We all wear masks in order to deal with each other. Unlike others, Christopher Tucker's professional responsibility is to create physical masks for the extraordinary characters which our theatre/film industry places before us, sometimes in images that take up the entire screen. Many of those characters have become a part of our cultural heritage. As a world-renown make-up artist, Tucker was called upon by director David Lynch to design and produce the unprecedented complexity required for the make-up of John Hurt in "Elephant Man."
The head had fifteen different sections, some overlapping, yet, nothing of its kind had ever been made before – certainly, not out of foam and silicone rubber. The make-up took seven hours to apply, and Tucker was the perfect man for the job. Born in Hereford, England, he attended Elizabeth College in Guernsey before enrolling at the London Guildhall School of Drama and Music, during which time he worked professionally as an opera singer. Soon, however, he realized that his passion was in the art of applying make-up in such a way as to engender the required illusion. The first film production he worked on as a make-up artist was none other than "Julius Caesar," with Charlton Heston and Sir John Gielgud. He became a specialist in the technique of simulating the aging process and was responsible for the make-up of an aging Roman emperor in the award-winning series, "I Claudius," a BBC production. He has, as well, worked in other art forms. In the world of opera, he created the head and body parts of the main character for Philip Glass' "Akhnaten."
The Royal Shakespeare Theatre utilized Tucker's talents to create the hump for Richard III as well as the faces and noses of Cyrano de Bergerac in the productions by Sir Derek Jacobi. Another crowning achievement in Tucker's career was to design the make-up for Michael Crawford's character in "The Phantom of the Opera," an image viewed in every corner of the world, and one of the most successful productions in the storied portfolio of Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber. The make-up design for this one took several months to complete. The uniqueness of his abilities has made Tucker a valuable commodity in the world of art and entertainment, with several actors actually demanding that their make-up be designed and applied under the watchful eye of Chris Tucker, among them Gregory Peck, one of the finest American actors of any generation.
Otheractors handled by Tucker include David Niven, Christopher Reeves, Dame Maggie Smith, Lord Lawrence Olivier, Darryl Hannah, Robert Duvall, David Hemmings, Sir Michael Caine, Lilli Palmer, Jane Suzman, Pierce Brosnan and Lee Remick. The directors with whom he has worked present no less formidable a list, including Ridley Scott, Franklin Schaffner, Stanley Donen, Jean-Jacques Annaud, Tony Scott, Sergio Leone, Warren Beatty, Paul Verhoeven, Neil Jordan and Fred Zimmerman. The reason he’s had such success is that his skills as a make-up artist have allowed him to push the boundaries of image creation beyond traditional limits, working in the world of realism, fantasy, look-alike creation, animatronics make-up and effects, as well as in prosthetics for the film, television, and stage production industries in England and elsewhere. He has pioneered many techniques in the use of such materials as foam latex, silicones and gelatins. He even created the first moving eye for a television commercial and has made it possible for an American actor to transform into a werewolf in one take, without the use of today's ubiquitous computer effects. His interests in science, chemistry, engineering, sculpting and photography, as well as his fluency in the software of computer-generated imagery have allowed him to change the world of make-up design and application. And the accolades have followed, along with his artistic and commercial successes.
He is the first award-winner of the BAFTA make-up prize for his work on "Quest for Fire." His early men in that film also won the Oscar in the make-up category. For that same work, he also received the Fantasy of USA award. As well, he’s won the Sitges Festival Award for his work on Neil Jordan's "In the Company of Wolves," and his make-up for "The Elephant Man" served as catalyst for the American Film Academy's creation of the make-up category in the Oscar awards ceremony – all of which can be summed up as an amazing impact on the field of artistic make-up. In addition to the earned accolades, he’s taught make-up artistry to countless students and has served as chairman of the jury for various film festivals and award ceremonies in addition to serving as creative director on many a movie set. Even more incredibly, the genius of Tucker's inspirations and his applications has brought the fruits of his labor to fields outside the world of art and entertainment. He’s lectured to medical professionals, dentists, plastic surgeons, and maxilo-facial technicians, along with appropriate contributions to text books and documentaries. His knowledge and his creativity have allowed him to go beyond the traditional world of make-up artistry. A wonderful aspect of the life and career of Christopher Tucker is that his unique combination of talent and vision makes it impossible to predict what other credits will appear on his resume.
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