Corey Stoll's Bullshit Wig on The Strain to Finally Die
The Strain, a television show based on a graphic novel that is about vampires (or something) that has already thrusted the unpleasant vision of a worm going through an eyeball into our line of sight, plans to rectify its even more egregious offense: the wig-ification of noted Bald Actor Corey Stoll. The wig, the show's producers say, will be gone by season's end. Praise be.
Humans with functioning eyes has been complaining about Stoll's unsightly 'do since the show premiered last month, and creator Guillermo del Toro has tried (and tried and tried) to explain the creative decision. It is bullshit.
"If you know the books or where it's heading, we needed the character to change his look, to be able to mix into the normal population without being seen," del Toro told critics at this year's annual Television Critics Association press tour. "We needed him to have a look that could be altered...and unless he grows a beard or has an eye patch, we needed somewhere for him to go."
Noted bullshitter Carlton Cuse (of Lost fame) tossed in, "Our vision of this character has to move from point A to point B and that was part of the conception of character."
And now Corey Stoll has tried to defend the wig's existence, telling New York magazine:
I get it, too. For somebody who is follicle-ly challenged, I spent a lot of time talking about hair. At first, when I heard he wanted me to have a wig, I was resistant. I didn't want the reason to be so I could look like a standard TV guy or a hero. Then that points to a bigger problem. I'm not interested in playing that character. I made a choice in my career to not get hair plugs and not hide the fact that I was balding, and I've managed to play all sorts of characters who have shaved heads. But Guillermo's reasoning was so well thought-out. It isn't arbitrary. It isn't, I want you to look better.
So what is this well though-out reason?
It's definitely something else. [Laughs.] But now it's part of the character for me. It's the mask. I'm able to access something different wearing that wig than without it. And as Guillermo told you, Eph's going to change. His look is going to change. It's an ongoing thing.
Bullshit. Good riddance to this bullshit wig and may we never have to listen to another bullshit reason for its creation.
Update: News that Stoll's wig is getting the axe is old. The producers' explanation of the wig's existence is still bullshit.
[Image via FX]