Makeup artist Joel Harlow, an admitted Trekkie and aficionado of special effects, agreed without hesitation to return for Star Trek Beyond after working on the 2009 remake. Harlow, who has a three-decade blockbuster history, finds an “opportunity for creativity” in the Star Trek flicks. Harlow oversaw a large crew that created extraordinary makeup effects for the 56 alien races featured in the film, many of which are based on natural sources.

The Academy Awards, the pinnacle celebration of cinematic brilliance, are now less than two weeks away. The last year’s greatest in film will assemble at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on Feb. 26 to discover who will take home Oscar gold. Among the numerous artists hoping to hear their names called at the 89th Academy Awards is Harlow, who is up for outstanding accomplishment in makeup and hairstyling for a little film called Star Trek Beyond with Richard Alonzo (it was a huge film).

Left to right: Sofia Boutella plays Jaylah and Simon Pegg plays Scotty in Star Trek Beyond from Paramount Pictures, Skydance, Bad Robot, Sneaky Shark and Perfect Storm Entertainment
Paramount Pictures

“When we started, the script was still being worked on,” Harlow explained during a recent phone call. “The number of alien races grew over time. . . If we had known that was what was ultimately required, it would have been incredibly overwhelming—a monumental hurdle to get over mentally, as opposed to practically.”

Harlow and Alonzo, staunch believers that truth is stranger than fiction, began their hunt by looking to nature for inspiration, reading through images and depictions of aquatic species, mammal life, microscopic life, and plant life.

From modeling and design to pre-painting and application, it was a protracted process that took Harlow from Burbank to Vancouver. And, while the Star Trek world has a recurring cast of characters, that didn’t save the film’s makeup artists any labor in the production. With the X-Men picture Logan in the can and Marvel’s Black Panther on the way, Harlow talks about visual influences, new obstacles, and the makeup artist’s workflow.

“You take all these images, and whether consciously or subconsciously, because you’ve seen things over the years, you just start melding them together,” said Harlow, who won an Oscar for his makeup work on the first rebooted Star Trek in 2010. “It was kind of a free-for-all in the beginning. I suggested we start creating alien designs, and everybody [on the in-house team] brought their love of Star Trek to it, and their own artistic sensibilities.”

Star Trek Beyond, the third installment in the reboot series that began with J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek in 2009, was more than simply another Star Trek picture. The film paid respect to and was devoted to two highly talented performers, Leonard Nimoy and Anton Yelchin, who regrettably died before the film’s premiere. Both actors received dedications in the film’s ending credits. “In Loving Memory of Leonard Nimoy,” the first read. “For Anton,” says the second.

In addition, Star Trek Beyond pays respect to what many believe to be the greatest science fiction series of all time. Beyond was published 50 years after Gene Roddenberry’s original series, making it a tribute to a series that transformed science fiction.

When asked what inspired him to return to the franchise, Harlow stated, “Star Trek is very dear to my heart. I’ve been a fan of the TV show, the original TV show, the subsequent TV shows and the films. It was a no-brainer, really. The first one, the 2009 reboot, it was an amazing experience that I’m very fortunate to have been a part of, and the chance to be a part of that world again and work with those people again is something that I would bend over backwards to do. It was a very, very easy decision.”

Natalia, a fastidiously sculpted monster whose head looks like a huge Nautilus and is performed by Ashley Edner, reflects Harlow’s passion with underwater life. Makeup application took seven hours and was only possible after hundreds of hours spent constructing a viable support system for the creature’s head.

He concluded talking about his projects underway, “I am finishing up some re-shoots on Logan, the last Wolverine movie, and then I’m prepping right now a movie for Marvel called Black Panther. They’re all exciting; nothing’s going to have the quantity of makeup that Star Trek Beyond has. [laughs] I’ve worked in this business a long time, and I’ve never worked on a show that offered that much opportunity.”