Here, Tomei and Kaliardos reflect on their creative process and the friendship that made it possible.
Marisa Tomei:A long time ago, we shared a cab after a play.
James Kaliardos:I think you even partially sat on my lap.
From left to right: Kaliardos preps Tomei; Tomei as May Parker in the newest film; Kaliardos used a photo of Tomei to create a custom face chart; Tomei surveys wardrobe options; the total package; Tomei and Kaliardos took a road trip to Cornwall, England, during a weekend off from filmingSpider-Man: Far From Home, 2019; Tomei and Kaliardos at a 2016 Oscars party; in a scene fromSpider-Man: Far From Home.
And then we met years and years later at a party.
Kaliardos:We were friends for a while [before we worked together].
It took about 30 seconds.
Tomei:We still do it that way.
We’re really spontaneous with each other.
We have a very special subliminal language.
We both know what we like.
Tomei:There’s something very magical in doing it off the cuff together.
Of course, some things are more carefully planned.
Kaliardos:[The looks forSpider-Man] are very specifically thought out.
And really, it comes from you.
You’re the captain of the ship.
I’m helping however I can to add to the vision.
Tomei:I never really thought about it that way.
When we’re doing glam for events,you’rethe captain.
Tomei:I see [mySpider-Mancharacter] May as having her own superpowers.
She’s the soul that inspires and guides Spider-Man.
She is the genesis of everything that transpires.
So [for the clothing] we did simple lines and graphics in primary colors.
Then we started thinking about makeup and hair.
I guess we started with hair, didn’t we?
I didn’t know if I should have silver hair, like May does in the comics.
Kaliardos:Yes, we tried lots of different things.
And you kind of can’t say yes or no until you try it and see.
We tried super curly…
Tomei:…we triedbangs.
Kaliardos:It was my husband who liked the long hair.
It just looked so right because it was a nod to the ’70s.
And you had those great vintage platform shoes.
Tomei:I’ve had those shoes for a long time.
They’re from a flea market.
Kaliardos:They’re kind of like the YSL shoes they’re redoing now.
I saw May’s beauty as active.
Tomei:We used the word “active” a lot.
Because in the comics, May never leaves the house.
We thought about her sexual life and things like that.
The things that you don’t see, we wanted to imply.
Kaliardos:She’s not just there for Peter [Parker’s] sake.
But the studio and [our director] Jon Watts didn’t want May to be in the dark.
It’s not just like, “Oh, I want this amazingeyeliner.”
Tomei:And it has to not take too long.
Because how much time would May have in her day?
She’s still a working woman.
Her priorities are her values and her work and Peter.
So we thought about that.
Kaliardos:It also can’t be a drag [for us] to deal with every single day.
I come from the fashion world; I don’t work on a lot of films.
It’s very intense, it’s really long.
So you don’t have that luxury of spending hours and hours or retouching things.
Tomei:We got it under a half hour.
Tomei:You have such a love of the art form.
It’s really fun to get inside the character together.
