Makeup artist behind Bradley Cooper’s 'jewface' in ‘Maestro’ apologizes

Oscar-winning makeup artist behind Bradley Cooper’s transformation for Leonard Bernstein's biopic Maestro has addressed the backlash to Cooper’s enlarged prosthetic nose in the movie, which was dubbed “jewface” by some.

Speaking at the Venice Film Festival press conference for the film, Kazu Hiro commented on the social media backlash: “I wasn’t expecting it to happen. I feel sorry if I hurt some people’s feeling. I wanted to portray Lenny as real as possible. He’s photogenic and a great person, we wanted to respect and love that look. We did several different tests. That was our [only] intention.”

Recent controversies have arisen around the movie because Cooper, who is not Jewish, used prosthetics to alter his nose in order to portray Jewish composer Bernstein. Despite this, Bernstein's family has come forward to support the actor-director.

The film's creative team explained that the makeup process was quite time-consuming, often taking up to five hours, especially when Cooper was depicting an older version of Bernstein. Sometimes, this process began as early as 2 am to avoid interfering with the regular filming schedule.

Although The Hangover star couldn't attend the event on the Lido due to the SAG-AFTRA strike, Bernstein's daughter, Jamie, and the movie's production team were present. The Netflix film is not eligible for an interim agreement.

Jamie Bernstein emphasized that she and her siblings felt "honored" to be part of the "inclusive" creative process. She described it as a genuine collaboration with Cooper, even though he didn't allow the family to be present on set due to a closed set policy.

"Maestro" chronicles the intricate love story spanning three decades between Leonard Bernstein and Felicia Montealegre Cohn Bernstein, portrayed by Carey Mulligan. 

Leonard Bernstein, renowned for composing the iconic scores of Broadway's West Side Story and the classic Marlon Brando film On the Waterfront, tied the knot with the actress in 1951, and they raised three children together. 

At one point, they separated for a year, but ultimately, they remained together until Felicia's passing in 1978.