Interview with the Make-up artist on Bel Ami- talks about Rob

THIS year Jon Henry Gordon has already bagged himself a Bafta - and this weekend he hopes to do the double and return from Hollywood with an Oscar under his belt.

The make-up artist and hair stylist to the stars has come a long way since his training at Clarendon College.

Despite working on a long list of films including Titanic, Phantom of the Opera, and Mrs Henderson Presents An Education, this is the first year the 57-year-old has been publicly recognized for his work, with the prestigious Oscar nomination for The Young Victoria, filmed in 2007.

For the first time he will attend the ceremony.

Along with colleague Jenny Shircore, he's competing against the make-up teams who worked on Star Trek and Il Divo.


The Young Victoria starred Emily Blunt, Rupert Friend and Miranda Richardson.

Jon Henry said: "It was a very large cast, a very nice cast too. I worked on eight of the main characters. I was the key hair person for the film.

"I was actually back in the area, working at Bolsover Castle."

Jon Henry will be arriving in Hollywood today for a flying visit which will see him return home on Monday.

He said: "We go straight to the symposium which is set up for the nominees. There will be about 1,000 people there asking questions and cuts from the film will be shown.

"Then in the evening we're going the mayor's residence for a party and on Sunday morning we'll have a rest before the Oscars.

"It's all been organized by the people from the Oscars who have flown us out, put us up in a hotel and will provide cars for us."

Jon Henry should pick up the award he will be able to use tips for his speech from a very well-known star.

He said: "I've just received a DVD from Tom Hanks and a few other people suggesting, should I be so fortunate to get up on the platform, what to do and how I should do it.

"You do not get long, especially if you're not an actor, so it's just a matter of thanking the producers and the director."

Jon Henry's brother, nephews and nieces back in Nottingham will be eagerly watching the ceremony live.

"Well that's if they can be bothered to sit up through Sunday night watching it!" he said.

He is in the middle of doing the hair and make-up for Bel Ami French film, starring Robert Pattinson, Uma Thurman and Christina Ricci.

He has nothing but praise for the A-listers, "A is fantastic and an amazing woman but she's got so much energy, it's like, My God!

"Christina Ricci is just so adorable.

"Then Robert Pattinson is such a lovely, lovely young man, not at all starry.

"He's just a normal boy. We've had groups of girls turning up at all times of the day and night to see him."

Although he does not name any names, Jon Henry has seen the odd diva strop in his time.

He said: "Sometimes it's hard dealing with egos. They live in a different world and it's hard to enter their world and understand their behavior. But if you do that then you can understand why sometimes they misbehave and behave atrociously.

"Sometimes the worst ones are the ones who are trying to make it, because once they've made it they've got nothing to prove."

Jon Henry's career started back in 1968 when he embarked on his City and Guilds hairdressing course at Clarendon.

He said: "I never really fancied working in a salon, I did work in local salons while I was there but there was always something missing for me. Then during my second year someone came into the college to talk about historical hairdressing and that really interested me. "

After finishing his course Jon Henry moved down to London to work at the wig-makers and then moved back up to Nottingham and worked in salons in Mapperley and Alfreton for a few years in the early 70s.

He then headed back down south and landed a dream job at The National Theater, on shows such as 42nd Street and Phantom of the Opera.

In the West End he forged a good friendship with Dustin Hoffman while he was working on the Merchant of Venice in 1989.

Jon Henry got his big break in films when he was asked to work on Titanic in 1996.

He spent nine months on location in Rosarito, Mexico, where he spent most of his time getting cold and wet in the water with the film's stars Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio.

"We were in that water for up to 16 hours a day in wet suits.

"In the scene where Kate was floating on the door and Leo was in the water with the extras we had to show they were freezing, so we had to use stuff that made it look like their hair was icing over."



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