horror makeups | goblins & trolls | Sarah Parish in 'Merlin': 'Beauty and the Beast'

Merlin ‘Beauty and the Beast’

A hideous troll (Sarah Parish) drinks a potion which transforms her into the glamorous Lady Catrina and arrives at Camelot where she bewitches Uther Pendragon with a magic pendant.

Only Gaius, who has met the real Catrina, and Merlin, who witnesses her true identity, can stop her marrying Uther and becoming the queen of Camelot.

But even when they switch her potions so that she turns back into a troll in view of everybody Uther remains enchanted …

Sarah Parish spoke about the role:

… she is a really rather nasty troll. She’s very power hungry and crazed with greed and wants to rule Camelot. She takes it upon herself to make a magic potion which turns her into the beautiful Lady Catrina. When Uther claps eyes on her – he hasn’t seen her [the real Catrina] in years – he instantly falls in love. Along with her charm and grace she sprinkles him with a bit of magic so he’s completely besotted. Even when her magic starts to falter and everyone else in Camelot can see she’s turning back into a troll, he can’t see it. There are lots of funny scenes, it was really great to play.

The makeup

Carol Tucker was the makeup designer; Carolyn Cousins was the makeup supervisor; Mark Coulier was the prosthetics designer; Sarah Lockwood & Kristyan Mallett were the prosthetic makeup artists.

Sarah Parish spoke of the extensive makeup (bald-cap, prosthetic cowl, facial prosthetics, gloves, contact lenses, dentures, wig and bodysuit:

It was very uncomfortable, very heavy. I don’t suggest anybody who gets claustrophobic to do prosthetic work because you do feel constantly slightly suffocated. … We were filming through that heat-wave during the summer, so the heat along with the fat suit and very heavy prosthetic was quite a challenge.

After three or four hours of filming I thought, ‘I can’t actually get any hotter or sweatier or more uncomfortable’ and then I just got into the groove. It was actually a really good, fun day, but cor blimey it was hot and hard work!

When you are covered in prosthetics from head to toe, it is a fantastic excuse to have an awful a lot of fun. Because it’s not you in any way, shape or form you have this credible mask to hide behind. Given the chance to play something out-there, a troll, was a gift really. I think I made the most of it.