Artist Glenn Hetrick on Orion prosthetic makeup on Star Trek: Discovery: it was “deceptively difficult”

"There Is A Tide..." -- Ep#312 -- Pictured: Janet Kidder as Osyraa of the CBS All Access series STAR TREK: DISCOVERY. Photo Cr: Michael Gibson/CBS ©2020 CBS Interactive, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

JUNE 9, 2021 - Designing and applying prosthetic makeup isn’t an easy job, but the team at Star Trek: Discovery makes it look effortless. In a recent interview with Gold Derby, Discovery’s prosthetic makeup supervisor Glenn Hetrick shared some of the secrets behind making the prosthetic makeup on Discovery seamless and believable.

Of the production quality on Discovery, Hetrick said, “With this show, you’re making a major motion picture every episode, or every two episodes.” Calling his work on the series a “dream come true experience”, Hetrick certainly has the right to boast. In 2019, he and the rest of the prosthetic makeup team earned the very first Emmy for Discovery for their work on the season two episode “If Memory Serves”.

One aspect of prosthetics on Discovery that proved to be a challenge in season three was the Orion makeup, especially that of the leader of the Emerald Chain, Osyraa, played by Janet Kidder. While Hetrick said the special, silicone prosthetics used on-set were usually “reserved for feature film-level main [villains] only”, Discovery took television makeup to the max. Orions were a featured race in the third season of the series, and it took a lot of work to make sure they looked natural and stayed consistent on camera. “She was deceptively difficult,” Ketrick said of Osyraa’s prosthetic makeup, noting that they continually improved it throughout Kidder’s time on set.

As requested!! Here’s a time lapse of getting into and out of the Tolor look for ep 306. Approx 3hrs of makeup by this ridiculous Emmy winning prosthetics team ft: Hugo Villaseñor and Chris Bridges, and topped off by the amazing wig by Ryan Reed. @startrekcbs #StarTrekDiscovery pic.twitter.com/93J7P3m6ag

— Ian Lake (@ianlake) November 23, 2020

Hetrick told Gold Derby, “Trying to figure out all the exact depths and thicknesses and the frequency as the actor moves his or her muscles through the prosthetic, trying to control that frequency so it translates perfectly for screen, it’s a process.” He went on to say that Osyraa “was an incredibly successful character” and complemented Kidder’s performance.

To see the full video interview with Hetrick, visit goldderby.com. Of course, you can always check out the work of Hetrick and his team in Star Trek: Discovery. The first three seasons are available to stream now on Paramount+.