Claire Anne Williams always wanted to be a hair and make-up artist. “From the age of five, this is what I’ve wanted to do,” says London-born Williams. “Even with my first job in retail, they put me on the make-up counter.”

But after training variously at Alan D Hairdressing, London School of Barbering and hair and make-up school Delamar Academy, Williams hit a roadblock. “I found it hard to get into the industry because I didn’t know anybody,” she recalls.

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Determined to follow her passion, however, Williams applied for a traineeship offered by ScreenSkills, never expecting to be accepted. Not only was she selected but three weeks later found herself on the set of 2018 fantasy adventure feature Of Gods And Warriors (aka Viking Destiny). “I was so shocked, and learned valuable lessons about working on set from amazing make-up artists who had worked on the likes of Game Of Thrones,” says Williams.

Further training came on big-budget productions for Disney including Solo: A Star Wars Story and Maleficent: Mistress Of Evil, experiences that “sparked my interest in SFX make-up and gave me skills, like how to remove SFX make-up, that I now use as a designer”.

After working on shorts, commercials and music promos, Williams received her first head of department credit working on Neil Maskell’s Klokkenluider. Williams cannot reveal details of the work she conducted on the mysterious pandemic-shot project but says, “There is SFX involved and, in terms of my work, it hit everything — hair, make-up, special effects. It was the most extraordinary experience.

“Every job is so different and I have loved working on contemporary, factual and sci-fi projects,” she adds. “I enjoy being a part of designing characters to help the director make their vision come alive.”

Contact: Lucy Price, Loop Talent

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