Question: The trivia page on IMDB says Nicolas Cage's hairpiece took three hours to apply every day. If this is true, why would it take three hours to apply a hairpiece? Don't they just use adhesive to bond it to the skin? And why would they apply it everyday instead of having him wear it for the duration of the shoot and adjusting it as needed?
Phaneron
24th Aug 2021
Answer: You are right to question the unattributed trivia blurbs on IMDB. The truth is more likely that the hair took 3 hours to apply only on the first day. After that, about 20 minutes max to reapply and touch up as part of the overall makeup process. The goal is optimize the actor's appearance for that day's scenes and lighting, given that the post production colorization will also hide a lot. The hairpiece would be attached with a temporary glue and it's unlikely that the actor would wear the hairpiece home because it's uncomfortable and looks fake.