I've always wondered about scenes in which actors appear to have their heads shaved, like in Cate Blanchett in Elizabeth or Natalie Portman in V for Vendetta. Is it for real? I mean, won't it inconvenience the actors for their other roles and public appearances? Surely there must be some kind of wig for this?
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I was also wondering why Elizabeth had her head shaved. Anarchyskat explained that Cate Blanchett probably didn't really have her shaved. But there was a scene where all of her maids were cutting off all of Elizabeth's hair, and then she wore a wig and powdered her face and became Gloriana. But why did she (Elizabeth- no Cate Blanchett) cut off her hair?
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Weren't there hygienic reason for having very little hair and wearing wigs? It was easier to kill off nits from a wig than from actual hair. I vaguely remember something about that from a show that used to be on History International about the world's worst jobs (assuming that the world was limited to Britain).
shareThe real reason (apart from the movie)probably had more to do with the aftermath of smallpox. It wasn't uncommon for a very ill woman to have her hair cut off. Or she might have lost some of it to the scarring of the disease.
shareI dont think Cate shaved her head foe the movie. It is common for them not to, as they must consider growing their hair back fro other film roles.
However, Natalie Portman did shave her head for v For Vendetta. Quoted in an interview, she said it was a personal thing for her and while they shaved her head in the film, she was actually laughing!
Other actresses such as Cameron Diaz in My Sister Keeper also was seen shaving in the film, but with all the fancy tech nowadays, she does not need to actually shave:)
I thought shaving her head was rather nun-like. She was de-sexing herself- "becoming a virgin", as she put it, and "marrying" England, much the way nuns "marry" Christ.
Marcia
"Oh Mr. Van Damm, you are Jewish." Judi Dench as Laura Henderson in Mrs Henderson Presents.
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Problem solved:
http://img703.imageshack.us/i/celebrityveryshorthairc.jpg/
I believe that was from the film Heaven.
shareInteresting that murphy_fan posts a pic and yet the doubt continues.
She Shaved Her Head!
http://img703.imageshack.us/i/celebrityveryshorthairc.jpg/
I think this makes a lot of sense.
Monks shave and keep their heads shaved to become enlightened.
Just found the clip.
https://youtu.be/8xN_89uynqw
One thing I hate about this film is the highly sexualised version of Elizabeth when in reality there is no such history.
I don't think Cate really shaved her head. But Natalie Portman did for V for Vendetta. And Demi Moore did for G.I. Jane.
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I remember an interview a long time ago on Jay Leno where she said they had to shave her hairline in the front like an inch for the film which is why her forehead looks so big. I think if she shaved her whole head she would have said so in the interview instead of just pointing out that one detail.
shareThank you. Other posters here assuming she shaved her entire hair for the film when in fact it was simply her hairline as women of that time did that as it was fashionable to do so.
shareIn days gone by, when medicine barely existed and there wasn't anything to be done about life-threatening illnesses, people would do peculiar superstitious things to the sick rather than just doing nothing. Putting a knife under the bed "to cut the pain in half", bleeding, and yes, cutting all a person's hair off. Cutting the hair was thought to relieve fevers.
At least people thought so during the 18th and 19th century, I don't know if they did in Elizabeth's time. But if the ladies cut the queen's hair off when she was sick, that was probably why.
11 years ago, so you'll likely never read this, but for posterity...
I seem to recall an interview in a magazine where Blanchett said that she had shaved her head and rather liked it.
As far as wigs go, they have "bald caps" which will hide hair to some extent. I've never used them personally, but I imagine that they would require a minimal amount of hair to be effective.
There is always composite shots, CGI, and so forth, but for my money, I'd bet that she shaved her head. Portman did, too, I believe.
For publicity and appearance's sake, I think that "I shaved my head for a role" is publicity and clout enough, and if not, there are wigs. Getting back to a level of head fuzz that is the equivalent of a pixie cut likely wouldn't take long, either. They also might just enjoy being anonymous and going out to the grocery store or coffee shop without being hounded for once. I can't image they would be recognisable without their hair.