The Making of…

Chapter Two

Teeth Makeup?

“Are you alright?” The man asked after helping me to my feet.

“Um… Yeah, I’m fine, I just tripped.” I stumbled over my words, blushing at my own stupidity. What a great way to meet someone, almost fall flat on you face in front of them.

“Hey Viggo.” I heard Orlando say behind me, “This is Kira.”

“Hi.” Viggo smiled, holding out his hand, which I shook, “Nice to meet you.”

“You too,” I replied nervously, “And, erm, thanks for catching me back there.”

“No problem!” He laughed, “We can’t have you breaking your nose on your first day on set!”

“Yeah…” I smiled, looking him up and down, taking in his ruggedly handsome appearance. “Your costume is fantastic.”

“Thanks, wait until you see yours!” Viggo grinned.

“Has anyone taken you to meet the guys in makeup yet?” Orlando asked, I shook my head.

“No, I only really just arrived.” I replied.

“You should probably meet them; they’ll want to do a makeup test, and your wardrobe fitting.”

“Ok, are they in the trailers in the car park?” I asked.

“Yeah, I’ll take you down; I need to get my wig off anyway!” Orlando laughed, “You coming Viggo?”

“Sure.” Viggo smiled as we began to make our way back through the set towards the car park. We reached a trailer that had ‘Aragorn, Legolas, Boromir, Rana & Arwen Makeup’ on the door. Orlando pushed the door open.

“Hey guys!” He called out as we entered. I saw two men and a woman with curly blonde hair at one side of the large trailer sitting drinking coffee.

“Hey Orlando, filming all finished for the day?” One of the men asked.

“Well Viggo and I are done; I think Peter is doing a few more Hobbit scenes, I don’t know where Sean and Liv are.” Orlando replied as he sat down in front of a mirror. I looked at the other four seats in the trailer as Viggo made his way to one beside Orlando.

“You’re here beside me Kira.” Viggo smiled, patting the arm of the free chair on his left. I sat down nervously, as a man went over to Orlando and began to prise his wig off, it looked pretty painful.

“Hey Viggo, do you mind staying in costume and everything?” The woman asked as she approached me, “I think Peter wanted some photos of you and Kira in costume.”

“Sure,” He grunted, standing up, “I’m going to find some coffee, do you guys want any?”

“Yeah, that would be great.” I smiled; the jetlag was starting to catch up on me.

“Ok, I’ll be back in a minute.” He replied, before exiting the trailer. The woman approached the back of my chair, brandishing a makeup brush.

“Hey, I’m Louise, you can call me Lou, and I’m going to be your makeup artist for the next year or two!” She said in a cheery New Zealand accent.

“Hi.” I smiled as she adjusted the height of my chair and began to pin back layers of my hair around my face. “Erm… Do I have to wear a wig?” I asked timidly and she laughed.

“No, your hair is perfect; it just needs a few extensions here and there!” She explained as she began to apply makeup to my face. I breathed a sigh of relief; the wigs didn’t look particularly comfy…

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as Orlando had his pointed ears removed, he noticed me watching and smiled.

“They’re foam latex.” He explained, “It’s like wearing a really rubbery earmuff!” I laughed as Lou continued to attack my face with her makeup brush and then opened up a box full of what looked like dark brunette hair.

“These are your extensions.” She explained as she saw my startled expression and began to clip them into my hair, making it appear longer and a little more tousled. I looked at my reflection and remembered something that had been bothering me.

“Erm… Isn’t Rana supposed to have green eyes? My eyes are brown…” I murmured.

“Don’t worry; we have contacts here for you!” Lou grinned, handing me a small box. I’d worn contact lenses before, but never coloured ones. I quickly popped them in and blinked and then raised an eyebrow at the emerald green eyes that stared at me from the mirror.

“Right, now open your mouth.” Lou commanded.

“What?” I asked as she brandished a small brush with something dark at the end.

“We need to make your teeth look like you’ve been marching around in the wilderness for months! Now open up!”

I obeyed without much thought, and I heard laughter behind me as Lou began to delicately paint my teeth with a funny-tasting substance.

