Emma Eastwood had just changed out of Barbie’s tight pink
jumpsuit at the Warner Bros. studio in London when she learned that she had
landed her most high-profile role yet: Barbie’s body double.
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The news came via text from one of the casting directors of
Greta Gerwig’s new movie just hours after Eastwood auditioned for the role. She
had set her expectations low after they twice rescinded offers for her to be an
extra, she said.
“I was fully convinced that I kept jinxing myself,” Eastwood
added.
The 26-year-old actress, who grew up in San Francisco and
now lives in London, had mostly worked on commercials, music videos, and short
films. Her role in “Barbie” marked her first time as a body double.
Any anxieties were assuaged her first day on the set. She
woke up before sunrise, and by 6am she was on a minibus that transported her to
the studio.
“My first couple of days, I got a bit of the star
treatment,” she recalled, pointing out that she was one of the few people on
set at the time. “I felt really spoiled,” she said, adding that she was
surprised to find out she had her own trailer.
In the casting world, body doubles are hired to fill in for
actors who are not able or willing to film certain scenes. In other cases,
stand-ins can help the production team save both time and money.
“They’re not going to have Margot Robbie sit on a set while
they’re doing lighting tests,” said Liz Lewis, a casting director who did not
work on “Barbie.” “They’re going to pick somebody who has the same size,
height, and coloring.”
Eastwood was initially hired as the hand double of Robbie,
who plays the titular character, but ended up taking on more robust scenes
where her whole body, aside from her face, was featured in the shot.
“They didn’t give me any details of what we would be doing,”
she said. “There were a couple times they said the whole cast would be there
and it would be an important day, but they never actually gave me any details
of what we would be doing until I was on set.”
Eastwood’s main goal was to befriend Robbie in hopes of
working as her body double on another film. The pair, however, didn’t overlap
often. While Eastwood filmed her scenes on one stage, Robbie was often filming
hers on another.
Eastwood felt confident about her work: She said people on
set often mistook her for Robbie, including the actress herself. While looking
back at footage, Robbie told her that at some points she thought she was
watching herself.
And even if their schedules did not align, their
measurements did. Every costume Eastwood wore was one that Robbie had as well.
“They didn’t make anything for me specifically,” she said.
Every morning before filming, Eastwood would spend about an
hour getting her hair and makeup done. The makeup artist covered her in a
bronze foundation that more closely resembled Barbie’s sun-kissed veneer. But
even after several layers were applied, the head of the makeup team would often
approach the artist doing Eastwood’s body paint to let her know the shade was
mpt dark enough.
To avoid staining the costumes, she wore her own clothes
until it was time to shoot the scene. From that point onward, Eastwood often
had no idea what would come next. Without any context for the plot of the
movie, she was open to doing anything that was asked of her.
One of the scenes Eastwood filmed several times was featured
in the trailer: a shot of her walking up a set of stairs after she was directed
to act like her feet hurt. When the trailer was released, she was excited to
see that it was included.
In another scene, Eastwood had to lie on the ground facedown
for an hour. Her makeup smeared as she kept one side of her face on the floor.
“When I got up, I literally felt drunk,” she said. “I have
no idea what that scene was about.”
And that sentiment applies to the entire experience.
“I was on this for two weeks, and I barely know what the
movie is about,” she said. “They did a very good job of keeping the plot
hidden.”
She will not be able to see the movie until it is released
to the public this summer.
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