By Michael Martin
Behind the Scenes of FX’s Legion Series
Legion was created by Noah Hawley (Bones, Fargo) for the FX Network cable channel and executive produced by Lauren Shuler Donner. The mutant character of Legion exists in Marvel’s X-Men universe. The story revolves around David Haller (played by Dan Stevens) a.k.a. Legion, son of the famed Professor Xavier. At first believed to be schizophrenic, David’s alter ego Legion is actually a mutant that has multiple personalities, each one with a different super power. From this exciting premise the show blends a deep introspective look at mental illness along with a superhero origin story, striking visuals, and dancing. (Yes, dancing!) Suffice it to say, the resulting mix feels quite different from other Marvel shows, but it is definitely one worth watching.
Jump To Section
- Moving the Legion Production to L.A.
- The Makeup for the Devil With the Yellow Eyes
- Using Foam Latex for the Legion Makeups
- A New Take on an Old Character
- Designing Androgynous Androids – The Vermillion
- The Burn Makeup for Clark Debussy
- Building the Time Eaters
- Making a Giant Pig
- Legion of Characters Takes a Legion of Artists
- That’s A (Series) Wrap
- Listen to the Audio Interview with Howard Berger
Moving the Legion Production to L.A.
The first season of Legion was filmed in Vancouver but for seasons two and three, Hawley moved the production south to Los Angeles. In Vancouver, the first season makeup effects had been handled by Todd Masters and MASTERSFX. But once in L.A., Howard Berger, of the KNB Effects Group, Inc., was brought on to create Legion’s diverse cast of creatures.
Howard Berger, the ‘B’ of KNB Effects Group, Inc., is an Academy and Emmy award-winning makeup artist. The shop has produced prosthetic and animatronic effects for such varied productions as Dances with Wolves, Army of Darkness, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Hateful Eight, The Walking Dead series and Predators. The very busy Howard Berger sat down to talk with SWSCA about the many characters that comprise Legion.
The Makeup for the Devil With the Yellow Eyes
For the second and third seasons, Berger and the crew from KNB revisited a character from season one: the Devil with the Yellow Eyes. Berger described the Devil as a really fun makeup. With a thumb-shaped head and long spindly arms and fingers, the makeup consisted of a large foam cowl, a forehead piece, chin, and earlobes. The makeup also included large yellow contact lenses along with hand-laid hair and eyebrows.
(Howard Berger on the set of Legion with the Devil with the Yellow Eyes. Image courtesy KNB EFX/FX Network.)
(The Devil with the Yellow Eyes, without the yellow contacts. Image courtesy KNB EFX/FX Network.)
The performer playing the Devil (Quinton Boisclair) was not a larger guy like you might expect with such a character. Noah had wanted the character to have skinny arms and legs, so it made sense to cast a thinner actor. Berger says that he and Jerry Quist did the makeup application in season two and then he worked with Tami Lane for season three. The makeup artists were able to apply the laborious Devil with the Yellow Eyes makeup in under two hours. “It went pretty quick.”
(Quinton Boisclair, as The Devil with the Yellow Eyes, strikes a coy pose in the makeup trailer. Image courtesy KNB EFX/FX Network.)
Using Foam Latex for the Legion Makeups
Instead of silicone, Berger chose to use the tried and true makeup effects standard foam latex for the large-headed devil. Berger says, “We use a lot of foam here.” In fact, a lot of the makeups on Legion would end up being made of foam rubber. Berger would say, “I love foam rubber I think it’s great…I’m a big fan…we use it a lot.”
(Dave Grasso paints the Devil with the Yellow Eyes. Image courtesy KNB EFX/FX Network.)
Berger says that Greg Nicotero (his KNB partner and the ‘N’ of KNB Effects Group, Inc.) uses foam latex a lot too on both The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead. Without an opportunity to cast actors early and do custom makeups, the shop will sculpt hundreds of generic, rotting zombie makeup appliances in different shapes and sizes. It is much easier to nip and tuck the various appliances and bend the foam than it is with silicone. Berger also says he likes the look of it, the way it moves, the way it feels. “I'd say…90% of the makeups are foam.”
SPOILER ALERT!
A New Take on an Old Character
Season three of Legion is set up as a flashback that allows viewers to see how things began for the mutant David Haller/Legion. In this season we meet a young Charles Xavier, we meet David’s mother and…we also meet a variation of the Devil with the Yellow Eyes.
(John Wheaton's design for the Skinny Devil. Image courtesy KNB EFX/FX Network.)
Instead of the large blobby devil, the Devil with the Yellow Eyes in the past is thin and stick-like, a Skinny Devil. The Skinny Devil represents the character before thirty years of its slow feasting on David Haller’s soul caused it to become obese.