“Shut up…” I grumbled.

“Don’t worry, Viggo has to get it done too!” Orlando chuckled as the door opened. “Speak of the devil…” He muttered as Viggo walked in and set a polystyrene steaming cup of coffee in front of me.

“Getting the teeth done?” He laughed as he sat down. It was pretty surreal, sitting having my teeth coloured in while two actors I’d just met watched me.

“All done.” Lou murmured, allowing me to close my mouth, I looked in the mirror at my teeth and laughed.

“It looks great!” Orlando grinned as Lou opened up a pot of brown stuff.

“What’s that?” I asked suspiciously.

“It’s your mud.” She replied.

“Oh… Of course.” I mumbled sceptically as she began to dab it onto my cheeks and neck.

Over the course of the next half our, Lou proceeded to cover me in ‘mud’, even digging it under my fingernails (which had to be cut down to stumps to look authentic… Bye bye manicure) before she sent me off to the wardrobe trailer. Viggo and Orlando decided to tag along, but Orlando was now wigless, and I could see that he had short dark hair.

“Hey Ngila.” Orlando called out cheerfully as he opened the door to a massive trailer. “We brought along the tenth member of the Fellowship!”

I looked around the trailer and for a second couldn’t see anything apart from hundreds of rails full of clothes, until a middle aged woman with messy brunette hair popped up.

“Ah yes, Kira!” She said, weaving through the clothes to get to us. “Hi, I’m Ngila Dickson; I have your costumes all ready for you!”

She instantly struck me as the kind of person who was always on the move as she took my arm and shooed at Viggo and Orlando.

“Get out! No boys allowed!” She muttered, pushing them out the door, while still retaining a firm grip on my arm. “And bring back those costumes once you’ve changed!” She added as she shut the door. Ngila then pulled me through the isles of amazing-looking clothes before coming to the end of a rail with a label stuck on the end that read ‘Rana.’

“Here we are.” She mumbled half to herself as she rifled through the hangers, before producing an outfit covered in protective plastic. “You can change over there.” She said, pointing to a curtain on the other size of the trailer. I took the clothes and quickly slipped behind the curtain. I pulled off my jeans and t-shirt, and then took the faded grey tunic off the hanger and slipped it over my head. I figured the material was supposed to look worn. I then pulled on the faded dark green breeches and picked up the dark coat made of a tough, leather-like material, a lot like the one Viggo had been wearing.

“Are you done? I still have your belts and boots out here, and your weapons.” Ngila called.

“Erm, yeah.” I replied, pulling on the coat and stepping out. The costume fitted almost perfectly, due to the fact that I’d given my measurements over the phone. Ngila looked at me and pulled some pins out of her pocket, making the final adjustments to my coat.

“Right, you fasten your coat like this…” She said, showing me how to attach the braided loops. “And you wear this belt over the top…” She pulled an intricately detailed leather belt around my wait, buckled it and tied it in a neat knot. “And these are your boots.” I was handed a pair of dark leather boots and pulled them on with a little difficulty, due to their length. They were comfy and the leather was supple, as if I had been wearing them for years (which was how it was supposed to look). Ngila then set a tall mirror in front of me so I could take in my appearance.

“Wow…” I breathed at my transformation. I looked like I had stepped straight of the pages of The Lord of the Rings!

“Give me a moment and I’ll go find your sword.” Ngila muttered, bustling off and rummaging in a corner of the trailer, before walking back with a sheathed sword. “This is your steel sword.” She said, belting it around my waist. “So be careful, it’s sharp!” She then proceeded to attach the sheath of a small dagger to the back of my belt. “And this is your hunting knife.”

“Ok…” I mumbled, brushing my fingers over the hilt of my sword.

“Right, let’s go find Viggo and Peter.” Ngila said, clapping her hands together, and walking quickly towards the door with me in pursuit.

I was momentarily blinded by the bright sunshine outside as I followed Ngila across the car park.

“Hey.”

I turned to see who was speaking to me and smiled as I saw Viggo behind me.

“Hi.” I murmured shyly.

“Wow, you look great!” He grinned, gesturing to my costume.

