake sweat" during the intense table tennis matches that Marty plays throughout the movie. This added another layer of realism to the character’s appearance.
Safdie wanted another level of authenticity when it came to distorting Chalamet’s vision. Instead of using prop glasses, Safdie opted for a combination of contact lenses and prescription glasses. Fontaine explained that they put contact lenses in Chalamet’s eyes that made his vision blurry and then gave him very heavy prescription glasses on top of it, creating the illusion that his eyes were really beady and small.
A Unique Challenge for the Actor
Safdie previously mentioned that they planned to put +10 contact lenses in Chalamet’s eyes and -10 prescription lenses in front of them, so that when his glasses fell off, he couldn’t see anything. When Chalamet tried on the combination, he called Safdie and said, “I’ve got the +10s in right now, and I’m pretty dizzy.” According to Safdie, Chalamet described the experience as feeling like he was in a fishbowl. Still, Chalamet was determined. "I’ll do anything you ask me to do," Safdie recalls the actor telling him.
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