'The death of Robin Hood' artisans break down Hugh Jackman's look
The artisans behind The Death of Robin Hood deliberately made Hugh Jackman unrecognizable, using silver-gray hair, layered feral costumes, and rugged makeup to match director Michael Sarnoski's darker, earthier vision of the outlaw legend. Hair designer Sean Flanigan and costume designer Lorna Mugan told Variety they wanted to strip away his familiar star image entirely. The result is a Robin Hood who looks like he crawled out of the wilderness rather than stepped off a red carpet.
Key Takeaways
- Hair designer Sean Flanigan and makeup head Pamela Westmore used silver-gray hair to age Jackman and distance him from his usual look.
- Costume designer Lorna Mugan built layered, ethically sourced skins and vintage linens so Robin Hood could emerge from the landscape as a hermit.
- Director Michael Sarnoski tracked the character in three stages, drawing inspiration from The Revenant and The Virgin Spring.
- Flanigan was on set for every take to brush and re-braid Jackman's long wig as weather and rough costumes tangled the hair.
- The transformation supports Sarnoski's brutal reimagining of Robin Hood, far darker than most filmed versions of the myth.
Why did artisans want Hugh Jackman to look unrecognizable?
Flanigan and Mugan told Variety they wanted Jackman to disappear into the role. Sarnoski, who directed Pig and A Quiet Place: Day One, envisioned a Robin Hood that is rough, rugged, and downright earthy — a sharp break from the polished hero audiences usually see.
Flanigan said he had never seen Jackman completely silver with long hair. Once the wig, beard, and Mugan's costumes came together, he recalled, "we had Robin Hood." The team was not chasing a familiar movie-star silhouette. They were building a legend worn down by time and violence.
How did costume and hair design shape this Robin Hood?
Mugan had about eight weeks to design outfits before production. She described Sarnoski's plan to follow Robin Hood through three distinct phases. Early on, he is a hermit who should look camouflaged in his environment — part creature, part landscape.
She layered ethically sourced, vintage, and faux skins with linens to create that feral emergence. Flanigan and Westmore chose a silver-gray shade for the hair to age Jackman up and, as Flanigan put it, "take Hugh away from Hugh's look." The hair stayed long and loose in back, tangling in the weather and against Mugan's rough capes.
Flanigan stood behind Jackman on every take, brushing the wig out and re-braiding it to hold texture in place. He joked that handling only Jackman saved him — doing the full cast would have been impossible.
What does the transformation mean for the film?
The look is not cosmetic window dressing. It signals how The Death of Robin Hood reframes the myth. Sarnoski wanted a story with the brutality of films like The Revenant, and the artisans delivered a hero — or antihero — who reads as exhausted, feral, and battle-worn from the first frame.
For viewers tracking major streaming and theatrical releases, the makeover is a clear signal that this is not another swashbuckling fairy tale. It is a grounded, violent chapter in an old story, and Jackman's face is the proof. For more premiere and casting updates, see our Streaming & TV Alerts coverage.
Variety's full artisan breakdown — including more detail on Mugan's eight-week prep and Flanigan's on-set routine — is available in the original report.