Kazu Hiro
American special make-up effects artist and visual artist
For other people named Kazuhiro, see
Kazuhiro .
Kazu Hiro
Born Kazuhiro Tsuji
(1969-05-26 ) May 26, 1969 (age 55) Nationality American (naturalized 2019) Occupation(s) Portrait sculptor, special make-up effects artist Years active 1988–present
Kazu Hiro (born Kazuhiro Tsuji , Japanese : 辻 一弘 Tsuji Kazuhiro ; born May 26, 1969) is a Japanese-born American special make-up effects artist and visual artist .[1] He won the Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling for the biographical films Darkest Hour (2017) and Bombshell (2019) after earning nominations for the comedies Click (2006) and Norbit (2007).[2] [3] [4]
Life and career
Kazu Hiro grew up in Kyoto , where he spent much of his time alone engaging in art projects.[1] Kazu Hiro came across an issue of Fangoria which featured Dick Smith and his work turning Hal Holbrook into Abraham Lincoln for the 1976 miniseries Lincoln .[1] This led to Kazu Hiro's own experiments with special make-up effects, photos of which he began sending to Dick Smith after discovering his P.O. box in the back of a magazine.[1] The two would eventually meet in person when Smith traveled to Japan to work on Kiyoshi Kurosawa 's Sweet Home .[5] Smith invited Kazu Hiro to work on the film with him and this began his film career.[5]
While working on Sweet Home , Kazu Hiro met fellow artist Eddie Yang, who was visiting from the United States. In 1996, Kazu Hiro moved to Los Angeles to work with Yang and Smith's protege, Rick Baker , on his first U.S. work, Men in Black .[1] Continuing his work with Baker, Kazu Hiro worked on many projects including How the Grinch Stole Christmas , for which he won a BAFTA .[1]
Kazu Hiro crafted the silicone model of Brad Pitt 's head used to artificially age him via CGI for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button in 2008.[1] In 2012, Kazu Hiro created the prosthetics which turned Joseph Gordon-Levitt into a young Bruce Willis for Looper .[6]
After his work on Looper , Kazu Hiro retired from the film industry[1] and focused on sculpture,[7] crafting giant busts of people such as Frida Kahlo , Salvador Dalí , and Abraham Lincoln , as well as Smith.[1]
For the 2017 film Darkest Hour , Gary Oldman talked Kazu Hiro out of retirement to create the Winston Churchill prosthetics.[1] Oldman had been considered for the role of General Thade in Tim Burton 's Planet of the Apes (the role went to his Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead co-star, Tim Roth )[1] and Kazu Hiro's work at that time had impressed Oldman enough that for him, Kazu Hiro was the only man to turn him into Churchill. For this work, Kazu Hiro won the 2018 Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling .[8]
He won the award again in 2020 for his work in the 2019 film Bombshell , where he made prosthetics for Charlize Theron as news anchor Megyn Kelly .[9]
Personal life
In March 2019, Tsuji became an American citizen and officially changed his name to Kazu Hiro.[10] [11] At the 2020 Academy Awards, Kazu Hiro said he became an American citizen because he "got tired" of Japanese culture , which he found "too submissive" and a place where it is "hard to make a dream come true".[12]
Filmography
Awards and nominations
References
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Jones, Nate (December 1, 2017). "How Gary Oldman Lured a Makeup Magician Back for One More Job" . Vulture.com . Retrieved December 6, 2017 .
^ "Click - Academy Awards" . Box Office Mojo . Retrieved December 6, 2017 .
^ Ryder, Caroline (February 12, 2008). " 'Norbit' Achievement in Makeup Oscar nominee" . Variety . Retrieved December 6, 2017 .
^ "Darkest Hour" . Oscar.go.com . Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . Retrieved April 24, 2018 .
^ a b c "The amazing story of Hollywood Make-up artist Kazuhiro Tsuji" . Spoon & Tamago . June 14, 2013. Retrieved December 6, 2017 .
^ a b Whipp, Glenn (August 31, 2012). " 'Looper': Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Rian Johnson are a tight team" . Los Angeles Times . Retrieved December 6, 2017 .
^ a b c Fulton, Wil (January 20, 2015). "These Massive Sculptures Of Lincoln, Warhol And Dali Are Hyper-Realistic" . Thrillist . Retrieved December 6, 2017 .
^ Keegan, Rebecca (September 5, 2017). "How Gary Oldman Was Finally Convinced to Play Winston Churchill" . Vanity Fair . Retrieved December 6, 2017 .
^ Minutaglio, Rose (January 16, 2020). "Charlize Theron's Unrecognizable Bombshell Transformation Is All Thanks to Prosthetist Kazu Hiro" . Elle . Retrieved February 6, 2020 .
^ "A research collaboration with artist Kazu Hiro: Using art and science to find the unique, expressive beauty that matures inside every person with passing years" (Press release). Kao Corporation. May 14, 2019. Retrieved February 6, 2020 .
^ Saruwatari, Yuki (January 14, 2020). カズ・ヒロ氏、またもやオスカー候補入り。国籍と名前を変えた心境を聞く . Yahoo! News (in Japanese). Retrieved February 6, 2020 .
^ "Oscar Winners for 'Bombshell' Full Press Room Speech" . The Hollywood Reporter . February 9, 2020. Retrieved May 25, 2020 .
^ "The 79th Academy Awards (2007) Nominees and Winners" . Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . AMPAS. Archived from the original on October 14, 2014. Retrieved November 18, 2011 .
^ "The 80th Academy Awards (2008) Nominees and Winners" . Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved December 22, 2015 .
