Behind the Mask

Ever since Metropolis performer Brigitte Helm climbed into her art deco robotic armor in 1927, creature suits have been an important, if often overlooked part of the Hollywood filmmaking process. Whether it’s an ape, alien or android, there’s usually a trained performer inside it bringing that suit to life.

Behind the Mask: The Secrets of Hollywood’s Leading Creature Suit Performers is an eye-opening look at the men and women inside the suits, from the early apes of Tarzan to the recent Oscar-winning film The Substance. Along the way, it covers countless creature suit-related projects, including 2001, Star Wars, Hellboy, Pan’s Labyrinth, Game of Thrones, Nightbreed and Stranger Things, as well as the Alien and Predator films. There’s also a look at how modern technology, such as computer-generated imagery and motion-capture is changing the industry in a big way.

In the 1920s, there was a popular saying: ‘Don’t step on it, it might be Lon Chaney!’ referring of course, to Hollywood’s legendary ‘man of a thousand faces.’ And after reading this book, you will never look at movie monsters the same way again!

Entertainment journalist Joe Nazzaro has been covering film and television makeup/creature FX for nearly four decades. In addition to a 20-year stint on Makeup Artist, he helped launch Prosthetics Magazine in 2015. He’s written countless magazine articles on the subject, as well as numerous makeup-related books, including From Star Wars to Superman: Conversations with Makeup Legend Stuart Freeborn (also published by BearManor) and Dick Smith: The Godfather of Makeup.