His prosthetic skills were also used to great effect in Gangs of London and the new season of The White Lotus.

What does the job involve?

Every job is different but essentially you are designing and making prosthetics – for people and creatures – to realise the director’s vision.

Is it a new role?

It goes back to the start of film: Jack Pierce creating Boris Karloff’s face for Frankenstein in 1931 – there were no casts in those days, so he built the make-up every day with glue and cotton. Years later, Dick Smith, the “god-father of make-up”, worked on The Godfather and moved the art forward.

Did you always want to work in prosthetics?
Yes, from very young. I was watching films that were grossly inappropriate for my age, staying up late for Dracula with Bela Lugosi, Terminator, the Friday the 13th movies – I used to have nightmares! I found the transformative nature of special effects fascinating: you could have something on screen that doesn’t exist in the real world. But it was a pipe dream: that was Hollywood... and I lived in Birmingham!

So how did it happen?

I got into TV late, at the age of 29. I was working as a car salesman. I’d fallen into it because I came from a family where everyone said, “Get a proper job”. So I did. It gave me financial stability and the time to have a hobby.

I was self-taught. I painted, sculpted, and used the internet to join forums and learn about special effects and make-up. I took a week’s course at Millennium FX in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, then applied for a Skill-Set-funded apprenticeship. I got the call, jacked in the motor trade, bought myself a little car and drove 180 miles a day back and forth from Birmingham to Millennium in Chesham.

What was your first show?

Doctor Who in the David Tennant era. Then a couple of low-budget movies, including the vampire film Dead Cert with Danny Dyer and Craig Fairbrass. There was no money, so the film-makers just let us loose – it was a great learning experience.

How did you build your career?

I freelanced all over the place, then my wife had our daughter so I took a step back while she grew up. Now I’m back, and I’ve done two seasons of Gangs of London, two episodes of A Ghost Story for Christmas with Mark Gatiss, the third series of The White Lotus in Bangkok and The Day of the Jackal.

Tell us about working with Eddie Redmayne...

Best job I’ve ever done. Creature prosthetics are great fun but you always know you’re looking at something that’s not real. With the Jackal, my job was to change this famous, instantly recognisable actor into someone completely different. It took about three hours to put Eddie’s make-up on. To sit still for that long is quite a task but he was brilliant – so respectful of the prosthetics process. He was an absolute gent and made it a joy.

What is a typical day on set?

You’re first in and last out. It can take three hours to put the make-up on, then you could be on set for 12 hours. As soon as you stick a prosthetic on, the body tries to reject it – actors sweat, and they have to eat and drink – so I’m on set all day, having to retouch, glue and paint. On Jackal, we were filming episode one (in which Eddie is disguised as Ralf Becker, an elderly German cleaner) in the height of summer in Budapest. After several hours, bubbles of sweat started to appear under Eddie’s prosthetic.

What do you bring to work with you?

The essential tools of my trade are glues, thinners, sanitising fluids, paints, brushes, powder, tissues, cotton buds, wet wipes, scissors, tongs. It’s a huge amount of stuff.

What are the best and worst parts of the job?

I love every facet. It’s a privilege to do it. It’s something I always wanted to do but never thought I could. I suppose the worst thing can be taking off the make-up at the end of a long day, when you and the actor are tired, and you know you’ll be back again in seven or eight hours for the next day.

What makes a good prosthetics designer?

You can go to university and get a degree in prosthetics but that doesn’t mean anything – you progress on the job, building your skills. To call yourself a prosthetics designer, you need to be able to do every element of the job. You’ve got to have a fantastic amount of patience and enthusiasm. The hours are long and it can be stressful. It’s a way of life, and you’ll either fit it or not. Plus, you need imagination – there’s no manual that tells you how to design an exploding head.

What advice would you give to some- one starting out now?

Go beyond your coursework. Don’t be scared to do our own stuff – you’ve got to have a strong portfolio (quality not quantity is the key) of independent work. Send your portfolio and a covering letter to studios and hope your timing is good – if someone’s crewing up, you might get your foot in the door. Then it’s a case of soaking it up. Don’t go in with an ego – learn and develop your craft. 

What’s your career highlight?

The Day of the Jackal. It was a dream job. I still pinch myself that I got it – there were a dozen people who should have got that job before me. I also freelanced for a brilliant company, BGFX, and got to do The Rings of Power. I’m a massive Lord of the Rings fan, so to create fantastical creatures like orcs, elves and dwarves on screen was another real highlight.

What show would you love to work on?

Hellboy. I’m a huge fan. There was another lovely film version of it last year. If we’re talking about something that’s got no chance of being made, I would love to do a live action ThunderCats. It was one of my favourite cartoons as a kid. I made a make-up demo of a character for fun, which was quite well received. So if anyone’s interested... 

Richard Martin was interviewed by Matthew Bell.