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Angus Strathie, ‘Deadpool’ Movie Costumer Designer: You ‘Have To Walk A Very Fine Line’

By Jonathan Franks
Published on: 02:49 PST, Feb 14, 2016

The Deadpool movie is a box-office hit, but the Deadpool movie costume is arguably even more impressive than the film.

Most superheroes are known for and even defined by their suits and accessories.

Think about Superman’s cape and the symbol for hope on his chest. Think about Batman’s cowl, cape and utility belt, or Spider-Man’s red-and-blue costume with webbed lining and a spider on his chest. The list goes on and on.

Even though he is not viewed as a typical superhero, Deadpool is also known for and defined by his suit and numerous accessories. Therefore, when working on the Deadpool movie, it was imperative for the Deadpool movie costume designer to be capable of accepting the challenge and successfully completing it.

Who was brought on board as the Deadpool costume designer? None other than Oscar-winning designer Angus Strathie. His name might not ring any bells with the average moviegoer. However, his past collection of work on the big-screen speaks for itself.

During a November, 2014, interview with Cinemazzi, Angus Strathie opened up about some of his work — explaining his process and overall approach to his work. The old saying that “with good costume design you’re not supposed to notice the costume” was addressed during the interview — an objective that was apparently not met in quite a few of Strathie’s films that heavily focused on the character’s costumes and wardrobe choices.

However, Strathie’s response shined a major spotlight on his approach to costume design overall — speaking volumes about what would become a future project for him with the Deadpool movie.

“It is very interesting. But what we do is an extension of their character anyway. You can’t deviate too much in such a way that you don’t add to that, and you support what that character’s feeling and bringing to the piece. And also you walk a very, in terms of doing these ‘costumes’ for people, you still have to walk a very fine line that makes it believable. Because those costumes still sort of inhabit a normal environment. It’s not total fantasy, we’re not all of a sudden in outer space or anything like that.”

Angus Strathie was apparently able to use the same philosophy with his work on the Deadpool movie costumes.

Keep in mind that the essence of Deadpool is his overall personality. He is naturally very loose — energetic, acrobatic, and always on the move. Whether is doing a back-flip off of a car or simply showing off an impressive dance move for comic relief, Deadpool is definitely not known for being a stiff individual.

Therefore, the Deadpool movie costume needed to reflect that same type of flexibility and overall mobility — allowing Ryan Reynolds to add life to the suit and overall persona without compromising the suit’s authenticity.

The level of detail that was put into the suit is captivating just to think about — especially when you pay close attention to the finished product.

In an interview with ComicBook.com, Ryan Reynolds admitted that he cried when he first saw the finished Deadpool movie costume.

“When we finally saw that suit, fully done, finished and completed … both [director] Tim Miller and I wept. I’m not even exaggerating, we wept in Simi Valley, California, in some warehouse where some guy makes all these crazy suits and had this one under a spotlight. We walked in and we wept. Tears coming down our cheeks. It felt so good.”

Reynolds was apparently not the only cast member that was thoroughly impressed with the costume design. Actress Gina Carano also expressed her appreciation for the Deadpool movie costume design in general during an interview with Screen Rant — giving credit specifically to Angus Strathie for his hard work.

“It’s cool though. The costume designer, Angus [Strathie], he’s incredible. He did Age of Adaline and now he’s doing this. I’m like, ‘Man, your range!’ [laughs] To go from that to this … He’s a genius, and the sweetest man, too. You always get a little bit nervous with costumes.”

Back in 1992 (nearly 24 years before the Deadpool movie was released), Angus Strathie made waves in Hollywood with his costume design work on the Baz Luhrmann-directed film, Strictly Ballroom.

However, it was his work in the 2001 film Moulin Rouge that would allow him to make a name for himself within the industry, especially after he won an Oscar for his efforts.

In the years that have passed since Moulin Rouge, Angus Strathie has worked on a variety of different films from different genres — including the Brothers Strause-directed film, Alien vs Predator: Requiem, as well as the 2010 film, Tooth Fairy, starring Dwayne Johnson and Julie Andrews.

Whether you are a fan of the Deadpool movie or not, chances are that you are at least captivated by the Deadpool movie costume designs — yet another successful endeavor from Angus Strathie.

[Photo by Ryan Reynolds/Instagram]

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