Madame Web: How Vasilios Tanis Transformed Dakota Johnson and Sydney Sweeney Into Superheroes

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Onscreen, the makings of a superhero usually include a tragic origin story, a shiny suit, and fantastical superpowers. But behind the scenes, it’s a team of costume designers and makeup and hair department heads, all working together to bring a beloved comic book character to life.

When makeup artist Vasilios Tanis was tasked with creating the makeup looks for Sony’s new superhero film Madame Web, he immediately knew what the character needed. A lifelong comics fan, Tanis has worked on numerous Marvel blockbusters, including Thor: Love and Thunder and Spiderman: No Way Home. But he always loved Madame Web’s Cassie Webb for her clairvoyant powers and signature red lip.

“I grew up in New York City and I was that kid at school who would get into heated debates with my classmates, because we all collected comic books,” he tells Glamour. “[I’d say] ‘If they turn this into a movie, they have to do it like this, and they have to do like this.’ Now I’m doing it, and I’m so happy because it’s a genre that I’ve always been in love with because I am a geek.”

Makeup typically isn’t central to a superhero movie, since most are helmed by men. Madame Web, which hit theaters February 14, not only puts a woman in the titular role but also features a supporting cast of women.

The film stars Dakota Johnson as Cassie Webb, a paramedic who develops clairvoyant powers. She’s joined by Sydney Sweeney, Isabela Merced, and Celeste O’Connor, who play a group of teenage girls in danger. The movie’s villain, another clairvoyant named Ezekiel (played by Tahar Rahim), is trying to kill the girls for unknown reasons. Inexplicably pulled in by these three young women, Cassie makes it her mission to keep them safe.

“The fact that the movie is female-driven, it’s all women of diversity—it’s empowering in so many regards,” says Tanis. “So many little girls are going to look at this and be empowered.”

Creating a beauty look for a female superhero is one challenge, but Tanis was tasked with overseeing four. In the trailer, each girl has a distinct everyday look, but fans get a glimpse of them transformed into superheroes. Tanis knew makeup would be crucial to the characters’ journey onscreen.

“I don’t want a natural-looking female superhero,” says Tanis. “I grew up with Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman. I probably would not have felt so strongly about Catwoman if she looked natural and dewy in that outfit.”

After all, makeup is very much a superpower, and its ability to transform and empower is exemplified in the film.

“All these characters go from normal everyday looks to this superpowered, evolved human beings,” says Tanis. “It’s not just the costume that changes, but it’s also their face. That changes and it’s very empowering. It’s a very strong message, considering it’s a diverse group of women.”

The superhero transformation in the trailer teases at more to come. “We kind of blew the lid off the gate with that one, which was very exciting because we used a little bit of the reference from the real comics and gave it our own style,” Tanis says.

Ahead, Tanis breaks down the makeup for Madame Web, including the skin care products he used on set, the LED mask he got Sweeney hooked on, and the drugstore red lipstick that survived sweaty stunts and 10-hour set days.

Glamour: Cassie [Johnson] undergoes a huge transformation in the film. How did that translate to her makeup?

Vasilios Tanis: She’s first introduced onscreen as a career woman. She’s a paramedic, so we wanted to keep the makeup as minimal and as fresh as possible. And as she evolves in the film and discovers her powers, her look also evolves. If you notice from when she’s in her paramedic gear to when she’s in her red jacket and discovering her abilities, she seems a little bit more polished and more evolved as her powers evolve. When you get to the end look, it’s really evolved, which I think is important in storytelling. I’m a big fan and a big advocate for women to look empowered through their makeup, especially if they’re going to be in a super-suit.

The three girls, Julia [Sweeney], Anya [Merced], and Mattie [O’Connor], all have very distinct and different looks. Can you walk me through creating these characters?

Sydney’s character, Julia, is more of a bookworm, more scholastic and nerdy. We try to keep her very Clark Kent–ish and understated. I focused on keeping her skin very clean, very fresh, very natural. As she also goes through the film, we elevate her look slightly before it really jumps to a huge difference toward the end, where she’s in her super-suit.

At the beginning Isabela’s character Anya seems to be a bit more glam than everyone else.

Anya’s aware of her aesthetic. She’s the type that would read a fashion magazine or watch TikTok videos and do a makeup tutorial on herself. She’s that young representation of the female archetype that is more experimental with her look. And then you have Mattie, who is in a uniform, because their character goes to a private school. So the only form of expression their character has would be hair and makeup.

Courtesy of Sony Pictures

What products were used to prep their skin?

