Maestro makeup artist apologises for using prosthetic nose for Bradley Cooper in Bernstein biopic

The makeup artist who worked on Bradley Cooper's film Maestro has issued an apology after facing backlash for using a prosthetic nose for the actor. The film is a biopic on composer Leonard Bernstein. Cooper plays the lead protagonist and has been accused of cultural appropriation termed'Jewface'.

Kazu Hiro, the makeup artist has apologised to anyone who felt hurt by the use of a prosthetic nose.

Speaking at a press conference at the Venice Film Festival – where Maestro premiered – Kazu Hiro said he was surprised by the backlash.

He said, “I wasn’t expecting it to happen. I feel sorry if I hurt some people’s feelings. My goal was and Bradley’s goal was to portray Lenny as authentically as possible. Lenny had a really iconic look that everybody knows.

“There’s so many pictures out there because he’s photogenic, too – such a great person and also inspired so many people. So we wanted to respect the look, including what’s going on inside. So that’s why we did several different tests and went through lots of decisions and that was the outcome in the movie. That was our only intention.”

Bernstein – the son of Jewish-Ukrainian immigrants to the US – was an influential composer and conductor, best known for composing the music for West Side Story.

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Maestro marks the return of Cooper as a director after the critically acclaimed A Star Is Born. Maestro centres on Bernstein’s complicated relationship with his wife, Felicia Montealegre, played by Carey Mulligan.

Criticism over its use of prosthetics arose when the film's first look emerged last month on the internet.

Amid backlash, Bernstein’s children, Jamie, Alexander and Nina defended Cooper against what they called “disingenuous” criticism. They said: “It breaks out hearts to see any misrepresentations or misunderstandings of (Cooper’s) efforts.

“It happens to be true that Leonard Bernstein had a nice, big nose. Bradley chose to use makeup to amplify his resemblance, and we’re perfectly fine with that. We’re also certain that our dad would have been fine with it as well.”

Cooper was absent from Saturday’s press conference due to the actors' and writers' strike that prohibits talent from promoting films if they have been made by large studios.