kazu hiro

Oscar-nominated makeup genius Kazu Hiro comes full circle with Maestro, transforming Bradley Cooper to Leonard Bernstein

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“Kazu Hiro makeup artist, known for his Oscar-nominated work, completes a full circle by transforming Bradley Cooper into Leonard Bernstein in the film ‘Maestro.’

kazu hiro

“Kazu Hiro discusses working with Bradley Cooper on Maestro and shares the emotional connection he had with the subject matter.”

” Kazu Hiro was a teenager in the 1980s, he began playing with makeup. One face that stood out to him was the legendary conductor Leonard Bernstein. Now, after four decades, the two-time Oscar winner has worked on Maestro, where he turned Bradley Cooper into the famous musician. And he’s aiming for another Academy Award.”

“kazu Hiro said that Leonard Bernstein inspired him a lot when he was young. He needed photos for his makeup work, but back then, there was no internet. So, he went to bookstores to find them. Bernstein’s face was a common sight in books and magazines. In the 1980s, Bernstein was busy with concerts, teaching, and composing. Hiro also saw him in a documentary on Japanese TV.”

“Getting Inspired by Leonard Bernstein”

“I felt really motivated by what he was saying,” kazu Hiro shared. “I thought, you know, ‘Someday, I want to work on a film about Leonard Bernstein.'” Then in 2020, he received a call from Cooper, who directed, co-wrote, and stars in Maestro, a film that explores Bernstein’s life, particularly focusing on his marriage to actress Felicia Montealegre (Carey Mulligan). “It’s truly a passion project,” Hiro expressed. “Bradley and I have a deep love for Leonard Bernstein.”

“Kazu Hiro initially learned his skills in Japan, figuring out how to alter facial features through trial and error. He later moved to the United States in the 1990s and eventually became a highly sought-after makeup artist in Hollywood. Hiro has contributed to numerous films alongside A-list actors, such as How the Grinch Stole Christmas, where he transformed Jim Carrey into the iconic Dr. Seuss character, and Nutty Professor II: The Klumps with Eddie Murphy.”

kazu hiro
“After receiving two Oscar nominations for his work in films like Norbit with Eddie Murphy and Click with Adam Sandler, Hiro took a break and retired in 2012, intending to focus on sculpture in the next phase of his career. However, Hollywood beckoned him back, and he returned to transform Gary Oldman into Winston Churchill for Darkest Hour (2017), winning his first Oscar. Two years later, he secured another Academy Award for Bombshell, where Charlize Theron portrayed television journalist Megyn Kelly.”
kazu hiro
“It was an easy decision to work with Bradley Cooper because I felt a personal connection to the story.”

A Perfectionist

“When Cooper and Hiro first met in 2020, they discussed how to show Bernstein’s life over nearly 50 years in the film. Hiro planned the makeup in five stages, making Cooper, who is 49 years old, look younger at the start and age progressively throughout the movie.”

“Getting ready for the movie took longer than planned because of COVID-19 and how complex it was. Making Cooper look like a young Bernstein took two and a half hours. The next stage took three hours, and the final stage took about five hours because Cooper had to be covered from head to toe,” Hiro explained.

“Both of us are perfectionists,” Hiro said. “Cooper really brought Leonard Bernstein to life.”

“But creating this artistic accomplishment came with its own difficulties. When Netflix shared the movie trailer last year, there was strong criticism about Cooper’s use of a big prosthetic nose. Some people argued that the portrayal of the Jewish maestro seemed to reinforce anti-Semitic stereotypes.”

“Bernstein’s children Jamie, Alexander, and Nina supported the movie, saying they were okay with the decision. They also mentioned, ‘It’s true that Leonard Bernstein had a nice, big nose.”

“It was a tough time,” Hiro admitted. “I was really puzzled,” he said. “It took me some time to understand it.” We deeply respected Leonard Bernstein. And that’s how his nose was,” he explained. Despite the online uproar, many who knew Bernstein told Hiro that his careful work had paid off: Cooper resembled him perfectly.”

“That shows we achieved our goal,” he said. This is backed up by Hiro’s fifth Oscar nomination. He and his team are the frontrunners to win the award for their work in makeup and hairstyling at the Oscars ceremony on March 10, competing against teams from other films like Poor Things, Oppenheimer, The Society of the Snow, and Golda.”

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