(Sculpture of the Skinny Devil on Dirk Rogers. Image courtesy KNB EFX/FX Network.)
Despite Berger’s stated preference for foam latex, sometimes the elastic properties of silicone can be especially advantageous. For the Skinny Devil, Berger says, “I wanted it to have movement and squish.” And squish it did, the finished Skinny Devil looks really droopy and gross. Suit performer and KNB technician Dirk Rogers is inside the costume. Berger describes him as the shop’s resident monster guy. “We always put him in suits. He’s great!” Large silicone appliances were also used to form the devil’s arms in a makeup that took Tami Lane and Berger about two hours to apply.
(The Skinny Devil in the makeup trailer. Image courtesy KNB EFX/FX Network.)
Designing Androgynous Androids – The Vermillion
Another set of reoccurring characters is the group of androgynous mustachioed android messengers that constitute the colorfully named Vermilion. Noah Hawley wanted the Vermilion (played by Jelly Howie, Brittney Parker Rose, Lexa Gluck and others) to have beautiful female bodies but, Berger says, “…as Noah put it, the faces of Dennis Franz from NYPD Blue…” Berger elaborates. “And so when we designed it, I'm like, okay, you know, we were going to do it with all the pock marks…” Along with silicone appliances, KNB also added Sonny Bono-style wigs and large mustaches, making them as Berger says, “…really weird looking.” Joy Zapata, the hair department head, would supply the wigs for the Vermilion characters.
(John Wheaton's original "Dennis Franz-like" design for the Vermillion. Image courtesy KNB EFX/FX Network.)
During tests, however, Hawley, seeing the design applied on a live actress, requested a change. Instead of the original pockmark look, he asked to have KNB streamline the three Vermilion faces. The appliances for the Vermilion characters needed to be re-sculpted. Instead of the original rough appearance, the Vermilion faces ended up extremely smooth, as though they’d been painted at a discount automotive-paint shop, accentuating their android and collective aspects.
(Mitch Devane's sculpt for the Vermillion. Image courtesy KNB EFX/FX Network.)
The new appliances consisted of a forehead and nose and a large horseshoe-shaped piece that would cover the jawline and chin with a lip blender. For the new concept, and to save time, instead of using silicone, the appliances would be run from foam latex, then be painted in basically three colors; a mauve, a flesh tone, and then a rice paper color, giving them a very polished, synthetic look.
(The Vermillion, from Legion, Season 2. Image courtesy KNB EFX/FX Network.)
(The Vermillion, from Legion, Season 3. Image courtesy KNB EFX/FX Network.)
The Burn Makeup for Clark Debussy
Clark Debussy, played by the charming and affable Hamish Linklater, is another character established in season one who returns for season two and three. Clark, an interrogator in the first season, gets half of his face and body hideously burned in an accident. Todd Masters did the makeup for season one of the show but series creator Hawley thought the design was a little too extreme and wanted to kick it back a bit for subsequent seasons.
(Hamish Linklater as Clark Debussy, the Interrogator. Image courtesy KNB EFX/FX Network.)
The new three-piece burn appliances for season two were cast in silicone and covered the side of Hamish’s face along with an ear and chin piece. A foggy contact lens was fitted to one eye and one hand was made up as slightly burned. During season two, Tami Lane would apply the burn makeup. For the third season the makeup would be redesigned again to make it even less horrific and this time it would be applied by Karrieann Sillay. Howard describes the Clark makeup as a, “…cool little character makeup.” And adds, “Hamish is really, really great in it.”
(Hamish Linklater in the final Clark Debussy makeup with cloudy-eye. Image courtesy KNB EFX/FX Network.)
Building the Time Eaters
Season three also marked the first appearance of a new set of characters called the Time Eaters. Cartoony in appearance, like something out of the Beatles’ Yellow Submarine, they sport long noses and wear large goggles that magnify their eyes.
(A Time Eater from Legion, Season 3. Image courtesy KNB EFX/FX Network.)
KNB built five of the Time Eaters, each one slightly different, basing them on two different sculptures. One of the sculptures was produced by Andy Bergholtz and the other by Garrett Immel. According to Berger, all of the Time Eaters were basically pull-over masks created from foam rubber with big acrylic teeth, “They’re always smiling like a Cheshire cat.” On set, the Time Eaters’ hands get painted a shade of blue.
(Another Time Eater from Legion, Season 3. Image courtesy KNB EFX/FX Network.)
The most visually eye-catching thing (pun intended) about the Time Eaters is the look of their eyes behind the thick goggles. The creative team decided to go with a practical solution instead of a digital one for the eye blinks. Built by the Visual FX Supervisor on the show, Lou Pecora, the eyes used programmable light panels for their operation. Berger said that Noah Hawley really liked the technique because it was something that didn’t have to be put in later digitally. And, he says, having them moving around, blinking, and lighting up behind the magnified lenses, “…they really punch!” Berger smiles, thinking of the Time Eaters, “…they're really, really fun characters. I like those guys a lot.”