I really loved using Yonka products, either Creme 28 or Pamplemousse PS and the eye patches from Talika. Le Domaine The Cream moisturizer, which is one of my favorite products, very hydrating and nourishing, and it layers really well. We’d take the eye masks off and use the Yonka Phyto-Contour, which has very strong de-puffing agents like rosemary. It would really help out, especially in the early morning shooting calls, because with a lot of females on the cast, we have very early precalls, so everybody would just basically roll out of bed and into our chairs.

For foundation, I just try to keep it as simple and as fresh as possible. And I used the Koh Gen Do Aqua Foundation on Dakota and the Charlotte Tilbury powder compact on certain spots and for blush, contour, and gloss on the skin, I used Addiction Tokyo. The Glow Stick in Above the Moon, I love the fact that it doesn’t have glitter in it. It gives the skin such an illuminating glow, mixed together with the Addiction Tokyo blush in Fuchsia Berry, it just made her skin with her dark brunette hair. It was the perfect combination of balance.

Director SJ Clarkson and Dakota Johnson.Beth Dubber

How did you set the makeup, especially during long shoot days and stunts?

Once the makeup was done, we had to touch them up, but also wanted to give the actors space because it was a very grueling shoot. There were a lot of action sequences. So, in order to keep the makeup fresh, the other secret weapon that I loved was the Hibiscus Glow Mist from Byroe. It freshened the makeup and made them super dewy, and prolonged the makeup from separating. We also gave the girls Currentbody LED Masks, which were amazing because they really made sure breakouts were at a minimum.

They used it in their trailer for 10 minutes, or they used it at home before coming into work. They all loved it and were completely addicted. I still get messages from Sydney. She goes, “I love my mask, I travel everywhere with it.” I have a power adapter for it. If you travel, if you’re doing press, if you’re doing a film in another country, you can take it with you.

Currentbody LED Mask Light Therapy Mask

How was it creating Cassie’s full-on superhero look?

It was a challenge, because it’s an iconic look, so you can’t really stray from that. Dakota had to have a red lip for her hero look, so that proposed a huge challenge. I didn’t want a matte lip, even though I needed a matte durability because she’s up in wires. I can’t get to her after I finish the look. She’s wearing a huge amount of hair and there’s a wind machine, so that combination with the red lip is going to send a makeup artist to the ER.

I had to do some research and the best thing I found was from Maybelline, the Superstay Vinyl Ink Longwear Liquid Lip Color in Wicked. I had never used it before, then I ended up getting every single color, and it’s part of my kit because it saved my life. It has movement, it looks pliable, but it does not move. And the color payoff is amazing. I didn’t have to touch her up. Once it went on, it was on. When she needed a break or for lunch, I would remove it and then I would put the Byroe Mojito Lip Mask on for moisture and hydration before reapplying.

Maybelline Super Stay Vinyl Ink Liquid Lipstick in Wicked

Another big beauty moment in the film is Sweeney’s superhero makeup, which features a very fierce black cat eye. What products did you use to create the look?

For foundation, I used Armani Luminous Silk Foundation and Luminous Silk Concealer. The eyes, it was the Armani Smooth Silk Eye Pencil. It’s got a sponge-tip applicator, and I just rubbed it in there with a black Armani eye shadow that came in a palette and blended it in. I used a moonlit silver shadow that was also in the same palette.

I’m assuming the super-suits had some influence on the makeup, but did the girls weigh in at all?

Yes, it was a very collaborative process, but the ladies had complete faith in us and gave us a lot of leeway. We gave them a lot of choices and really communicated our vision, because when you have a super-suit, you have to look at the entirety before you start doing the makeup. I have to wait to see the suit. I have to work with costumes, and I also have to wait for the hair to be completed for me to do my job, because I have to create a balance. So if there’s a heavy suited costume with a heavy color, you have to balance the face off, especially if there’s a mask on top, because you don’t want to get lost in it.

How long were set days?

About 10 to 13 hours, depending. It’s definitely a challenge because you have to always ensure that the skin looks fresh. Skin care and maintenance are very important. When Cassie is in her paramedic look, there are some times where she’s in a tank top, so I used the Payot Refreshing Radiance Mist and put body makeup on all of them when they were not in their super-suits. And then with the Payot over, it gave a nice glow without looking too iridescent. I wanted the skin to look really healthy and realistic and supple. It adds quality to the texture of the film.

What was it like when everyone saw themselves in full costume, hair, and makeup for the first time?

The happiest day on set is when they all had to be in their super-suits. It was so much fun. It was not work. Everybody was laughing and getting ready together. It was really quite iconic. And then to see all the finished hair, makeup, and wardrobe looking completely spectacular, that was definitely a high point.

Ariana Yaptangco is the senior beauty editor at Glamour. Follow her @arianayap.