Sometimes, the smallest details create the biggest picture.
That's been the case for Daisy Jones and The Six, Prime Video's new limited series based on Taylor Jenkins Reid's bestselling novel about the fictional '70s band's rise and fall. But before the actors could channel rockstars, they had to pay a visit to the show's makeup department head Rebecca Wachtel, who exclusively told E! News how she got them into character first.
For one, in order for the audience to believe that the actors—Sam Claflin (Billy Dunne), Sebastian Chacon (Warren Rhodes), Will Harrison (Graham Dunne) and Josh Whitehouse (Eddie Roundtree)—were plucked straight from the time period, they had to be covered in body makeup.
"The majority of the cast has a lot of tattoos," Rebecca pointed out. "And in the '70s, people didn't have tattoos."
She continued, "So, you're watching the show, and everybody looks clean-skinned, but it was actually a lot of work to get to that place."
Out of all the male cast members, Rebecca revealed, Sebastian took the longest to get ready. Partially because he's the least dressed in the show.
"He has a lot of tattoos on his arms, his chest and back," the makeup artist shared. "And he wears vests and no shirts a lot. So, we blocked it out with one tone and had to go over it with different colors."
However, the process wasn't as simple as applying products on top of one another. The makeup artist noted that she had to mimic real skin, keeping in mind that veins needed to peek through and certain body parts have different textures and shadows. She also didn't want them to look like airbrushed Barbie dolls, after all, they're playing rockstars.
"It's a real art, it's painting," Rebecca described of the hour-long process. "You have to match all of that and make it look realistic."
As for her best makeup instrument? She sealed the tattoo covers with European Body Art's Pro Seal Spray and, depending on the cast member, would layer body makeup on top.
According to Rebecca, even the men who weren't part of the main cast had to sometimes wear head-to-toe makeup. She recalled prepping the male talent for when they had to shoot steamy scenes with Riley Keough, who plays Daisy Jones.
"The two times that Riley had had sex scenes, the guys cast had tattoos all over their bodies," the makeup artist explained. "And it took two people three hours to cover them. Then they went and were in the sheets with makeup all over them."
The attention to detail blended with Rebecca's commitment to accurately portraying the '70s wasn't all peace, love and music. But it was most certainly worth it.
"It was really important for it to look appropriate," she shared. "You don't want to be distracted or pulled out of the story. When you're a viewer and you notice the makeup, that's a problem."
Daisy Jones and The Six is available to stream on Prime Video.