One thing I have always wondered about is the costumes for various movies and television roles. I understand that the actor/actress arrives for work, undresses from their personal clothing and dresses up in the costume for their role. I’d like to know, do they wear their own under garments or are those articles of clothing provided by the production company as well?
It depends on the situation. If the underwear will be seen in the movie, then they’re provided by costume, because then they’re part of the portrayal of the character, rather than the actor. If they aren’t, then the actor will most likely wear their own. I know in theatre, you can request that the actor wear appropriate undergarments; for example, if a male actor is wearing tights, then you might suggest he wear briefs over boxers, upon penalty of looking like a moron. I suppose with a larger budget than most theatre productions have, movies/TV might provide the appropriate undies.
Obviously, if it’s a historical piece, then the appropriate underwear are provided. It would be prohibitively expensive to be an actor if you were expected to provide underwear for multiple historical periods.
There’s a funny bit in the “Love Actually” commentary, where the costume designer talks about having many intense meetings with the director and other designers, trying to figure out what exact shade of blue underwear the character Aurelia should be wearing when she dives into the pond.
Is there any truth to the story about Stroheim ordering hand-embroidered silk underwear for extras?
I often watch costume or historical dramas to see if I can catch a glimpse of modern underwear, a VPL for example, revealing itself. It does happen, but usually on a TV show, and not a movie.
having said that, it’s hard enough to detect a VPL on a modern era TV show.
Thanks for your replies, I thought it was something like that. I guess that if it’s really important to the actor, he/she can request the wardrobe person stock a particular brand of underwear?
I’ve never heard of anything like that. In the very little theatre stuff I’ve done (college, community), if the actor feels that particular about the brand, he can buy his own damn underwear. Wardrobe isn’t there to cater to the actors; they’re there to dress them. There’s a difference between the two, and actors who don’t respect that are unpopular, to say the least.