Patrick Stewart Shares His Love for Wigs at Make-up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Awards

Jazz Tangcay

Patrick Stewart accepted the Distinguished Artisan Award at the Make-up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Awards on Saturday night, receiving recognition for a career that spans over six decades and encompasses roles on TV, stage and film. The actor went on to share a story about how he became a wigmaker’s dream when he started losing his hair at 19.

“I’ve worn many wigs over the years and have been proud and happy. I have loved every one of them,” Stewart said. “I have loved the people who made them for me and helped me with make-up,” he added, praising his “Star Trek” makeup supervisor Michael Westmore.

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Stewart’s “Star Trek: The Next Generation” co-star Brent Spiner presented the award, joking, “When I got the call, I thought I was going to be honored. Is this shorthand for someone who has spent the least amount of time in hair and make-up?”

Spiner went on to note that it was Stewart who was always number one on the call sheet and called him a “true leader.”

Stewart received a standing ovation from the crowd and said winning the award was a “great honor. It’s a term overused at events like this, but hair and make-up has played such a significant role in my life.”

Martin Samuel received the Lifetime Achievement Award for Hair Styling, honored for his work on 59 films. Samuel started working as a make-up artist in the ’60s, growing up in London, during what he called a “fantastic era of change.” He also recalled getting his start in a salon, working alongside Tony Scott, Ridley Scott and Alan Parker. “All young directors at the time,” Samuel told the audience. “And then I got invited to work on their movies.”

Working as a hairdresser on “Stardust” and “The Man Who Fell to Earth” as a hairdresser, the looks Samuel created for David Bowie would become some of his most iconic. “It’s so hard to believe,” Samuel said.

Thomas Burman was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award for Make-up, while John Singleton’s daughter, Justice Singleton, accepted the In Memoriam Honor on behalf of her late father. “I’d seek refuge in the hair and make-up truck, and that’s where I saw my dad,” Singleton said, thanking hair department head Andrea Jackson for “taking time to be my dad’s family.”

The team from “Bombshell” were the big winners of the night. The film won for best contemporary hairstyling, best contemporary make-up and best special effects make-up.

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