View source for Kazu Hiro


{{other people|Kazuhiro|Kazuhiro}}

{{Infobox person
| name               = Kazu Hiro
| image              = 
| imagesize          = 
| birth_name         = Kazuhiro Tsuji
| birth_date         = {{birth date and age|1969|5|26}}
| birth_place        = [[Kyoto]], [[Japan]]
| death_date         = 
| death_place        = 
| occupation         = Portrait sculptor, [[Prosthetic makeup|special make-up effects]] artist
| years_active       = 1988–present
| spouse             = 
| children           = 
}}

'''Kazu Hiro''' (born '''Kazuhiro Tsuji''', {{langx|ja|辻 一弘}} {{Transliteration|ja|Tsuji Kazuhiro}}; born May 26, 1969) is a Japanese and American [[Prosthetic makeup|special make-up effects]] artist and [[Visual arts|visual artist]].<ref name="vulture">{{Cite web |url=http://www.vulture.com/2017/12/kazuhiro-tsuji-gary-oldman-darkest-hour.html |title=How Gary Oldman Lured a Makeup Magician Back for One More Job |last=Jones |first=Nate |date=December 1, 2017 |website=[[Vulture.com]] |access-date=December 6, 2017}}</ref> He won the [[Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling]] for the biographical films ''[[Darkest Hour (film)|Darkest Hour]]'' (2017) and ''[[Bombshell (2019 film)|Bombshell]]'' (2019) after earning nominations for the comedies ''[[Click (2006 film)|Click]]'' (2006) and ''[[Norbit]]'' (2007).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/oscar/movies/?id=click.htm |title=Click - Academy Awards |website=[[Box Office Mojo]] |access-date=December 6, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://variety.com/2008/film/awards/norbit-1117980790/ |title='Norbit' Achievement in Makeup Oscar nominee |last=Ryder |first=Caroline |date=February 12, 2008 |website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |access-date=December 6, 2017}}</ref><ref name="darkesthour">{{cite web|title=Darkest Hour|url=http://oscar.go.com/nominees/makeup-and-hairstyling/darkest-hour|website=Oscar.go.com|publisher=[[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]]|access-date=April 24, 2018}}</ref> He was additionally nominated for ''[[Maestro (2023 film)|Maestro]]'' (2023) and ''[[The Smashing Machine (2025 film)|The Smashing Machine]]'' (2025).<ref name=":0" />

==Life and career==
Kazu Hiro grew up in [[Kyoto]], where he spent much of his time alone engaging in art projects.<ref name="vulture"/> Kazu Hiro came across an issue of ''[[Fangoria]]'' which featured [[Dick Smith (make-up artist)|Dick Smith]] and his work turning [[Hal Holbrook]] into [[Abraham Lincoln]] for the 1976 [[miniseries]] ''Lincoln''.<ref name="vulture"/> This led to Kazu Hiro's own experiments with special make-up effects, photos of which he began sending to Dick Smith after discovering his [[Post office box|P.O. box]] in the back of a magazine.<ref name="vulture"/> The two would eventually meet in person when Smith traveled to Japan to work on [[Kiyoshi Kurosawa]]'s ''[[Sweet Home (1989 film)|Sweet Home]]''.<ref name="spoon">{{Cite web |url=http://www.spoon-tamago.com/2013/06/14/the-amazing-story-of-hollywood-make-up-artist-kazuhiro-tsuji/ |title=The amazing story of Hollywood Make-up artist Kazuhiro Tsuji |date=June 14, 2013 |website=Spoon & Tamago |access-date=December 6, 2017 |archive-date=November 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108133610/https://www.spoon-tamago.com/2013/06/14/the-amazing-story-of-hollywood-make-up-artist-kazuhiro-tsuji/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Smith invited Kazu Hiro to work on the film with him and this began his film career.<ref name="spoon"/>

