Weta - Lord Of The Rings - Lurtz At Amon Hen

Bred in the pits of Orthanc by the Wizard Saruman, Lurtz is a towering Uruk-hai; long-limbed, strong and fearless. Sent to retrieve the Halflings for his master, Lurtz presses his hunters relentlessly, marching even under a bright noon sun. I first met actor Lawrence Makoare when he stepped out of the shadows to say boo as I was walking through a dark corridor late one night at Weta Workshop. What an introduction to the guy who would play one of the most memorable and terrifying bad guys of the trilogy! It was a case of mistaken identity, Lawrence thinking I was someone else and taking the opportunity to prank his friend, but once I’d recovered my composure we began chatting and quickly became friends.

That same impish sense of humour would serve Lawrence well as he undertook the remarkable and sometimes challenging transformation from kind and hilarious man into a savage fighting Uruk-hai captain! The role required him to be glued into a full facial prosthetic, including heavy wig and a foam cowl that shrouded his entire head and tucked into the leather and fibreglass armour worn by the Uruks. This sat over chainmail and foam arms and legs. The final touches were lynx-eyed contact lenses and sharpened dentures, with the entire transition taking hours to complete, and that was just for starters.

During the days in which Lawrence shot Lurtz’s introductory scenes, when the character would appear in just a loin cloth, the actor had to undergo a much more ambitious make-up application involving being glued almost head to toe into a full body prosthetic. The process took most of the night, and Lawrence sometime dozed in the chair as the prosthetics make-up team, lead by Gino Acevedo, whom Lawrence had mistaken me for in that dark corridor, painstakingly stuck on each element of his man to monster transformation.

The result was worth it, of course, and what stepped out of the trailer in the bright light of day was a somewhat sleep-deprived but undeniably magnificent contrivance of the Wizard Saruman: a fighting Uruk-hai, sword in hand, ready to, ‘Find the Halflings!’ Dimensions:
(W x H x L) 28.5 cm x 39 cm x 18 cm
Weight:
6.173 lbs (2.8 kg)