“Shutter Island” Began Jackie Earle Haley's Makeup Misery

Once upon a time Jackie Earle Haley used to give his "Watchmen" co-star and buddy Jeffrey Dean Morgan a good ribbing about Morgan's long bouts in the make-up chair for the part.

That was before Haley took on uber made-up roles in both "Shutter Island" and then as Freddy in "Nightmare on Elm Street."

As "Shutter Island" is released on Blu-Ray DVD, Haley tells PopcornBiz his movie makeup woes and about Morgan's dastardly revenge.

Haley plays a badly-maimed prisoner in Martin Scorsese's "Shutter Island." It's a part so secretive that the director refused to release photos of the character. But take our word for it, if you haven't seen the movie, there's a ton of make-up and Haley is almost unrecognizable.

Says Haley:

"
It was sheer joy on the set working with Martin and getting to act six inches away from Leo DiCaprio. But the make-up was tough. I think we started it off at an hour-and-a-half in the chair.  We had to get the welts just right. It had to look real."

"I remember I sent Jeffrey Dean Morgan an conciliatory email from the set saying 'Dude, I'm sorry I busted your chops about spending all that time getting your old guy make-up (in 'The Watchmen'). I can finally understand since i just spent an hour-and-a-half in this chair getting a bunch of welts.' "

"But I still used that opportunity to bust his chops. He would be there for three hours to get ready. He'd have to show up at 3 a.m. and at the time I'd show up at 9, throw on my sock and just go."

"Boy, I still had no idea. Freddie made my 'Shutter Island' welts seemed next to nothing. On 'Nightmare' it was six hours in the chair and it worked its way down to 3 1/2 hours. It was an hour just to get the makeup off."

"Jeffrey used to hang out on the 'Nightmare' set, just hang out near my chair and laugh at me while I was getting my makeup on. He would really bust my chops. Yes, he's my buddy."

The lesson: revenge is a dish best served while one is make-up free.

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