While working on ''Sweet Home'', Kazu Hiro met fellow artist Eddie Yang, who was visiting from the United States. In 1996, Kazu Hiro moved to Los Angeles to work with Yang and Smith's protege, [[Rick Baker]], on his first U.S. work, ''[[Men in Black (1997 film)|Men in Black]]''.<ref name="vulture"/> Continuing his work with Baker, Kazu Hiro worked on many projects including ''[[How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000 film)|How the Grinch Stole Christmas]]'', for which he won a [[BAFTA Award for Best Makeup and Hair|BAFTA]].<ref name="vulture"/>

Kazu Hiro crafted the silicone model of [[Brad Pitt]]'s head used to artificially age him via CGI for ''[[The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (film)|The Curious Case of Benjamin Button]]'' in 2008.<ref name="vulture"/> In 2012, Kazu Hiro created the prosthetics which turned [[Joseph Gordon-Levitt]] into a young [[Bruce Willis]] for ''[[Looper (film)|Looper]]''.<ref name="hero">{{cite news|last=Whipp|first=Glenn|title='Looper': Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Rian Johnson are a tight team|url=http://herocomplex.latimes.com/2012/08/31/looper-joseph-gordon-levitt-and-rian-johnson-are-a-tight-team/|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=December 6, 2017|date=August 31, 2012}}</ref>

After his work on ''Looper'', Kazu Hiro retired from the film industry<ref name="vulture"/> and focused on sculpture,<ref name="thrillist"/> crafting giant busts of people such as [[Frida Kahlo]], [[Salvador Dalí]], and [[Abraham Lincoln]], as well as Smith.<ref name="vulture"/>

For the 2017 film ''[[Darkest Hour (film)|Darkest Hour]]'', [[Gary Oldman]] talked Kazu Hiro out of retirement to create the [[Winston Churchill]] prosthetics.<ref name="vulture"/> Oldman had been considered for the role of General Thade in [[Tim Burton]]'s ''[[Planet of the Apes (2001 film)|Planet of the Apes]]'' (the role went to his'' [[Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (film)|Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead]]'' co-star, [[Tim Roth]])<ref name="vulture"/> and Kazu Hiro's work at that time had impressed Oldman enough that for him, Kazu Hiro was the only man to turn him into Churchill. For this work, Kazu Hiro won the [[Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling]] in 2018,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/09/gary-oldman-darkest-hour |title=How Gary Oldman Was Finally Convinced to Play Winston Churchill |last=Keegan |first=Rebecca |date=September 5, 2017 |website=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]] |access-date=December 6, 2017}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://nwasianweekly.com/2018/03/tsuji-makes-oscar-history/|title=Tsuji makes Oscar history|date=March 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180313063014/https://nwasianweekly.com/2018/03/tsuji-makes-oscar-history/ |archive-date=March 13, 2018 }}</ref> making him the first Asian to win that award.<ref name="auto"/><ref>https://x.com/IndieWire/status/970472820928020480{{Dead link | date=December 2025 | fix-attempted=yes}}</ref>

He won the award again in 2020 for his work in the 2019 film ''[[Bombshell (2019 film)|Bombshell]]'', where he made prosthetics for [[Charlize Theron]] as news anchor [[Megyn Kelly]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Minutaglio|first=Rose|date=January 16, 2020|url=https://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/a30505220/charlize-theron-megyn-kelly-bombshell-prosthetics-kazu-hiro/|title=Charlize Theron's Unrecognizable ''Bombshell'' Transformation Is All Thanks to Prosthetist Kazu Hiro|work=Elle|access-date=February 6, 2020}}</ref>

