Behind the Scenes with Academy Award winner Chris Nelson

Revered in the world of practical effects makeup, Chris Nelson has worked on some of Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters, including: KILL BILL, SIN CITY, DEADPOOL, WORLD WAR Z, the HALLOWEEN franchise, and the FEAR STREET trilogy. He holds two Emmy awards for his work on early seasons of American Horror Story, as well as an Oscar win for SUICIDE SQUAD. He also has a successful podcast with Sean Clark, the writer and director of the TV series Horror’s Hallowed Grounds.

I went to New Orleans, where Chris was filming, to chat with my pal about his leap into the industry as a teenager in Pennsylvania.

BREE: Must admit, I’m excited that my job today is to drink coffee and bombard you with questions! Seriously though, when did you decide this is what you wanted to do?

CHRIS (laughing): I can tell! Well, it was pretty early on. I was fifteen, saved up a bunch of money, moved out to LA, and started just practicing, practicing, doing makeup. Went to acting school. Worked day jobs, night jobs… I finally got a job after bugging so many people and networking… I started working in a shop while still going to acting school. I kept continuing working in makeup. I got job after job. It was great. I was very lucky. This was before there were a lot of schools for makeup. My makeup career kind of took off, and I put the acting kind of to the side — because I was working, making money, traveling, and working with great people…

BREE: You did the special effects makeup on KILL BILL, but you also played Uma Thurman’s very doomed groom in the film. What was that like?

CHRIS: I was working for KNB EFX Group at the time and went with Howard Berger to China to start shooting KILL BILL. On the way to China, I was reading the script on the plane, and I came across the part of the groom. I went, ‘I could do that role. I wish I could do that role.’ So then we got to China and we shot the first part, which was the House Of Blue Leaves, and some other stuff. Came back to the States after four months, and we had a hiatus before we started shooting the LA portion of it. I had a meeting with Quentin about some of the effects coming up — and that scene [with Uma’s groom at the church] was one of them. I’m sitting in the meeting with Quentin and I said, ‘Well, who is this guy going to be? Cause you know we need a head cast and stuff, because his head gets blown away.’ And Quentin said, ‘Well, I don’t know who it’s going to be yet, we have a casting session on Friday.’ … something inside of me just went, ‘I’ll do it!’

Quentin looked at me and said, ‘… you look like you could be the guy. But you got to audition, cause the part’s too big, I can’t just fucking give it to you, so you gotta audition.’ I auditioned, against some big names. Knew that I was never going to get it… then I was on set — we were shooting the scene where Daryl Hannah dresses up like the nurse and is going to go kill Uma. I’m in the makeup trailer and I hear, 'Chris, Quentin needs you on set with a gallon of blood right away.' So I grab my blood and I go to set and Quentin goes, 'Oh I don’t need any blood actually, I just want to let you know that I watched your audition, and you were really fucking good, man. I want you to know that it’s down to four people and you’re one of the guys' … I was like, oh my god! I went back to the trailer. Next day came — 'Chris, Quentin needs you on set with this.' So, I run there again and he says, 'Just want you to know it’s down to two people and you’re one of the guys.'

BREE: Hilarious. QT was really building up the suspense, huh?

CHRIS: I thought, ‘Fuck Quentin, you’re killing me!’ The next day came, and I was standing outside of the trailer talking to Howard Berger, and Quentin came walking up and went, ‘You know, you did a really good job and… you’re my guy. You’re Tommy. You’re in the movie.’ So literally about a week later I’m standing on set with Uma, Quentin, David Carradine, Sam Jackson — all these incredible actors — and I’m like, ‘how did I get here?’ I was nervous as hell. But that’s how the two came together.

BREE: Did you enjoy working behind the scenes and in front of the camera for the same production?

CHRIS: That was a unique experience. It worked on that movie and in that moment, because we were all close like a family … after KILL BILL and a couple other movies, I quit makeup for a few years. I just pursued acting. I was in all the shows like CSI, Criminal Minds, etc. Made some movies. And then I realized I didn’t like the game of it — I missed makeup. I missed the camaraderie of fellow artists. Going away from makeup, I mean I respected it before, but going away from it and coming back, it gave me a new respect for FX makeup. Really energized me.

CHRIS: Eryn Krueger, the department head on American Horror Story gave me the chance to get back into things when the show first started… She was one of the people who said, 'you’re talented and we want you here' — I’ve worked on many seasons since.

BREE: The anthology series was an innovative concept, that now has over 400 nominations and 120+ wins. Tell me a little about the process the prosthetic makeup team goes through transforming the actors?

CHRIS: There are a lot of steps and a lot of people that go into getting characters to the screen. It’s not just us. There are the effects shops that build all the prosthetics and design a lot of the stuff—they’re the ones that get it first … what happens is the script will come out, and they’ll have meetings about it. The effects shops in Los Angeles will talk to the show’s producer, Ryan Murphy, and get an idea of what they’re looking at. Ryan Murphy is very specific, there’s really not a lot of guessing — he’s very focused about what he wants everything to look like down to detail. He has his notes, and there’s a design phase. Multiple designs come out, he approves one… sculptures are done… they’re sent to us wherever we’re at — whether it’s LA or a different filming location. Then it’s up to us to execute that — to get it on the actor, to make it look real — to help them find those characters and what the limitations are with the makeup. It’s a big process with a lot of people … the success of the show, the friends, the Emmy wins — all really good parts. But, it’s a lot of hours. It’s a grueling schedule and an ambitious show...

BREE: Do you remember what your first makeup was?

CHRIS: Okay, my first makeup was KISS makeup. I was a little kid and I was so into the band KISS. It was the first record I ever bought. I did Paul Stanley makeup on my brother. I was so proud of it. Then I had to do all the KISS makeup, of course. On myself, my brothers, my friends. I started to make werewolves and stuff with cotton balls, gauze, and spray paint — household things. Then I started learning on my own about materials like wax, foam, latex — how to make realistic fake blood. It just progressed and progressed. But yeah, KISS makeup was my first makeup, which was awesome — because you know, I didn’t know, I was just playing. It was simple, but effective.

BREE: What is the best part of work, for you?

CHRIS: It’s different every day. It’s different every year. I work with great artists... We have a lot of fun. The work is hard, but it’s rewarding. The best part is once the show or movie releases — because we work for months before we ever see anything — and then when you see it and you’re at your most tired and your most frustrated — you finally see it, and you’re proud. That’s the best part. That’s the payoff. And to see people on the Internet or hear people say they really love it, that’s amazing.

BREE: What’s next?

CHRIS: No plans to slow down. Trying to stay stimulated, artistic, creative. And sometimes, get some sleep.

(This interview was shortened for length. Full interview available in the print edition of Scream Horror Magazine, sold at Barnes & Noble.)

*For a full list of Chris’ credits, visit IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0625247/

More of Chris’ work below: