Entertainment

Jacob Tremblay & The Best Movie Wig Of All Time

by Michelle McGahan

For anyone who has seen the powerful force that is 9-year-old Jacob Tremblay in Room, you'll know how crucial his long hair is in the context of the film. Tremblay stars as Jack, a 5-year-old boy (in real life, he was seven at the time of filming) who lives with his Ma (Brie Larson) in Room, the only home that Jack has ever known — until Ma explains that she was kidnapped as a teen and concocts a plan for the two to escape from their captor (and Room). As Jack explains in the movie, his long hair is his strength. While I'm busy contemplating questions like "How on Earth was Tremblay snubbed for an Oscar nomination?" here's another one that is just as crucial: Did Jacob Tremblay wear a wig in Room ?

Despite the fact that his long hair looked insanely realistic, Tremblay has revealed that he was, in fact, wearing a wig.

"No, it was a wig. It was a really itchy wig. Ahhh," he told Variety, getting adorably mixed up in the middle of his response: "Eggs are horrible. Not eggs — eggs are actually pretty good. Wigs are horrible."

"It felt... itchy. Like a toque," he explained during a Q&A at the Jacob Burns Film Center. "Wait, you don't say toque here. You say beanie. I'm from Canada, so I say toque." COULD THIS KID BE ANY CUTER?

"It was a wig. It was really... [I thought] it's really realistic myself," he added, turning to director Lenny Abrahamson. "...Remember this? We came on set with my short hair and then nobody recognized me."

And it was Abrahamson who may have revealed the most interesting tidbit of all about the wig: It was made from real hair.

"It was made from young, Russian people's hair," he explained. "People grow hair. That's a thing. And then they sell it."

As for the scene where Jack's grandmother (Joan Allen) cuts off his hair, Tremblay explained that he had no problem with it — but everyone else was holding their breath.

"The cutting scene... it was nothing to me because then I didn't have to wear the wig anymore because [the scenes] go in order. But it was very stressful for the hair person, Joan, the director, all the producers," he recalled, laughing.

It's clear that Jake — as well as Jack — has his strength even without the long hair.

Image: A24 Films