Abhiroop Das
Directed by Baltasar Kormákur, Netflix’s ‘Apex’ tells the story of Sasha, a skilled climber and adventure-seeker, whose life is turned upside down after a traumatic incident at Norway’s Trom Wall. Eager to get a fresh start in life, she travels across several oceans and continents to reach Australia. There, at the Wandarra National Park, she sets out on a particularly challenging kayaking trail, not knowing that her worst fears will come from a fellow human instead. Enter Ben, a local trucker who prefers living in the forest.
Though things start off normally between him and Sarah, Ben is soon revealed to be a human hunter who revels in toying with his targets. As such, Sasha is given a small head start before the hunt officially begins, and the predator and the prey wrestle for control. Throughout all of this, Ben’s overall look and animalistic mannerisms instill a constant sense of dread in the narrative, in no small part thanks to Taron Egerton’s acting prowess. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Taron Egerton Chose to Shave His Head For His Portrayal of Ben the Hunter
To play the menacing antagonist of ‘Apex,’ Taron Egerton shaved his head and most likely sported prosthetic teeth. While the bald look adds to the overall uncanny aesthetic that makes Ben a terrifying figure, Egerton had one more reason to appreciate the haircut. “I was very excited by not having to worry about what my hair looked like every day,” the actor told People. This is not the only physical transformation he underwent for the movie, as, much like his co-star Charlize Theron, Egerton learned kayaking and climbing and became proficient enough to perform many of his own stunts. While the role came with several physical challenges, Egerton’s commitment to going the extra mile makes Ben a character unlike any other on screen.
This is not the first time Egerton has had a hairdo for a role; he also shaved his head while filming ‘She Rides Shotgun.’ For his portrayal of an ex-convict, Egerton chose to go bald, get tattoos, and bulk up, revealing a completely different look from his other major project from around the same time, ‘Smoke.’ In the Apple TV+ show, the actor dons what appears to be a bald cap and a body suit, showing just how vast his range can be when extreme physical transformations are stacked right next to each other. Egerton can also be seen wearing a bald cap in ‘Rocketman,’ where he essays a dramatized version of Elton John. In the case of ‘Apex’, however, shaving his head for real made a lot of sense, as his character is a survivalist who interacts with mud, water, and insects daily.
Ben’s Uncanny Teeth Are Likely a Blend of Prosthetics and Special Effects
The best-kept secret of ‘Apex’ is not Ben’s sharp descent into villainy, but rather the fact that he has serrated teeth. Around halfway through the movie, we learn that he has been wearing dentures the entire time, and that all his real teeth are essentially shaped like fangs. Most likely, the actor used prosthetics for both the sharpened version of his teeth and his dentures, which likely posed their own challenges. Unlike regular dentures, which use acrylic and porcelain, the fang shape requires less material and cannot be layered exactly over the larger, real teeth. As such, chances are that Ben’s look also required some effects work at the final stages to maintain a realistic look. Just like going bald, Egerton is no stranger to using prosthetics for his roles either, as in ‘Rocketman’, the actor sports a range of add-on structures, including prosthetic eye bags, nose pieces, and silicone jowls.
While it’s unlikely that he wears prosthetic teeth throughout all of ‘Apex,’ the scene where this twist is revealed is made powerful because of how he carries the facial augmentations with confidence. In effect, the look is closer to that of a vampire’s, and it makes sense that its closest cinematic antecedents come from vampire movies like ‘Nosferatu,’ where actor Bill Skarsgård wears custom-made teeth that reportedly changed how he speaks in the film. In the movie ‘Renfield,’ Nicolas Cage wears 3D-printed teeth, and the makeup team reportedly shaved parts of his teeth to reduce discomfort. While Egerton has not commented on the specific details of the prosthetic or effects work as of writing, the artificial teeth remain the most haunting part of his character’s design.
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