Transforming Margot Robbie into Harley Quinn for “The Suicide Squad” often took two people, with makeup artist Heba Thorisdottir leading the way by channeling a rock star. Thorisdottir is nominated for a Make-up Artists & Hair Stylists Guild Award for best contemporary makeup in a feature-length motion picture.
In Warner Bros.’ summer release, Harley Quinn and the prisoners of Belle Reve set out on a mission to destroy Jotunheim, a Nazi-era prison and laboratory in South America.
Director James Gunn gave Thorisdottir complete creative control on the looks with one stipulation: “As long as they were dirty and gritty. His direction was that he wanted everyone to look destroyed by the end of the film,” she says.
Her starting point was taking Harley’s traditional red and black palette “too far, and then go another 10 levels” for a movie that was bloodier than the 2016 original. For a makeup artist, detail was key: Cuts, bruises, dirt and lipstick all had a purpose.
Thorisdottir turned to an iconic rock star for Harley’s inspiration. “I decided she would be Alice Cooper!” says the makeup department head. “Sexy, at times shocking and always a badass! And so, the black-lip idea was born. And from there I started experimenting with the red shadow on the eyes as inspired by Alice Cooper, and everything fell into place organically from there.”
Thorisdottir was also inspired by Judianna Makovsky’s costume designs, which referenced the comic book characters and Har- ley’s red costume. “My first thought was where do I find red eye shadow that stays on well and can withstand being in the water for days on end? After searching high and low, and swatching what seemed like hundreds of eye shadows, I landed on these beautiful red shadows from Suqqu as well as Viseart.”
Thorisdottir used the Suqqu and Viseart eye shadows for layering and depth. Viseart was quite matte and was used as a base and in the lines under Robbie’s eyes. Suqqu had a bit more sheen to it, so it was used to add highlight or reflection to get depth into her eyes. She finished it off with the ultimate rock ’n’ roll makeup — black eyeliner from Nars.
In choosing a foundation for the character, a crème base was the way to go since it created the most realistic look and kept Robbie’s skin from looking clownish.
The key was staying true to the rebel criminal Harley, but also adding a wow factor, she explains: “This is the first time we are seeing her in her hero look, knowing all the chaos she was about to endure. I wanted her to look stunning and ready to battle.”
The biggest challenge? Shooting in Georgia and Panama meant environmental factors such as heat needed to be considered. Says Thorisdottir, “I felt more like a scientist than a makeup artist, mixing new formulas of the same colors to withstand, water, dirt, birds clawing at her, explosions and slime.”