In 2024, Hiro received an Academy Award [[96th Academy Awards|nomination]] for Best Makeup and Hairstyling for his work with ''[[Maestro (2023 film)|Maestro]]''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.barrons.com/news/oscar-nominated-makeup-genius-kazu-hiro-comes-full-circle-with-maestro-337d1c4f?gaa_at=eafs&gaa_n=AWEtsqd4AD0BtOSqzq1rqDuhUGJTmka5iXeQQHfGA3CL_QNDEefwZFDUDVvkEkvEZpU%3D&gaa_ts=69726dc1&gaa_sig=1OSSN-UjVqscHWD6x_uuhs8p9dpsw6LpRH3DnEyYL0duUOoxMxqwtVc-DdfKJoC5XRG4HV04-ElEE2_ADyekSw%3D%3D|title=Oscar-nominated Makeup Genius Kazu Hiro Comes Full Circle With 'Maestro'|first=Paula|last=Ramon|publisher=Barron's|date=March 2, 2024|accessdate=January 22, 2026}}</ref> In January 2026, he received his most recent Academy Award [[98th Academy Awards|nomination]] for [[Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling|Best Makeup and Hairstyling]] for his work with ''[[The Smashing Machine (2025 film)|The Smashing Machine]]''. His nominated was shared with [[Glen P. Griffin|Glen Griffin]] and [[Bjoern Rehbein]].<ref name=":0">{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/awards/story/2026-01-22/oscar-nominations-2026-list-nominees|title=2026 Oscar nominations: The complete list of nominees|first=Tracy|last=Brown|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=January 22, 2026|accessdate=January 22, 2026}}</ref>

==Personal life==
In March 2019, Tsuji became an [[Citizenship of the United States|American citizen]] and officially changed his name to Kazu Hiro.<ref>{{cite press release|url=https://www.kao.com/global/en/news/rd/2019/20190514-001/|title=A research collaboration with artist Kazu Hiro: Using art and science to find the unique, expressive beauty that matures inside every person with passing years|publisher=Kao Corporation|date=May 14, 2019|access-date=February 6, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Saruwatari|first=Yuki|date=January 14, 2020|url=https://news.yahoo.co.jp/byline/saruwatariyuki/20200114-00158572/|script-title=ja:カズ・ヒロ氏、またもやオスカー候補入り。国籍と名前を変えた心境を聞く|work=Yahoo! News|language=ja|access-date=February 6, 2020|archive-date=September 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929120018/https://news.yahoo.co.jp/byline/saruwatariyuki/20200114-00158572/|url-status=dead}}</ref> At the 2020 Academy Awards, Kazu Hiro said he became an American citizen because he "got tired" of [[culture of Japan|Japanese culture]], which he found "too submissive" and a place where it is "hard to make a dream come true".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBwjlVgLLpY|title=Oscar Winners for 'Bombshell' Full Press Room Speech|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=February 9, 2020|access-date=May 25, 2020}}</ref>

