He made the ‘manky British’ set for Austin Powers, droppable ones for Mrs Doubtfire – and fangs for Tom Cruise. Gary Archer on crafting amazing gnashers for stars
Aimee Lou Wood has been one of the standout stars of the third series of The White Lotus, stealing almost every scene with her character’s wild one-liners and wide-eyed obsession with astrology. But the Bafta winner from Stockport has in recent weeks been getting as much attention for her teeth as for her winning turn in the hit show about a luxury resort. Vanity Fair and the New York Times have been notable fans of Wood’s natural look but there has also been a backlash, with beauty magazine Allure saying that “fawning over a rejection of perfection is misplaced”.
Gary Archer doesn’t know what the fuss is about. “They look all right to me,” he says of Wood’s teeth. He would know, because after working on 350 films and TV shows, plus 200 adverts, he is called the Godfather of FX Teeth in Hollywood and beyond. It was Archer who fashioned the unforgettable gnashers that Mike Myers sported in the Austin Powers films, a design that he feels actually led to the term “British teeth”.
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