(A Time Eater, on set. Image courtesy KNB EFX/FX Network.)
Making a Giant Pig
One of the oddest things Berger and the artists at KNB were tasked with building for Legion was a giant pig whose teats would be required to shoot out a blue hallucinogenic smoke! Originally conceived as a full-size twenty-foot mechanical pig, Berger said that Hawley was willing to commit to it. “…he was up for it, one hundred percent!”
(Sow ZBrush design by Dave Grasso. Image courtesy KNB EFX/FX Network.)
Eventually, however, it was decided to construct a simple ten-foot by ten-foot section that would represent the sow’s stomach area. The rest of the pig was conceived using a four-foot miniature with a gap for where the full-size piece would get set in.
(Dave Grasso's ZBrush design showing where the full-size section will fit. Image courtesy KNB EFX/FX Network.)
Each of the pig’s mammary glands would be fitted with tubing by Mark Byers that spewed the aforementioned hallucinogenic smoke for the actors to inhale. Berger explains that it was, “…almost like a hookah.” Berger, along with Dave Grasso, Dave Wogh and Steve Frakes were behind the stomach, puppeteering the teats while actors inhaled the blue smoke. Berger chuckles, “It was cool. It was, I mean, so twisty and bizarre and the whole set was crazy.”
(Khanh Trance punches hair in the giant sow's teat. Image courtesy KNB EFX/FX Network.)
Legion of Characters Takes a Legion of Artists
On a show as complex as Legion, no character is created alone. Berger is quick to give credit to his talented team. Long before any clay was sculpted or foam cast, the artists at KNB Effects Group, began designing the many required character effects of Legion. Berger recognized Mitch Devane, John Wheaton, Mike Broom, and Dave Grasso, “Those guys were very, very heavily involved with the design of everything on the show.”
In creating the look for the wide array of creatures and characters, KNB’s designers used both 2d design work and ZBrush, later often exporting to Photoshop for finishing details. Berger credits Grasso for bringing ZBrush into the shop.
The Devil with Yellow Eyes was sculpted by Andy Bergholtz based on the first season’s design, and Bergholtz also painted many of the devil’s pieces, along with Brandy Morris who did pre-painting. Christina Patterson was responsible for the contact lenses.
John Wheaton produced all of the 2D artwork for the Skinny Devil and Andy Bergholtz again would take the lead in sculpting. On set, Howard Berger and Tami Lane applied the silicone appliances.
For the Time Eaters, John Wheaton, Mike Broom and Mitch DeVane handled the design work and then Garrett Immel and Andy Bergholtz did the sculpting. Andy Schoenberg put all of the pieces together and did a lot of the pre-painting, as well as support on set.
(Garrett Immel applies a silicone bald cap. Image courtesy KNB EFX/FX Network.)
For the Vermilion, John Wheaton produced the initial Photoshop artwork while Garrett Immel, Dave Grasso and Andy Schoenberg sculpted the pieces. Mike Ross made the molds and Derek Krout ran the foam. On set, Berger, Jerry Quist, Stephen Prouty, Kevin Haney and Chris Nelson would handle the application and painting.
(Chris Nelson prepares to make Jelly Howie up as a Vermillion. Image courtesy KNB EFX/FX Network.)
Finally, for the burn makeup, John Wheaton produced artwork based on Todd Masters’ season one designs and Andy Schoenberg sculpted the appliances. Tami Lane did the application for the second season and Karrieann Sillay did the third.
That’s A (Series) Wrap
Berger talks fondly about the atmosphere on the set of Legion and working with show creator Noah Hawley, describing him as smart and collaborative. Sadly, the FX Network has announced that the third season will be the final one for Legion. Recently speaking at the Television Critics Association Hawley addressed Legion’s coming series wrap saying, "Endings are what give stories meaning."
But it is far from the end for the KNB Effects Group, Inc. After more than thirty years since the studio was formed, the company is still going strong, and not only in feature films. Berger says that he is now seeing more practical, prosthetic, and makeup effects…in television! “We never used to work in television.” Berger said, “a little thing would come in for like 24 here or Deadwood there." Now, however, Berger says they still work on features, “…but it’s far more TV stuff.” Berger feels this is because there is so much more content. Not only is KNB co-founder Greg Nicotero handling the makeup chores on The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead, but currently the KNB shop is providing makeup effects for half a dozen other television shows. Berger says, “They're just producing and producing and producing. So everybody's super busy, which is great. And I hope it goes on for a long, long time.”