Cut! Actors book a facelift during Hollywood strike

Movie stars are taking advantage of the actors’ and writers’ strikes by booking themselves in for plastic surgery and other cosmetic procedures.

Sofi­a Vergara and Simon Cowell backstage at the Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice Awards.

If your favourite actor appears on screen looking fresh-faced when the Hollywood strike ends, it may not be from the rest and relaxation afforded by the walkout.

Actors, directors and producers are making the most of the unexpected free time to undergo plastic surgery, a leading surgeon has said, and are sneaking in facelifts and other cosmetic procedures while the cameras have stopped rolling.

Going under the knife for major surgery requires weeks, if not months, of recovery time, which means now is the perfect opportunity to have work done, Ben Talei, a Hollywood-based plastic surgeon with celebrity clients, said.

“It’s tons and tons of clients,” Talei said of his new workload. “It’s people who definitely would not have had the time otherwise because they’re always working.”

He said celebrities started getting in touch in May when the writers went on strike. The actors walked out on July 14 in a row over pay and conditions and Talei said there was an immediate increase in business.

His surgery has welcomed twice as many actor clients than usual and he was having to work weekends to keep up with demand.

His clients were either “A-list or B-list” stars, Talei said, adding that those who were less wealthy were watching their pennies.

Kim Kardashian at a Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors playoff game in May.

He said actors who were considering having facelifts in the past and who never had the time started flooding in when the strike was imminent. “Four months ago they were calling and saying, ‘Hey, what are we doing in case this strike actually happens? Do you think it’s a good time to finally get my facelift?’ ”

Before the actors officially took action, Talei had surgeries lined up but, in the event of a last-minute breakthrough in talks, he told clients who were working that they could still have less drastic procedures, such as skin-tightening or Botox.

He said that for clients in “ordinary” jobs, it takes about three weeks to recover from a facelift, but for actors the effects can linger for months on screen. “The camera picks up swelling on the face much longer than the naked eye,” he said. “(The camera) reflects light differently and captures light differently. That’s why they want to get the surgery out of the way now.”

There was a similar surge in cosmetic procedures in the industry during the pandemic, Talei said, but the strike represents even more uncertainty for actors. During Covid celebrities could be sure that the crisis would last for months and could plan accordingly. However the strike, in theory at least, could be called off at any time if an agreement is reached with the studios.

Talei said most of his clients had told producers about their operations and had warned them that they would not be able to do close-ups if production suddenly resumed.

Not all have been so honest, however. If the strike ends sooner than expected, one celebrity has an excuse lined up for why they cannot be on set. “One told me they are just going to say they have Covid,” Talei said.

The Times