Transformative makeup artist Elliot Joseph Rentz, better known as Alexis Stone, has impersonated hundreds of famous characters over the course of his career – from Mrs Doubtfire to Cruella Deville, Lana Del Rey and Jack Nicholson.

Scotland

Elliot Joseph Rentz, better known as Alexis Stone, is renowned for his transformative makeup artistry, having impersonated over 250 celebrities including Madonna, Meryl Streep, Lana Del Rey, and Jack Nicholson. Stone's meticulous process involves handmade prosthetics and props, often collaborating with a team to bring a high level of realism to each look. His work has attracted partnerships with major fashion houses, most notably Balenciaga, and has featured original costumes and artifacts from film sets to enhance authenticity.

Stone's journey began with a personal transformation into Mrs. Doubtfire, inspired by a connection to Robin Williams and his own experiences following an autism diagnosis. His creative process is deeply personal, often choosing characters with whom he feels a strong connection. As his partnership with Balenciaga's creative director Demna concludes, Stone continues to push boundaries in the art of transformation, with upcoming projects such as embodying Angelica Houston's Morticia Addams.

This artist’s uncanny transformations have captivated the internet

The guest bathroom always makes people smile. We have Madonna. Meryl Streep, a very sad-looking Lana Del Rey. This is the work of transformative makeup artist Elliot Rents, better known as Alexis Stone, or any number of the hundreds of celebrities he's impersonated. I think there was 250 we did before we moved on to the 2.0 version of these transformations. People have an idea that we sort of go to a Halloween shop and we buy these things over the counter, but everything is handmade and takes decades of experience. Working with a team, he takes the discipline of movie makeup and prosthetics into the real world, collaborating with fashion houses and celebrities. Although he's perhaps best known for his ongoing partnership with Balenciaga's creative director, known only as Demna, whose couture show will be his last collection for the brand. At his home and studio in Scotland, Rents showed us what goes into his shape-shifting practice. I do have to warn people before they come over because out of context, it is a little Jeffrey Dahmer. But it's really important for me to be surrounded by things that visually stimulate me, work experiences or muses. We have me as Cruella de Vil. This is the wig that Glenn Close wore in her original makeup test. I got to keep little remnants of it, pieces of her costume. If we can unlock some of the props from the films, I like to do that just because if I can submerge myself as close to what they were around, it's only gonna lean into a better performance from my end. Even, for example, with Jack Nicholson, we worked on having a fragrance made that was just pure tobacco. So when we were walking around, the whole room just ended up stinking. It's normally like a FBI's most wanted in terms of visuals on the wall here. This is basically a sculpting block. We would do an initial sculpt of the makeup. We would take those pieces off and then transfer them onto separate molds. It's almost like a factory in here. I have everything I could potentially need. And then we have the little museum of artifacts. So this was the plastic surgery mask that I wore when I convinced everyone that I got a new face that got the attention of Demna and all of these other fashion houses. We have dental impressions from Robin Williams. We wanted to make sure that we had as close to the original. I do have a deep connection to Robin. Yeah, Doubtfire was my first transformation and it was sort of an apology to myself. I got diagnosed with autism during COVID and I thought I'm not gonna suppress these weird urges that I want to do anymore and I'm gonna spend all my money on dressing up as Mrs. Doubtfire. Balenciaga was the first brand and from that, my life literally changed. This was me as Jennifer Coolidge in Milan for Diesel. We did Lana Del Rey for Jean Paul Gaultier. It's so uncomfortable in the moment, but when I get to reflect on the visuals like this, it makes it so worth it. Everyone's sort of figuring out at their own pace what's going on. You get to literally see it from an outsider's point of view looking in. I think when it comes to picking who we're gonna do, there are lots of moving factors. There has to be some personal element to why I'm connected to that character. If I'm spending three months studying them with the fashion houses, it also needs to make sense as well. So this summer, I'm transforming into Angelica Houston as Morticia Adams in the Adams family. When you're a young gay guy, you do empathize with the sort of misunderstood characters, whether it's these villains or just beautiful women. These are the original Polaroids from the Angelica Houston makeup test for referencing really and just to set the tone, but we'll also have access to the original wig that she wore in the film. I'm often asked, what's next? What happens after Balenciaga? I do always think of that Linda Evangelista quote where she said, the goal is to get out of fashion as quickly as you got into fashion. I will pull this table ajar though so you can see what's inside. I think we've all at some time in our lives wanted to be a fly on the wall at our own funeral. And I also thought it was symbolic now that my relationship with Balenciaga is coming to a natural end. So yeah, it's cute, right?

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Breakdown