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The Da Vinci Code

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RH Or use a bullwhip or a gun.
TH Yeah. His exceptional qualities are based on the knowledge he's accrued and his ability to analyze.

EW So how does a multiple Oscar winner prepare for a role like Langdon? What's the process?
TH You start by asking questions. He's a Harvard professor of symbology — what the hell does that mean? What is it about symbology that would rate a guy giving his entire life to it? You ask yourself about his physical aspects — does he have five-o'clock shadow? About his wardrobe — I had a conversation with the costume designer about Langdon's shoes. It's one damn thing after another and over time it all just bubbles up to the surface.

EW And who, exactly, did you talk to about Langdon's hair?
TH Manny Millar. He's a stylist who ''tells stories through hair.'' No lie. His whole thing is about how characters are brought to life by hair.
RH I worked with him on my last two films (The Missing and Cinderella Man). He's a really creative guy. We bumped into each other and started talking about The Da Vinci Code. And he said it would be great if Langdon had a loose and free professorial look...
TH Which I dug right off the bat. Fuller in the back and falling down across my forehead. But the truth is my hair cannot be long and flowing — genetically, it doesn't do that. It's a bush. It's either long or short. We talked about a wig, but that ends up taking a huge amount of time. So I went to these guys who know about hair chemistry and found a way.

EW You know, that hairstyle is being talked about a lot. It's all over the Internet.
TH Really?
EW Uh-huh.
TH Well, we knew the movie would be controversial.

Originally posted Apr 21, 2006 Published in issue #874-875 Apr 28, 2006 Order article reprints
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