ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - It’s early, before most have even had their morning coffee, and Ashley Myer’s day has already started. As she walks among the ranks of celebrities, she notices a small problem - Will Smith is missing an earring.
Someone suggests the jewelry was taken the night before. But this Will Smith doesn’t talk or acknowledge his missing accessory, as he’s a waxy interpretation of the real person - one of dozens of entertainers, sports stars and musicians in wax form at Madame Tussauds Orlando.
Most people only see these famous figures in pristine condition, but it takes a diligent team to keep them in good shape. After all, the International Drive attraction doesn’t have ropes and visitors are welcome to shake hands, rub elbows or wrap their arm around their favorite celebrity.
Since Madame Tussauds Orlando opened in 2015, Myers, the attraction’s studio manager, has grown accustomed to the kind of attention the wax stars require.
“I’ve been with all of our wax friends for a long time - maintaining them, making sure they look great every day. So it’s a fun, entertaining, always-something-new job here,” she said. “We’re definitely not a museum, we’re an attraction. It’s all about fun and interactivity. We offer that opportunity to sing along with Justin Bieber or score the touchdown with Dan Marino.”
Along with studio artist Sam Wolf, Myers begins her morning walkthrough of the attraction around 7 a.m. each morning. The team has three hours to address broken ears, cosmetic scratches, missing eyelashes, tussled hair and other blemishes before visitors arrive for a 10 a.m. opening.
On the same morning Will Smith lost track of his earring, Wonder Woman also needed her hair re-curled - an air cannon frequently ruffles her delicate locks. Ryan Gosling also had a nick in his neck, repaired with a layer of wax and oil paint to match his skin tone.
“Each morning is different and depends on what went on in the attraction the night before,” Myers said. “If someone goes up and taps them, or accidentally manages to hit them with their nail, it will pull the paint off and potentially go into the wax. So we’re always here to maintain those things.”
Beyond the day-to-day repairs of the wax celebrities, there’s more to their origin than meets the eye. Construction of the lifelike figures begins in London with Merlin Magic Making, the company behind Madame Tussauds. If possible, stars will come in person to be measured and photographed, which will help artists make an accurate full-body clay sculpt of the person.
A wax mold is made for the head and bodies are constructed of fiberglass. Oil paint is applied in layers to replicate the skin tone of the musician, sports star or actor being fabricated. Real human hair is inserted strand by strand. After three to six months, the figures are shipped to Orlando or one of the other Madame Tussaud’s locations.
That’s where Myers and Wolf come in. Sometimes, stars will come off the floor to receive special care in the studio. After all, hair loss is not a uniquely human problem - it applies to wax figures as well.
Detailed eyes are another key to making celebrities come to life. Each pair is hand-painted and tiny red threads are added to make them more vivid and real, plus they’re polished daily.
Many of these techniques have been employed for more than two centuries in wax figure work, made popular by Marie Tussaud in the late 1700s.
“We really hold dear to all of those techniques she used - the hand sculpting of the clay to then make the wax figure. We use similar wooden and metal tools,” Myers said. “It’s an expansive history we really take pride in, so we like to continue those techniques that she did and make sure we do things in the most authentic ways.”
Please read our comment policy before commenting.