“It was a talking point,” says Chris Fulton, Emmy Award-winning stylist on Levinson. Fulton says the look comes from Tesfaye, who came to the set with a clear idea of Tedros’ backstory and personality, including the hair: “Abel had a clear idea of who this guy was,” says Fulton. “She knew where he grew up, where he came from, where he spent time in custody.” From that point on, Fulton and Kim Kimble are Beyoncé’s historical hairstylist and head of hair at Euphoria— went to work on the creation of a wig that embodied Tesfaye’s vision of chemically straightened, hot-combed, straightened hair.
“It happened within a few days. It was one of the fastest somersaults I have ever seen,” says Fulton. At first, Tedros’ wig consisted of a thin ponytail. Until Tesfaye’s personal hairdresser Kya Bilal took things to a more extreme level.
“It was one of those magical moments that happens in movies and TV when (Abel) is like, ‘How about a pigtail?’ We started with a ponytail, then Kiya braided it and it became a pigtail. Everyone in the room said, “Oh my God, this is it.” It was perfect.”
Curiously, a similar scene opens up in the second series, when one of Tedros’ girls, Chloe (played by Susanna Sohn, star Red Rockm) takes care of his braid.
“Watching Susannah braid her hair, I thought… Adept Manson. Shinebut with some beauty, you know what I mean? Seeing her sitting and braiding her hair, I felt like a representative of a modern cult,” says Fulton. Many of the later lines in the series are improvised; Levinson rewrote the script in real time.
abel hair
Pomaded hair, as Fulton says: “They have become an integral part of the character of Abel. I mean, she put on a wig and became a completely different person. One scene we’ll see later in the season was filmed during an actual The Weeknd concert: “Testfaye performed as The Weeknd, then he walked off stage, put on Tedros’ wig and fired his gun. That’s the kind of dedication he had for this role.” In addition, it should be said that The Weeknd appeared on stage with a custom hairstyle, wearing a wig that resembled his dreadlocks in Uncut Gems.
However, it’s possible Tedros shares Tesfaye’s penchant for reincarnation: “We’ll see drastic changes to his hair in the sequel,” Fulton promises. So perhaps the return of the ponytail could precede an even more extreme grooming craze.
The article was originally published on the GQ Us website.