==Filmography==
{| class="wikitable"
!Year
!Title
!Designation
|-
|1989
|''[[Sweet Home (1989 film)|Sweet Home]]'' 
|Special makeup effects artist
|-
|1991
|''[[Rhapsody in August]]'' 
|Special makeup effects artist
|-
|1992
|''[[Minbo]]'' 
|Special makeup effects artist
|-
|1997
|''[[Men in Black (1997 film)|Men in Black]]'' 
|Sculptor<ref name="spoon"/>
|-
|1997
|''[[Critical Care (film)|Critical Care]]'' 
|Makeup application: [[Albert Brooks]]
|-
|1997
|''[[The Devil's Advocate (1997 film)|The Devil's Advocate]]''
|Principal artist
|-
|2000
|''[[Nutty Professor II: The Klumps]]'' 
|Sculptor<ref name="thrillist">{{Cite web |url=https://www.thrillist.com/culture/kazuhiro-tsuji-hyper-realistic-sculptures-of-abraham-lincoln-andy-warhol-and-salvador-dali |title=These Massive Sculptures Of Lincoln, Warhol And Dali Are Hyper-Realistic |last=Fulton |first=Wil |date=January 20, 2015 |website=[[Thrillist]] |access-date=December 6, 2017}}</ref>
|-
|1999
|''[[Life (1999 film)|Life]]''
|Key makeup artist
|-
|1999 
|''[[Wild Wild West]]''
|Makeup designer
|-
|2000
|''[[How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000 film)|How the Grinch Stole Christmas]]''
|Makeup artist: [[Jim Carrey]] as [[Grinch]]<ref name="vulture"/>
|-
|2001
|''[[Planet of the Apes (2001 film)|Planet of the Apes]]''
|Designer/sculptor: Cinovation Studios/
makeup designer: [[Tim Roth]] as General Thade/makeup designer: ape makeup
|-
|2002
|''[[Men in Black II]]'' 
|Special makeup effects artist
|-
|2003
|''[[The Haunted Mansion (2003 film)|The Haunted Mansion]]''
|Special makeup effects artist
|-
|2004
|''[[Hellboy (2004 film)|Hellboy]]''
|Special makeup effects artist
|-
|2004
|''[[Blade: Trinity]]'' 
|Art supervisor
|-
|2005
|''[[The Ring Two]]''
|Makeup effects supervisor
|-
|2006
|''[[Click (2006 film)|Click]]'' 
|Prosthetic makeup supervisor
|-
|2007
|''[[Norbit]]''
|Prosthetic makeup supervisor
|-
|2008
|''[[The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (film)|The Curious Case of Benjamin Button]]'' 
|Special makeup effects artist<ref name="vulture"/>
|-
|2009
|''[[Angels & Demons (film)|Angels & Demons]]''
|Prosthetic makeup artist
|-
|2009
|''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen]]'' 
|Special makeup effects artist
|-
|2009
|''[[G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra]]''
|Prosthetic makeup designer: [[Cobra Commander|"The Doctor"]]
|-
|2010
|''[[Salt (2010 film)|Salt]]'' 
|Prosthetic makeup designer: [[Angelina Jolie]]
|-
|2010
|''[[Tron: Legacy]]''
|Special makeup effects artist
|-
|2012
|''[[Hemingway & Gellhorn]]''
|Special effects makeup artist: [[Nicole Kidman]]
|-
|2012
|''[[Total Recall (2012 film)|Total Recall]]''
|Special makeup effects artist<ref name="thrillist"/>
|-
|2012
|''[[Looper (film)|Looper]]'' 
|Prosthetic makeup designer: [[Joseph Gordon-Levitt]]<ref name="hero"/>
|-
|2012
|''[[The Place Beyond the Pines]]'' 
|Prosthetic makeup crew
|-
|2017
|''[[Darkest Hour (film)|Darkest Hour]]''
|Prosthetic makeup and hair designer: [[Gary Oldman]] as [[Winston Churchill]]<ref name="vulture"/>
|-
|2019
|''[[Bombshell (2019 film)|Bombshell]]''
|Prosthetic makeup and hair designer: [[Charlize Theron]] as [[Megyn Kelly]], [[John Lithgow]] as [[Roger Ailes]]
|-
|2023
|''[[Maestro (2023 film)|Maestro]]'' 
|Prosthetic makeup and hair designer: [[Bradley Cooper]] as [[Leonard Bernstein]] 
|-
|2025
|''[[The Smashing Machine (2025 film)|The Smashing Machine]]''
|Prosthetic makeup and hair designer: [[Dwayne Johnson]] as [[Mark Kerr (fighter)|Mark Kerr]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tangcay |first=Jazz |date=September 2, 2025 |title=Dwayne Johnson's 'Smashing Machine' Transformation: How Makeup Artist Kazu Hiro Hid Tattoos, Changed The Rock’s Nose Shape and More |url=https://variety.com/2025/artisans/news/dwayne-johnson-smashing-machine-transformation-makeup-1236504683/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250911214652/https://variety.com/2025/artisans/news/dwayne-johnson-smashing-machine-transformation-makeup-1236504683/ |archive-date=September 11, 2025 |access-date=September 16, 2025 |website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]}}</ref>
|}

