Hair acting may be one of Hollywood’s most overlooked performance skills, but the best actors know that a single twirl or toss can reveal as much as an entire page of dialogue. In January, during a Q&A at a special New York screening of his 1987 film Wall Street, Michael Douglas revealed that a good friend of his often gave him a hard time about his habit of leaning on hair to find a character. “Jack Nicholson always used to give me shit about hair acting. [He’d say], ‘What’s with his hair acting?’” Douglas said. “Hair has always been an important part of my acting. It’s just funny how that kind of thing helps.”
The slicked-back, polished hair of Gordon Gekko in Wall Street, the military-style flat-top haircut for Falling Down, and the shaggy, unkempt look he sported in Wonder Boys are all memorable on their own, but what makes Douglas’s performance in these movies iconic is the way he never uses the hairstyle as a crutch. It adds and doesn’t distract. Hair acting isn’t just about a memorable hairstyle (like that of Princess Leia or Mia Wallace) or a dramatic character transformation (like Emma Stone’s recent shave for Bugonia or Timothée Chalamet’s upcoming buzz cut in Dune: Part Three); it’s about the actor using the hair as a key part of their physical performance.
Audrey Hepburn was one of the earliest pioneers. Sure, she’s known for her iconic updo in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, but it’s actually the 1964 film Paris When It Sizzles that showcases her ultimate hair-acting abilities. With a cigarette in one hand, she pulls her hair down from a tight bun, letting her long brown locks cascade over her shoulder. She flips her hair to and fro, capturing the drama of her rapid-fire monologue.
Julia Roberts became an A-lister for many reasons, but her early use of hair acting in films like Pretty Woman and My Best Friend’s Wedding was a part of it. Back when her big, bouncy, curly auburn locks were at their bounciest and curliest, she’d wrap them around her finger when flirting on the phone or use them as a literal curtain she could bury her face in if she was feeling embarrassed or shy.
Cameron Diaz also became a trailblazer in this field—thanks to not only her hair gel gag breakout in There’s Something About Mary, but also an entire plot point in the 2000 action-comedy film Charlie’s Angels. Diaz’s angel is undercover in a dance club when Lucy Liu’s character instructs her to “flip your goddamn hair” to get the attention of the bartender. And Diaz’s glorious, flirty, slow-motion flip came off as sheer genius. She’s used the practice in her more dramatic projects too, like the 2013 thriller The Counselor, in which she both flicks her own blonde bob back when she’s got something to say and caresses Penélope Cruz’s hair when they’re having a revealing poolside chat. It’s playful and a power play at the same time.