“Thanks.” I smiled and blushed, walking with him as we followed Ngila into the forest and back towards the set.

“Pete!” Ngila called as we re-entered ‘Rivendell’, “Viggo and Kira are ready for their photos!”

I saw Peter rise from his directors chair and walk towards us.

“Great, you look fantastic guys! Well done Ngila!” He grinned, “Come on, we’ll take the pictures on the set.”

Viggo and I followed him up some steps to an intricately designed walkway surrounded by trees.

“Right, just stand here…” Peter mumbled, positioning me, “And Viggo you go here.”

“Sure.” He mumbled, standing beside me and leaning against one of the pillars of the walkway.

“You guys look great together!” Peter smiled, snapping a photo with his camera. I smiled nervously at the compliment, and then realised that there was no point in being awkward around Viggo, as I was going to have to kiss him before too long. I shifted to lean against a pillar with my arm above my head as Peter instructed me. Apparently these were the photos that would be released with the final cast list.

“Viggo, give her a hug!” Peter called out after taking another picture. I blushed as Viggo put an arm around my shoulders and hugged me against him. “Yeah, that’s great!” Peter smiled as the camera flashed again. “Right that’s us done for the day, go get changed and I’ll see you at the hotel for dinner tonight!”

Viggo dropped his arm from my shoulders and jumped down from the walkway, holding his hand out to help me down.

“Thanks.” I smiled as my feet reached the earth again.

“No problem, we can’t risk you tripping again!” He teased as I playfully hit his arm.

We chatted on the way back to the trailer and Lou and one of the guys who’d I’d seen earlier were waiting for us.

“Ready to get cleaned up?” Lou asked as I sat down in my chair.

“Yeah.” I yawned.

“Tired?” Viggo asked from his chair. I nodded.

“Jetlag…” I mumbled, popping out my contact lenses and pulling them back in their box as Lou started to wipe the makeup off my face.

“Yeah, it’s still affecting me too.” Viggo smiled, “Don’t worry, it’ll pass.”

I nodded and then winced as Lou began to remove one of my hair extensions and it snagged on my own hair. I noticed that Kevin – Viggo’s makeup artist – wasn’t doing anything to Viggo’s hair; I had presumed it was a wig, but he must have grown it out himself.

After my makeup was removed, I went and changed in the wardrobe trailer. As I walked back into the car park, I realised that I had no idea of how I was supposed to get back to the hotel.

“Need a lift?”

I turned to see Viggo standing behind me holding a set of car keys.

“Erm… If that’s ok?” I stammered.

“It’s no bother; everyone’s staying in the hotel until we can get permanent lodgings sorted!” He smiled, leading me to a large red Jeep. I climbed into the passenger side as Viggo started the engine. “So what room are you in?” He asked, pulling out of the car park.

“642.” I answered. “On the third floor.”

“Yeah, I think most of the cast is on that floor.”

“What time are we meeting for dinner at?” I asked, realising that Peter hadn’t told me.

“We all go downstairs at around seven; I can call for you if you want.”

“That would be great thanks; I have no idea where the dining room is!” I laughed.

We talked for the rest of the car journey, mostly about how we had been cast. Peter had contacted my agent and I’d sent in an audition tape, whereas Viggo had been phoned one day and told that Peter really wanted him to play Aragorn and if he wanted the part, he’s have to get on a plane to New Zealand the next day!

“It was my son, Henry that convinced me to take the part; he’s a huge fan of the Lord of the Rings books.” Viggo smiled.

“You have a son?”

“Yeah, but his mother and I aren’t together anymore.”

“Oh, I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to be rude...” I stammered, inwardly kicking myself.

“Don’t worry about it; we just went our separate ways is all.” He murmured, giving me a comforting smile as he pulled into the hotel car park. He parked and walked me up to my room.

“See you later.” Viggo smiled as I unlocked my door.

“Ok, thanks for the lift!” I said, shutting the door behind me and yawning, I hated jetlag. I looked at my bed and then at my watch. I still had a few hours before dinner…

I kicked off my shoes and pushed my cases off my bed, before crashing down onto the pillow and dropping off the sleep.