^ "The 90th Academy Awards (2018) Nominees and Winners" . Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Retrieved May 5, 2020 .
^ "The 92nd Academy Awards (2020) Nominees and Winners" . Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Archived from the original on February 25, 2019. Retrieved July 13, 2020 .
^ "96TH OSCARS® NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED" . press.oscars.org . Retrieved January 31, 2024 .
^ Jazz Tangcay (January 17, 2024). "Billie Eilish, Finneas, Ludwig Goransson, Rodrigo Prieto and More to Be Feted With Variety Artisans Awards at Santa Barbara Film Festival" . Variety . Retrieved January 19, 2024 .
External links
1981–2000
1981: Rick Baker
1982: Sarah Monzani and Michèle Burke
1983: None given this year
1984: Paul LeBlanc and Dick Smith
1985: Michael Westmore and Zoltan Elek
1986: Chris Walas and Stephan Dupuis
1987: Rick Baker
1988: Ve Neill , Steve La Porte , and Robert Short
1989: Manlio Rocchetti , Lynn Barber , and Kevin Haney
1990: Doug Drexler and John Caglione Jr.
1991: Jeff Dawn and Stan Winston
1992: Michèle Burke , Greg Cannom , and Matthew W. Mungle
1993: Greg Cannom , Ve Neill , and Yolanda Toussieng
1994: Rick Baker , Ve Neill , and Yolanda Toussieng
1995: Lois Burwell , Peter Frampton , and Paul Pattison
1996: Rick Baker and David LeRoy Anderson
1997: Rick Baker and David LeRoy Anderson
1998: Jenny Shircore
1999: Christine Blundell and Trefor Proud
2000: Rick Baker and Gail Ryan
2001–2020
2001: Peter Owen and Richard Taylor
2002: Beatrice De Alba and John E. Jackson
2003: Peter King and Richard Taylor
2004: Bill Corso and Valli O'Reilly
2005: Howard Berger and Tami Lane
2006: David Martí and Montse Ribé
2007: Jan Archibald and Didier Lavergne
2008: Greg Cannom
2009: Barney Burman , Mindy Hall , and Joel Harlow
2010: Rick Baker and Dave Elsey
2011: Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland
2012: Julie Dartnell and Lisa Westcott
2013: Adruitha Lee and Robin Mathews
2014: Frances Hannon and Mark Coulier
2015: Damian Martin , Lesley Vanderwalt , and Elka Wardega
2016: Alessandro Bertolazzi , Giorgio Gregorini , and Christopher Nelson
2017: David Malinowski , Lucy Sibbick , and Kazuhiro Tsuji
2018: Greg Cannom , Kate Biscoe , and Patricia Dehaney
2019: Kazu Hiro , Anne Morgan , and Vivian Baker
2020: Sergio López-Rivera , Mia Neal , and Jamika Wilson
2021–present
Academy Award for Best Makeup before 2012
1982–2000
Sarah Monzani , Christopher Tucker and Michèle Burke (1982)
Dorothy J. Pearl, George Masters, C. Romania Ford and Allen Weisinger (1983)
Paul Engelen , Peter Frampton , Rick Baker and Joan Hills (1984)
Paul LeBlanc and Dick Smith (1985)
Tameyuki Aimi, Shohichiro Meda, Chihako Naito and Noriko Takamizawa (1986)
Hasso von Hugo (1987)
Fabrizio Sforza (1988)
Maggie Weston , Fabrizio Sforza and Pam Meager (1989)
John Caglione Jr. and Doug Drexler (1990)
Jean-Pierre Eychenne and Michèle Burke (1991)
Peter Robb-King (1992)
Morag Ross (1993)
Cassie Hanlon, Angela Conte and Strykermeyer (1994)
Lisa Westcott (1995)
Rick Baker and David LeRoy Anderson (1996)
Sallie Jaye and Jan Archibald (1997)
Jenny Shircore (1998)
Christine Blundell (1999)
Rick Baker , Toni G, Sylvia Nava, Gail Ryan and Kazuhiro Tsuji (2000)
2001–present
Peter Swords King , Peter Owen and Richard Taylor (2001)
Judy Chin , Beatrice De Alba , John E. Jackson and Regina Reyes (2002)
Ve Neill and Martin Samuel (2003)
Kathryn Blondell, Siân Grigg and Morag Ross (2004)
Howard Berger , Nikki Gooley and Greg Nicotero (2005)
José Quetglás and Blanca Sánchez (2006)
Jan Archibald and Didier Lavergne (2007)
Jean Ann Black and Colleen Callaghan (2008)
Jenny Shircore (2009)
Valli O'Reilly and Paul Gooch (2010)
Marese Langan , J. Roy Helland and Mark Coulier (2011)
Lisa Westcott (2012)
Evelyne Noraz, Lori McCoy-Bell and Kathrine Gordon (2013)
Frances Hannon and Mark Coulier (2014)
Damian Martin and Lesley Vanderwalt (2015)
J. Roy Helland and Daniel Phillips (2016)
David Malinowski , Ivana Primorac , Lucy Sibbick and Kazuhiro Tsuji (2017)
Nadia Stacey (2018)
Vivian Baker , Kazu Hiro and Anne Morgan (2019)
Matiki Anoff, Larry M. Cherry, Sergio López-Rivera and Mia Neal (2020)
Linda Dowds , Stephanie Ingram and Justin Raleigh (2021)
Jason Baird , Mark Coulier , Louise Coulston and Shane Thomas (2022)
Mark Coulier , Nadia Stacey and Josh Weston (2023)
International National Academics