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I call Claire Sex Ed Mama! This is our mother Telly. And she calls us her Telly Babies. She helped bring the actors together and create this family circle environment on sex education,” says Ncuti Gatwa, nominated in a male functionality category at this year’s BAFTA for his role as Eric Effiong.
“Makeup is the first user that actors are on set every day: they see you in your state of maximum vulnerability. Then they paint the character, they are an integral component of this transformation. It’s such an intimate art form that she expands a very close date with her makeup artist.”
And Ncuti’s transformation into sex education is the key to his character’s development. During the first series, Eric goes from being a shy, intimidated and insecure teenager to a proud and confident homosexual boy in the first series, emerging at his prom with a fabulous look in an animated attire through a bright green eyeshadow.
“When I start a job,” says Claire Williams, who designed the look for Eric, “I create collage temperament graphics for each character. Then, once they are approved through production, you take those paintings and share them with the cast members, whom you don’t know, and you have to sell them.
“Ncuti was so open to all my advice and actually sought to take Eric’s as far as possible. He didn’t seem nervous about anything and was happy to move anywhere he needed to go by and get the character.”
Gatwa may not have seemed nervous, but the prospect of creating such an ambitious look was daunting. “I had never put on makeup more than on the level — a little anti-gloss. I don’t forget to go to Harvey Nichols and buy fenty’s total diversity – that’s the logo I was given to use on set because it’s Rihanna and I like black-owned businesses.
Then I went home, watched a lot of YouTube tutorials and tried to get informed about how to do it myself, because that’s a great component of Eric’s journey.
“I wasn’t nervous when I walked into the store, but Claire definitely pulled me out of my area of convenience. There was a scene where I wore a wig, full makeup and stilettos and thought, “My God, my family All my tottenham companions! No one had ever noticed me like this before … “It was a challenge, but it helped me be braver as an actor. I had to succeed over many of my own insecurities and considerations about how others would judge me. And I felt amazing. I’ve never felt so brave in my own life, so it was great to delight me through it. “
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