Kazuhiro Tsuji Wiki: 5 Facts To Know About The 'Darkest Hour' Make-up Artist

Have you ever wondered whyactors look identical to the character they are depicting in their real-event-based TV shows and movies? Well, it wouldn’t be possible if it weren't for the make-up artist. One of the best and most popular make-up artist in Hollywood is Kazuhiro Tsuji. Tsuji is a not only a make-up artist but a visual artist as well. He has been nominated for numerous awards like the Academy Award for Best Makeup. This year, Tsuji was nominated for the Oscar 2018 and he's earned quite the net worth from the recognition. So where does Kazuhiro Tsuji hail from? Tsuji is Japanese and he grew up in the suburb of Kyoto, Japan. While growing up, Tsuji spent much of his time away from other people doing his art projects. One day he came across an issue of Fangoria Magazine which featured Dick Smith and his major work that turned Hal Holbrook into Abraham Lincoln for the 1976 TV series, “Lincoln.” Tsuji was inspired by that and so began his own experiments with special makeup effects. He searched for Dick Smith’s contacts and found his P.O. box in a magazine. Tsuji started sending him the photos of his work and the two met in person after Smith traveled to Japan to work on 'Sweet Home.' He invited Tsuji to work with him on the film and that’s how Tsuji’s film career began. While working on 'Sweet Home,' Tsuji bumped into another make-up artist, Eddie Yang. Yang was lucky enough to move to America to work for Rick Baker, Dick Smith’s protégé. When Yang went back to America after the film, 'Sweet Home' was finished, he helped Tsuji come over and work with Baker on 'Men in Black.' He continued to work with Baker on projects such as 'Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas' from which he earned a BAFTA Award. Other projects that he's worked on include 'Blade: Trinity,' 'G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra,' 'Total Recall,' 'Darkest Hour,' and 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.' Tsuji has since retired from the film and make-up industry but Gary Oldman begged him to create the Winston Churchill prosthetics when Oldman depicted the character.

Tsuji is very talented at what he does, and he doesn’t speak much about his home life. That triggers people to ask what kind of childhood and hates telling people that he spent most of his time in his own imagination. Kazuhiro Tsuji said that when he was a child, his parents used to work a lot and that they spent very little time at home with their son. When he was all alone at home, Tsuji had to learn to occupy himself all on his own. When he was five years old, he would leave kindergarten and head down to the artisan shops where he would watch the artisans creating their wares. He enjoyed seeing things being created artistically and he developed an interest in painting and sculpting. The first sculpture he made was a dinosaur in kindergarten. Tsuji didn’t like to be in class so he would isolate himself in the corner of the classroom to sculpt whatever came his imagined designed that day.

Considering what art is, Tsuji first had to understand the concept of being an artist. Being an artist meant creating something from your imagination which is something he been he'd been doing since he was a child in kindergarten. He didn’t have understand the concept of being a professional artist and make a living out of it until later on in his life. Tsuji stated that at the time, it wasn’t considered that one would make a living as an artist in Japan but he was determined to make a living doing something that he loved.

While in junior high school, Tsuji was trying to figure out what he wished to do with his life. He considered different professions including what his father and his mother did for a living but he ultimately decided he didn't want to do that for a living either. Next, he considered those careers that reflected his hobbies, one of which was art. He used to build model houses, so he thought about becoming an architect but in the end he wound up working with make-up instead. Tsuji also loved the idea of ship and design. At the time he never liked the idea of special effects makeup because he thought they were only used in horror films. When he was 17, Tsuji found out about Dick Smith from a magazine and thought that’s what he would do. That’s how Tsuji became a make-up artist.

The sculptures of Andy Warhol and Salvador Dali are part of what Kazuhiro Tsuji has made with the talent he was given. Tsuji said that it was not about what they did but about who they were that inspired him. He stated that when he picked a subject, it was about what was going on his or her life and that what happened to Dali and Warhol had a direct impact on his life and that’s why he turned them into sculptures.

Tsuji stated that he gets intrigued by people’s lifestyles and how they spend their lives. He also loves to see how they project themselves to the outside world and how they make their money and their net worth.

Kazuhiro Tsuji has a net worth of $9 million. He's made most of his net worth from making sculptures and projects like 'Blade: Trinity,' 'G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra,' 'Total Recall,' 'Darkest Hour,' and 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.'

It’s a regular year for Tsuji because he's accustomed to be being nominated for numerous awards each and every year. His art is great so let's hope this make-up artist wins the Oscar 2018 Award.