Skarsgård’s wicker bits almost weren’t
One of the most talked-about moments of the film is the 10-second, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it scene of Wicker Husband wading naked in the river. And yes, the bulge matches the basketweave.
While we were prepared to get intel on the decisions behind the size and shape of the “wicker ween” prosthetic, Dunckley admits that he can’t take credit; costume designers Tóth András Dániel and Godena-Juhász Attila were responsible for the woven willy. “Our build focused on the hips up,” Dunckley explains, “and that shot came a little later.
When it was decided to do the wide river shot, András and Attila helped out, “so it’s actually a costume fabrication build,” explains Dunckley. The penis is padded to look like the same shapes that are already throughout the body, and the weave of it is a “puff paint-type finish” which was printed on spandex, with the coloring matching the prosthetics so the final look was cohesive.
Other much-talked-about body parts from the film are Skarsgård’s wicker nipples (which he gifted British talk show host Graham Norton when appearing on his show for the film’s press run). But there was a point in the design process where these itty-bitty body parts got discarded. “There was a lot of debate during our design phase as to whether or not he should have nipples,” says Dunckley.
“People seemed to have strong feelings one way or the other. Why would a sentient wicker being have nipples? On the other hand, why not?!” Dunckley adds. “Now, seeing all the attention that the wicker nipples are getting out there in the world, it’s a good thing we did!” Built separately, the fiber nips were made using traditional hat-making techniques and then woven onto the suit as a final step.
