When Blue Whale Studios brainstormed ways to transform Tim Blake Nelson into the big-brained Leader — the gamma mutated villain of Captain America: Brave New World — the team of special effects artists turned to the Marvel comics for inspiration. The last we saw Nelson’s Samuel Sterns 17 years ago in The Incredible Hulk, a head wound was bubbling from exposure to Bruce Banner’s blood, so the studio recreated the Leader’s design from the classic comic books: an enlarged cranium and sickly, gamma green skin.
But when the Leader is finally revealed as the mastermind behind a plot to turn United States President Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford) into a rampaging Red Hulk, he doesn’t have the oversized noggin associated with the character. Instead, his exposure to Hulk’s gamma irradiated blood has left him grotesquely deformed, and the Leader’s final look is one of an abnormal, bulging brain that is protruding from his otherwise normal-sized skull.
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“We were originally brought on to design and apply the practical makeup for The Leader on the incomparable Tim Blake Nelson in Captain America: Brave New World. As often happens in film, the story evolved, and during reshoots, the creative direction shifted. Our version was ultimately not used in the final cut,” Blue Whale Studios said when sharing the ultimately unused Leader makeup on Instagram. “Still, we remain incredibly proud of the work we created. Drawing inspiration from the original comic book art, we developed a look that felt both grounded and iconic — true to the source while achieving a refined, natural realism.”
“Technically, we were thrilled with how lightweight and comfortable the final makeup was for the actor—an achievement made possible by the dedication of an extraordinary team,” the post continued.
Makeup artist David Arherton applied the special effects makeup from a sculpt by Ernesto Cornejo and a lifecast mold by Anthony Canonica Jr. In another post, Blue Whale detailed the process that turned Nelson into the Leader. Using a high-resolution digital scan and a lifecast of Nelson’s head, Blue Whale was able to “build a flawless foundation for practical makeup.”
Cornejo “brought the vision to life through a traditional clay sculpture, maintaining reverence for the original comic book design” by artist Steve Ditko, the post added. “The goal was to honor the source material while creating something expressive, practical and as comfortable as possible, while staying grounded in realism.”
“When I was asked to come back and play this character, one of my stipulations was … I begged, ‘Could you guys please let me do this practically?’” Nelson told ComicBook about reprising his role as the Hulk villain. “I have to admit, if they’d said no, I still would have done it.”
“I don’t want to wear dots. I’d like to have the appliance. I wanted to feel the weight of it,” the actor added. “I wanted to look in the mirror and see myself that way, and I wanted the actors on set with whom I was interacting to see me that way. It just deepens it.”
Nelson later revealed he “actually shot [Brave New World] twice, because I did it originally a year ago [in 2023], and then we came back and redid a lot of it [in 2024].”
Marvel Studios’ Captain America: Brave New World is now available to stream at home with deleted scenes.
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