Ben Prendergast spent hours in the makeup chair preparing for his role in Wolf Man. Read all about that & why he respects Leigh Whannel so much.
In this interview, go behind the scenes with Ben Prendergast, the man behind the monster in Leigh Whannell’s Wolf Man. Learn about the grueling makeup process, his unexpected friendship with his young co-star, and what drew him to Leigh Whannell’s terrifying vision.
Ben Prendergast Says Leigh Whannell Is “Australia’s Tarantino”
Tessa Smith: What is it that drew you to this project?
Ben Prendergast: That’s the great trick of Leigh Whannell. He wanted to make something that had a little bit of an emotional impact as well. He’s a big fan of film in general and he was trying to do something here. And I think he pulled it off. I love big, hairy, no pun intended, audacious swings. I know Leigh does too. We are of a similar vintage, Leigh and I, we did hang a little bit back like 10-15 years ago before we even met up for this.
We’re both from Melbourne. I’m really proud of him as a filmmaker and loved The Invisible Man, loved Upgrade, loved his whole thing, really. I guess we cut from the same cloth, we really like to be quite pragmatic, but artful in what we do. And it’s a universal monster. When I found out what it was, and that I was close to booking, ostensibly, a wolf man role, I couldn’t believe it.
He’s always been an outside of the box thinker, Leigh. He’s like Australia’s Tarantino. I’ve said this before, but I just feel like he’s got a language all of his own. He’s not perturbed by what everyone thinks he should do next. He’s not perturbed, necessarily, by the keyboard warriors out there. He just gets out there and he tries to do his thing and he has his followers and I’m one of them. I can’t wait to see what he does next.
It Was A 6+ Hour Makeup Process – But Ben Prendergast Would Do It All Over Again
Tessa Smith: How long was the makeup process?
Ben Prendergast: My earliest call time for one of the days was 2:40 in the morning. So I set my alarm for one o’clock or whatever it was. Even when we were doing the test makeup, it was always, I think for my character, there’s just so much that goes into him, so six hours, all told. They’re like, it’s going to get faster, Ben, don’t worry. I was like, this is not faster. It was like six hours in and an hour and a half out of it. Even when you’re finished and you’re exhausted, you trudge back into the trailer and then they’re just attacking you with all this oil.
I think my longest day was somewhere in the 18-hour range. That’s not all work. Some of that’s in the trailer. A lot of that’s in the chair. Christopher Abbott said to me, I’m just going to monk out, just be completely serene. I couldn’t listen to music because they’re also putting ears on. So I was just talking to my team, Jason Doherty and Alice, who have done a lot of The Lord of the Rings. Listening to their stories about Middle Earth was enough to get me through.
I think I was about 28 days on that project, and by the last makeup, I was never over it, but I was really looking forward to that last makeup. But then at the end, they’re like, would you do this again? And I was like, damn straight, I would do this again.
Matilda Firth Thought The Wolf Man Makeup Was “Cool” and “Disgusting”
Tessa Smith: When I was talking to Julia Garner, she said that Matilda was the least scared of all of them when she saw you in full makeup.
Ben Prendergast: I mean, you have this this kid who comes in, by the way, I think Matilda, she was I want to guess nine. She also was from Leeds. She has not just a London accent but like a Leeds accent, that’s a hard thing. But her American accent is flawless as far as I can tell.
I think she had two or three stunt doubles for the stuff that she had to do. And I remember, the makeup artist said, let’s go and meet the girls, because you’re gonna have to spend a lot of time with them. When I was in full makeup, I remember walking into the room, in the makeup. Matilda’s doubles, they couldn’t even touch me or whatever. Matilda’s in there and she’s fist bumping. She’s like, yeah, you really do look scary, actually. Her mom’s freaking out.
But I love Matilda. It’s just such a joy to see her work. I wish her all the best. But yeah, she didn’t care. She just thought it was kind of cool and looked disgusting.
Be sure to check out our full interview with Ben Prendergast to learn more behind-the-scenes information about Wolf Man, which is in theaters now.
NEXT: Leigh Whannell Compares Wolf Man To The Invisible Man
About Wolf Man
Golden Globe nominee Christopher Abbott (Poor Things, It Comes at Night) stars as Blake, a San Francisco husband and father, who inherits his remote childhood home in rural Oregon after his own father vanishes and is presumed dead.
With his marriage to his high-powered wife, Charlotte (Emmy winner Julia Garner; Ozark, Inventing Anna), fraying, Blake persuades Charlotte to take a break from the city and visit the property with their young daughter, Ginger (Matlida Firth; Hullraisers, Coma).
But as the family approaches the farmhouse in the dead of night, they’re attacked by an unseen animal and, in a desperate escape, barricade themselves inside the home as the creature prowls the perimeter.
As the night stretches on, however, Blake begins to behave strangely, transforming into something unrecognizable, and Charlotte will be forced to decide whether the terror within their house is more lethal than the danger without.