== Awards and nominations ==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!| Year
!| Award
!| Category
!| Nominated work
!| Result
!|Ref.
|-
|[[79th Academy Awards|2007]] || rowspan="6" |[[Academy Awards|Academy Award]]|| rowspan="6" |[[Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling|Best Makeup & Hairstyling]] || ''[[Click (2006 film)|Click]]'' || {{nom}} ||<ref name="Oscars2007">{{Cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2007 |title=The 79th Academy Awards (2007) Nominees and Winners |access-date=November 18, 2011 |work=[[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] |publisher=AMPAS |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141014074650/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2007 |archive-date=October 14, 2014 }}</ref>
|-
|[[80th Academy Awards|2008]] || ''[[Norbit]]'' || {{nom}} ||<ref>{{Cite news |title=The 80th Academy Awards (2008) Nominees and Winners |publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) |url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2008 |url-status=live |access-date=December 22, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402004725/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2008 |archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|[[90th Academy Awards|2018]] || ''[[Darkest Hour (film)|Darkest Hour]]'' || {{won}} ||<ref name="Oscars2018">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2018 |title=The 90th Academy Awards (2018) Nominees and Winners |access-date=May 5, 2020 |publisher=[[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] (AMPAS)}}</ref>
|-
|[[92nd Academy Awards|2020]] || ''[[Bombshell (2019 film)|Bombshell]]'' || {{won}} ||<ref name="Oscars2020">{{cite news |url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2020 |title=The 92nd Academy Awards (2020) Nominees and Winners |access-date=July 13, 2020 |publisher=[[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] (AMPAS) |archive-date=February 25, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190225030534/https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> 
|-
|[[96th Academy Awards|2024]]
|''[[Maestro (2023 film)|Maestro]]''
| {{nom}}
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=96TH OSCARS® NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED |url=http://press.oscars.org/news/96th-oscarsr-nominations-announced |access-date=2024-01-31 |website=press.oscars.org |language=en}}</ref>
|-
|[[98th Academy Awards|2026]]
|''[[The Smashing Machine (2025 film)|The Smashing Machine]]''
| {{Pending}}
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=See the full list of nominees for the 2026 Oscars |url=https://abc7.com/post/2026-oscars-nominations-see-full-list-nominees-98th-annual-academy-awards/18439265/ |access-date=2024-01-22 |website=press.oscars.org |language=en}}</ref>
|-
||[[74th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards|2022]]|| [[Primetime Emmy Awards|Primetime Emmy Award]] || [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup|Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup]] || ''[[Gaslit (TV series)|Gaslit]]: Final Days'' || {{nom}}
|-
| [[39th Santa Barbara International Film Festival|2024]]
| [[Santa Barbara International Film Festival]]
| style="text-align:center;" |Variety Artisans Award – Hairstyling/Makeup
| ''Maestro''
| {{Honored}}
| style="text-align:center;" |<ref name="aa:variety">{{Cite news|url=https://variety.com/2024/artisans/news/variety-artisans-awards-billie-eilish-ludwig-goransson-rodrigo-prieto-2024-1235875559/ |title= Billie Eilish, Finneas, Ludwig Goransson, Rodrigo Prieto and More to Be Feted With Variety Artisans Awards at Santa Barbara Film Festival|author= Jazz Tangcay |work= [[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date= January 17, 2024 |access-date= January 19, 2024 |language=en}}</ref>
|-
|}
==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://kazustudios.com/ Kazu Hiro]
*{{IMDb name|0875308|Kazu Hiro}}

{{Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling}}
{{BAFTA Award for Best Makeup and Hair}}


<!-- Given "Kazu Hiro" derives from his original given name, it is unclear whether he considers "Hiro" to be his surname {{DEFAULTSORT:Hiro, Kazu}} -->

[[Category:1969 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Artists from Kyoto]]
[[Category:Artists from Los Angeles]]
[[Category:American artists of Japanese descent]]
[[Category:American make-up artists]]
[[Category:Best Makeup Academy Award winners]]
[[Category:Best Makeup BAFTA Award winners]]
[[Category:American people of Japanese descent]]
[[Category:Japanese emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:Japanese make-up artists]]
[[Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States]]
[[Category:American special effects people]]

{{Wikipedia attribution|original_title=Kazu Hiro|access_date=2026-03-04}}