Actors who are committed to their craft will go to great lengths to ensure that they’re portraying their character as realistically as possible. In some case, that means wearing a merkin. A merkin, for those of you who don’t know, is a pubic wig. It’s donned by actors and actresses who need their down-there hair to fit the time period of the film they’re in. And considering most actresses likely engage in some sort of pubic grooming, a merkin ensures they can play the part realistically without having to grow their own pubes out accordingly. Additionally, a merkin can work as a sort of shield for the actor’s own sexy bits, if they’re not comfortable showing them off. Evan Rachel Wood had her first experience with going full-frontal on film when she was making the upcoming HBO movie, “Mildred Pierce.” alongside merkin expert Kate Winslet. “I was a lot more nervous than I thought I was going to be,” she said. “I looked at Kate and she was like, ‘You’ve got to do it. Trust me, it’s so brave. Put a merkin on and you’ll be fine.’ … Let’s just say, I had to wear a wig because it was in the ’30s, and everything had to look like it was in the ’30s.” In other words, expect bush — lots of bush — when the film debuts March 27. [XfinityTV.com] The merkin has become a popular prop in many mainstream movies. Here’s a look back at other famous moments in pubic-wiggery.
Contents
- Kate Winslet in “The Reader”
- Sasha Grey on “Entourage”
- Heidi Klum in “Blow Dry”
- Kim Cattrall on “Sex and the City”
- Various extras in “Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay”
- Random Corpse on “Boardwalk Empire”
- Anna Faris in “Scary Movie”
- Mary-Louise Parker in “Angels In America”
- Patricia Arquette in “Human Behavior”
- Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway in “Love & Other Drugs”
Kate Winslet in “The Reader”
“The film is set in the 50s, I couldn’t have just had a landing strip! I had to grow the hair down there. But because of years of waxing, as all of us girls know, it doesn’t come back quite the way it used to. They even made me a merkin – a wig – because they were so concerned that I might not be able to grow enough.”
Sasha Grey on “Entourage”
Considering Sasha is a porn star, it wasn’t so shocking that she went full-frontal on “Entourage,” playing Vince’s girlfriend/herself. But the internet was a major tizzy when she did so rocking a full bush. Given Sasha’s need to be “versatile,” and the porn industry’s preference for very manicured or totally bald vag, she likely donned a merkin.
Heidi Klum in “Blow Dry”
When FHM asked Klum about her bright red and heart-shaped pubic hair in the film, Klum assured the mag, “That wasn’t my real hair anyway, it was a specially made wig.” Also, “It was just supposed to be funny.” Done! [FHM]
Kim Cattrall on “Sex and the City”
Samantha Jones was always adventurous, but she didn’t get the result she wanted when she dared to dye her pubes after spotting a gray hair.
Various extras in “Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay”
In order to avoid being given an NC-17 rating, the bottom-less extras wore merkins. Pubic wigs, keepin’ things tasteful. [Jezebel]
Random Corpse on “Boardwalk Empire”
HBO must have a closet filled with merkins. in addition to those worn by Wood in “Mildred Pierce” and Grey on “Entourage,” this extra rocked a merkin when playing a corpse on “Boardwalk Empire.” [The Daily Beast]
Anna Faris in “Scary Movie”
I’m pretty sure no one thought Faris’ intensely ungroomed bush was real in “Scary Movie.”
Mary-Louise Parker in “Angels In America”
For the fourth time, HBO has given the merkin a place in film history. Parker wore one in this award-winning HBO mini-series and scored a few awards herself for her portrayal. She should have thanked the merk in her acceptance speech.
Patricia Arquette in “Human Behavior”
Patricia Arquette was so adamant about not showing her own pubes in the movie “Human Behavior,” that she went all DIY, fashioning her own pubic wig from hair she found in the prop closet. Crafty! [Paper Mag]
Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway in “Love & Other Drugs”
Okay, so this is a rather gratuitous inclusion, I’ll admit, but Gyllenhaal claimed in an interview that he and Hathaway wore merkins to cover up their sexy bits during their racy sex scenes. But he seemed to use a more broad definition for merkin, saying, “It’s a cover for your junk.” Well, kinda, but Jake insists he didn’t wear one because he has a lack of pubic hair. “When I told people I would wear merkins they would look at me rather oddly because they thought that I had no pubic hair, or maybe I had crabs. I’ll leave that up to you to decide.” Move your hand, Jake, I can’t tell. [OK! Magazine]
Original by: Amelia McDonell-Parry