Nicolas Cage spent three hours a day transforming into Dracula complete with 3D printed veneers for RENFIELD

Nicolas Cage is about to conquer the screen with one of the greatest characters I’ve ever played, and that says a lot! Cage became Dracula for the movie Renfieldand the daily transformation meant three hours in the makeup chair, complete with 3D printed pointy teeth that were straight out of the director Chris McCaydreams.

The make-up artist of the film, Christien Tinsley (Christ’s passion, Emancipation), explained to Variety that with tooth design, it was important to consider how Dracula’s teeth would pop out of his gums, as well as make quick adjustments once Cage was on set, meaning he wouldn’t have much time to prepare the prosthesis and the casting of the teeth. using traditional prosthetic methods. The final solution was to use 3D printing.

Tinsley said:

“This was the first movie I know of where we used 3D printing to make all the prosthetics. We jumped into 3D printing. We would scan Nic’s teeth and digitally sculpt them.”

Using digital acrylic resin that was then printed, Tinsley says advances in 3D printing technology “have allowed us more freedom to create different designs very quickly.” He could also produce dozens at a time in minutes. “This allowed us to make them as thin as possible because if they broke, we could have another set ready to go,” she says.

Once he’s had his “teeth,” Tinsley says:

“We shaved Nic’s teeth and prosthetics were fitted so as not to hinder Nic’s speech and allow full freedom. Nic wanted to emote and announce correctly, so it was important that the facets be subtle.

McKay’s Renfield decode Dracula’s appearance, starting with a worn and depressed look that transforms into a “beautiful” Dracula. The film follows the character through four different stages of transformation.

Tinsley said of Dracula’s appearance:

“Nic had a great face and we wanted to embody something unique, so we went with the lighter skin which had a blue tint to it.”

It was also important for Dracula to have a theatrical atmosphere. To achieve this, Tinsley gouged out Cage’s eyes and shaded his lips. Tinsley dubbed the film’s introduction to Dracula, which shows him covered in sores and deformities, as “Picasso”. Referring to early Renaissance wax sculptures, Tinsley says:

“Artists would go in and sculpt the anatomy of cadavers and people with disease in wax, and that’s how we got to this weird, weird, bizarre first stage.”

That first process took up to three and a half hours to apply. “It was a full head of prosthetics, dentures, full body, torso, arms, hands and nails,” explains Tinsley. “Those take time.” As Dracula begins to heal, there is progression, but still some open wounds. The next stage took about two and a half hours to complete. The more Dracula is fed human blood, the more he heals. In the end, her “normal” makeup took 45 minutes to apply.

Tinsley finally added:

“There’s a blue tinge to him. It is very iridescent. If you see him in person, he almost looks like a metallic robot. I added a lot of teal iridescence to the makeup. In person, it would shimmer and glow, and in front of the camera, it allows for a healthy glow to the skin, so it doesn’t look like a corpse.

There’s something wild and regal about the way Cage looks like Dracula, and it’s even more beautiful to look at him and know what process it went through to make him look that way! Especially with those crazy teeth. Cage is nothing if he isn’t engaged in his trade.

Renfield hits theaters this weekend on April 14th. I’ll be there to watch, right?