FINALLY! American Horror Story Asylum Fans, We Found An Interview With Actress Naomi Grossman – AKA “Pepper the Pinhead”

11 November 2012

Wow, I did a ton of searches but missed this …until now!

To read the interview on the great Monsters and Critics site, click on the below composite/comparison photos.

If there is a glitch and this does NOT take you to the interview with actress/performance artist Naomi Grossman, please reply below and let me know so I can fix it. Cool?

Here’s some of the highlights from the interview Again, my source is the article American Horror Story: Asylum exclusive: Naomi Grossman’s amazing transformation to Pepper from Monstersandcriritcs.com and written by April MacIntyre, © Nov 8, 2012 – NOT Horror Boom!

So how the HELL do they get her to look like that? Read on:

MONSTERS AND CRITICS: Please, what are the prosthetic and makeup devices they do to you to transform? How long does it take?

NAOMI: The make-up process is quite long, though they’ve gotten it down to about 2.5-3 hours. Those first make-up tests took at least twice that though– they are incredibly meticulous– during those first couple times, I remember them very carefully placing freckles almost as if were a work of art! The prosthetics are of course made of silicon, made specifically for my face, and consist of a forehead complete with punched-in eyebrows, a nose, ears, and even a bumpy little spine-piece for my back. Again, depending upon the wardrobe, no one even sees that, but that’s the kind of detail-oriented professionals they are. I have fake teeth, which of course change the shape of my face (and speech). There’s even a wacky lens for one of my eyes– it’s subtle, but effective (it’s disturbing having someone look at you, but not quite look at you, you know?).
It seems the only thing that’s truly mine is the hair! At first they toyed with a bald-cap, but given Pepper’s condition, it was important to make my head look as small as possible. So, it was obviously better for them to not have to stuff a bunch of hair into a cap. Though the bald caps they gave me initially looked incredibly authentic as well.

Yup, Naomi Grossman was brave, dedicated and fearless enough to shave her head (except the very top –you know, to be able to add that pretty little ribbon) for the role of Pepper.*

I think at one point they’d talked about using CGI to actually shrink my head, but I’m sure it was easier and probably much cheaper to have me shave my head than [to] have to employ such advanced special effects. Besides, the makeup crew takes pride in not having to rely on such tricks. So instead of making my head small, they built up my body by putting me in a fat suit. And well, the end-product is well worth the head-shave and hours in the chair. …I actually have to introduce myself when I’m there out of costume. I’m going to be the girl no one knows at the wrap-party!

Is Naomi Grossman aware of what happens for the rest of the season… and how much does she know?

M&C: What, exactly, is Pepper’s back story? What insight did Ryan Murphy give you?
NAOMI: Not a lot! They’re so secretive. Not even in the audition did I know what I was reading for! It wasn’t until I’d gotten the part
and was meeting with makeup, that they told me what I’d look like …which obviously informs the character. So I spent a lot of time watching and reading about Schlitzie from “Freaks.” That was the inspiration behind Pepper, after all. And though Schlitzie‘s time was well before Pepper’s, he no doubt had a similar, marginal existence. Other than that, I only get the sides I’m in! Sister Mary Eunice (Lily Rabe)’s line about me slicing the ears off my sister’s baby was about all I knew too!

This is BEFORE…

M&C: …does she make it all the way to the end of the season?

NAOMI: Well, I can’t tell you that! In fact, I don’t even know myself. They keep us very much on our toes! I only know what I’m shooting on Monday. And well, I don’t die Monday anyway! It seems like Pepper’s pretty popular, so hopefully they’ll keep me around… Though who am I kidding? No one’s safe in “American Horror Story!”

I wholeheartedly agree with that! Check out the entire interview here on Monsters and Critics.

aaaaaand this is AFTER.

Here is the real-life character Pepper was based on – who was actually a man. I recommend this article for more about Schiltzie.

Schlitzie (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

*When I say brave, I mean brave. The least amount of money it would take me to shave my head would probably be in the VERY high five-figure range.

Pepper The Pinhead On American Story Is Based On This Real-Life Performer…

11 November 2012

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Here’s a great post. Since various combinations of “Pepper the Pinhead on American Horror Story Asylum” has probably been one of (if not the #1) top search term that lands horror fans on Horror Boom for the past month, I still wonder what her make-up process is, and if any wanted to see how her make-up was done. This great post from Laurie Kendrick briefly discusses that, but also the real life person Pepper is based on, Simon Metz (I never knew “Schlitze” was a man, which is kind of embarrassing since I consider myself a subject matter expert and big fan of the movie since I read about it in 1980. Then I discovered the Ramones connection and that took my obsession to a whole new level. I was actually too scared to see it after I read Stephen King’s vivid, horrifying description of the seminal film in his non-fiction book, Danse Macabre.

At the time, I didn’t want to see anything that gave Stephen King nightmares. Anyway, I’ve read several books on what were oh-so-compassionately termed Freak Shows and the actual people who performed in them. This is a great read on the subject of the movie and “Schlitze”. I have more information on the subject, but that’s for later, and Ms. Kendrick does a much better job here than if I worked on a piece full-time for a week. Check it out – and I agree. May Schlitze Surtees rest in peace. He’s more than earned it.

Related articles

American Horror Story Asylum – News and SPOILER Round-Up For Upcoming Episodes (Part 2 of 2) – Plus Pinhead Pepper Plots REVENGE! (horrorboom.com)

First Teaser Trailer for the 2013 Carrie Remake Starring Chloe Moretz and Julianne Moore Is Here – Bloody Hell! (horrorboom.com)

Photo Gallery for American Horror Story: Asylum – Episode 5: I Am Anne Frank – Part 2 (dreadcentral.com)

American Horror Story Asylum – News and SPOILER Round-Up/Specs For Upcoming Episodes (Part 1 of 2) – Plus Pinhead Pepper Plots REVENGE! (horrorboom.com)

“AHS Asylum” and the Problem of “Freaks” (Tod Browning; 1932) (tvandpop.com)

Laurie Kendrick

A year ago—maybe longer—I wrote a post about a genetic condition commonly known as “Pinhead Syndrome”. And since the premier of American Horror Story: Asylum its been receiving renewed interest.

Actress, Naomi Grossman endures grueling hours of special make up, putting on oversized clothes and prosthetic application to transform into Pepper, a patient incarcerated in the edifice which serves as this season’s main character: an asylum called Briarcliff. Pepper is microcephalic.

In the simplest of terms, the character has a considerably smaller head than normal, due to a smaller than normal brain case. She seems gentle and playful but as we learned in the first episode this season, she has a very violent past. She drowned her nephew and cut off his ears. But we later learn, that her brother in-law committed the murder and mutilation and blamed it on her because of her disability.