See Also: Teri Hatcher (Susan Mayer) People Guide

John Elliott, who leads the make-up team on Desperate Housewives, spoke to a fashion magazine recently about doing the makeup on the show and how has the seemingly strange aim to make Teri Hatcher (Susan Mayer) "less pretty".

"This is the first TV show I have ever done," Elliott told Lucire. "I've always done features, and I've always been wary of television" But Desperate Housewives proved him wrong. "This was such a pleasure last year, I may never do another show. I'll stay on this as long as they'll have me [...] it's probably one of the nicest crews I've ever had to work with. The cast is terrific. There are really no sour apples: it's really nice."

On the show Elliott heads the makeup department, but primarily works on Hatcher. "Teri's a very pretty girl. You put a little bit of make-up on her and she looks just like a fashion model. So it's very hard." So Elliott has to be subtle with her makeup application. "I try to play her down. I try to make her less pretty than she actually is. She photographs really well. I run her out there with almost no make-up. I just do some highlighting and a very little bit of eye make-up and a little on lips and I send her out."

Elliott said the pace of working on television was very different to film. "They want the quality of the feature with the pace of the television show, so it makes it a little interesting," he explained. But he does get the final say on how the actresses look in the show. "The producers, the directors, and the actors all have a say. Mine is the last,' he joked.

More can be read at the Lucire website. The full interview is available in the August 2005 issue which goes on sale on August 8.

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