Bizarre, last-minute requests from celebs while making their Madame Tussauds wax figures revealed
Nice figure!
For over two decades, Madame Tussauds has been a Times Square institution, luring tourists and locals alike with its collection of 200-plus lifelike celebrity replicas.
Now, the W. 42nd St. waxworks is giving visitors a peek inside the looking wax with an all-access pass, allowing the curious to delve into the day-to-day of doppelganger making.
Tussauds’ 30-minute Behind the Scenes tour admits guests to the studio workshop floor, where the artists go about their daily job of handling, urgently repairing and creating figures to fill the exhibition halls.
The cost of the tour is $12 above the base ticket price. (General admission begins at $29.99 for Tri-State residents, climbing from there.)
And there’s no posting for clout, either — all phones and recording devices must be checked at the studio’s door before entering.
But once you’re in, you’ll find a team of creatives more than happy to share what a day in the life of a wax worker — including working with a parade of coveted celebrity clients — actually looks like.
Celebrities are often incredibly involved and committed to their inanimate clones, studio manager Matthew Hilshorst told The Post and, many A-listers are very particular about how their figure is dressed.
“I don’t know if I’d say nitpicky — it’s more like seeking perfection,” Hilshorst laughed.
Interactions with the big shots span from exhilarating to outrageous.
Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift, the main attraction on Madame Tussauds’ ground level, insisted on being displayed in her actual, purple New York University honorary graduate outfit.
It’s such a hit that people leave Eras Tour friendship bracelets on the wrist of Swift’s figure, something uncommon to all other mannequins — including Donald Trump and President Joe Biden.
Swift has also donated a dress and guitar from her tour.
Sofia Vergara
“The celebrity will typically donate an outfit,” Hilshorst said. Actress Sofia Vergara has two wax figures but one is in the silver Marchesa gown she wore to the 2012 Met Gala.
Bad Bunny
Meanwhile, rapper Bad Bunny is draped in his Super Bowl LIV performance getup he wore performing alongside Jennifer Lopez, Shakira and J Balvin.
“They always request generally what they’re going to wear. We can suggest, but whatever they say goes,” Hilshorst said.
Megan Thee Stallion
Making the mannequins is a weekslong process that typically involves a 6-hour sit-down with a celebrity holding poses. But Megan Thee Stallion was extra committed.
The singer was so obsessed that she voluntarily spent 14 hours on multiple poses and looks, Hilshorst said.
Jennifer Hudson
Like with most celebrity projects, big personalities sometimes insist on big changes at the last minute.
“Jennifer Hudson, after we had made her figure, she wanted her nails to be different. So we sent her hands to her nail tech in Chicago to have her nails done to look like they did at the 2021 Met Gala,” he recalled.
Wendy Williams
“Wendy Williams bought her figure a ring,” Hilshorst said. “And so we then swapped out the jewelry on her figure so that it would be wearing her new ring.”
Awkwafina
It’s also common for celebs to be beside their wax figure’s head, separated by only a partition during the hourslong sculpting. However, when it was Awkwafina’s turn, she wanted to be face-to-face with herself and have nothing in between.
That was no problem at all for the skilled Hilshorst. However, another snafu arose later on.
Awkwafina noticed her hair was the wrong shade.
“She was like, ‘I don’t dye my hair. So this hair color is not right.’ So then we had to change the hair color the day before [its unveiling],” Hilshorst said.
Heidi Klum
Heidi Klum had a similar situation as Awkwafina but with her figure’s skin tone.
“We had put tissue paper and do an emergency paint job on her figure before we launched. And so, her figure is probably still wet by the time it launched.”
Anitta
Often, some can be so realistic that even the celebrity is shocked. Brazilian singer Anitta was amazed that her recent bikini line tan was included in her thong-clad lookalike.
The resemblance was so uncanny that she even used her wax figure to open her phone with faceID, according to Hilshorst.
She then Facetimed fellow museum inductee J Balvin, showing him the figure instead of herself.
Glenn Close
Other big names didn’t give theirs the prima donna treatment, but they certainly showed a touch of Hollywood eccentricity.
“Glenn Close did hers sitting in her apartment, but then when we launched her figure, it was here on site, and she brought her dog, actually,” said Hilshorst. “If the dog approved of the figure she said would sign off on it. And the dog, I guess, did.”
Matthew McConaughey
“Matthew McConaughey, I was kind of starstruck by him,” Hilshorst said. “He spoke to me about some philosophical artists… the subject of art and my career choice, my artistic abilities and the greater universe.”
A day in the life of a Madame Tussauds artist
Hilshorst and his team of seven are constantly doing touch-ups and emergency surgery on figures.
Since guests can get up close and personal with them, incidental contact and damage are guaranteed.
Fingers are now made of fiberglass because of how easily they would snap off.
“It’s never intentional. Guests just get really excited when they see their favorite person ever,” he said.
“It’s usually minor tweaks or fixes. A scratch on the face. Generally touch-ups for longevity.”
However, recently, Phantom of the Opera took a headfirst dive and has been off the floor and in repair.
And, whenever a hot commodity has to go backstage, they are sorely missed by visitors.
“The second we take Elvis [Presley] off the floor, people are like, ‘Where is Elvis? Where is Michael Jackson?'” said Hilshorst.
“But sometimes we just have to work on them. We need to refresh them. Do give them new hair, work on their profiles, repaint their skin on.”
Now, the new tour is giving guests a much better perspective on how the inanimate objects are constantly given life by a select few top-notch artists — many of whom have dreamed of this opportunity.
“This is it, this is the show,” the studio manager said.
