Which Marvel Actors Wore Wigs for Their Hero and Villain Roles?
The hero and villains of the Marvel Cinematic Universe had different looks over the years. Some actors grew and cut their own hair to portray their characters.
There are even moments when CGI was used for hair like with Captain Marvel (Brie Larson.) But which ones wore wigs for their roles? Here are six actors who wore a wig at some point for their character.
1. Chris Hemsworth for Thor
Chris Hemsworth played the superhero for years. His first movie was released in 2011 and he wore a wig for it. His character got a new look with shorter hair for Thor: Ragnarok.
“There’s not a huge explanation, really. It’s kind of me going, ‘I don’t wanna wear the wig every day. It takes two hours to put on,’” he told Entertainment Tonight. “Kind of just run with the creative license there. Give him a different look, you know?”
2. Tom Hiddleston for Loki
It only makes sense that Thor’s brother, Loki played by Tom Hiddleston, would also have long hair. Hiddleston wears a wig to get Loki’s long and dark hair.
He made a video in his dressing room for UNICEF. It ends with someone putting his wig on Hiddleston. This isn’t always how the actor prepared for the role.
“In Thor, that was my own hair,” Hiddleston told Parade. “I grew it out. But I have naturally curly, blonde hair, so I’ll never look like that. By the time I got to The Avengers, I had come off two other films, which required me to have it very short. So I dyed it again and it was long enough to use a part of my hairline but the rest of it was a wig. It was kind of like extensions really so I couldn’t have rocked it off-screen.”
3. Tessa Thompson for Valkyrie
Tessa Thompson is another actor who works closely with Hemsworth. She plays Valkyrie in the franchise who has long hair.
However, the actor had short and dyed hair for Sorry to Bother You then had to return to her fighter character for reshoots. They used a $10,000 high-quality wig so the audience wouldn’t spot the difference, according to The Huffington Post.
4. Elizabeth Olsen for Scarlet Witch
Wanda has long red hair. Elizabeth Olsen used to a wig to get the hero’s look. She previously shared an Instagram post of her natural hair getting prepared for the role.
“Wanda know what’s under that #scarletwitch wig? Thought you’d never ask…. it’s me! In a bald cap! #happymonday #avengersinfinitywar,” read the caption.
5. Zoe Saldana for Gamora
Gamora takes a lot more work than the other characters on the list. Zoe Saldana gets put in body makeup for the character’s green skin. She also wears a wig to get the magneta tresses. Saldana shared a time lapse video showing her makeup getting removed.
6. Scarlett Johansson for Black Widow
Natasha Romanoff’s red hair has been styled differently throughout the years. Scarlett Johansson has been wearing wigs for her different looks.
“The red hair for Avengers is so great because it’s such a character trait,” Johansson told Vogue. “She’s such a special, spicy little character that when that flick of red hair goes by, everybody’s like, ‘There’s the Black Widow!’ Whether it’s Cap 2 [Captain America: The Winter Soldier] or Avengers or Iron Man, we do different styles, but it’s always fun to put that hair back on. I love playing that character.”
Wigs are used for different reasons from navigating schedules between roles and actors being tired of styling their own hair. It’s been reported that the studio isn’t scared to put down a lot of money for high-quality wigs.
