Netflix
“Maestro” makeup artist Kazu Hiro has responded to criticism of Bradley Cooper’s prosthetic nose in the upcoming film in which he portrays legendary conductor Leonard Bernstein.
“I didn’t expect this to happen… I’m sorry for hurting some people’s feelings,” Hiro said during a press conference at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday. “My goal and Bradley’s goal was to portray Lenny as authentically as possible. Lenny had a really iconic look that everyone knows – there are so many pictures out there because he is also photogenic – such an amazing person and also inspired so many people. That’s why we also wanted to respect the appearance inside. So we did various tests and made a lot of decisions and this was the result of the film.”
Cooper, who also directed the film, has faced criticism in recent weeks over his decision to wear a prosthetic nose, which some viewed as a stereotypical or inauthentic portrayal of Jewish people. Bernstein’s daughter Jamie Bernstein, who was also present at the press conference, defended Cooper’s use of the prosthesis in an interview with Vanity Fair.
“It’s just such an annoying distraction,” Jamie Bernstein told Vanity Fair. “The people who were waiting to get angry about something were just waiting to pounce.”
Jamie Bernstein and her siblings Alexander and Nina also released a joint statement on the matter.
“It breaks our hearts to see misrepresentations or misunderstandings [Cooper’s] efforts. It is indeed true that Leonard Bernstein had a nice big nose,” the statement read in part. “Bradley chose to use makeup to enhance his likeness and we are completely okay with that. We are also sure that our father wouldn’t have minded either. Any strident complaints on this subject seem to us, above all, to be disingenuous attempts to belittle a successful person – a practice we have seen all too often in our own father. At all times during the making of this film, we could feel the deep respect and, yes, love that Bradley had for his portrait of Leonard Bernstein and his wife, our mother Felicia. We feel very lucky to have had this experience with Bradley and we can’t wait for the world to see his creation.”
During the Venice press conference, Hiro also explained the process of applying Cooper’s makeup during production, saying that it took two hours and 50 minutes on Bernstein’s younger days and five hours on his oldest. Most days, Cooper sat down in the makeup chair around 2 a.m. so he could finish before the crew arrived. Hiro, who specializes in prosthetics, won Oscars for best makeup and hairstyling for his last two films, “Darkest Hour” (2017) and “Bombshell” (2019).
Cooper was conspicuously absent from the press conference as he is unable to promote the film due to the ongoing strikes in Hollywood. “Maestro” is scheduled to premiere on Netflix on December 20, and any film distributed by a major streamer will not be eligible for a temporary exemption from SAG-AFTRA.
“Maestro” premieres at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday evening.