As performers down tools as, there’s reportedly been a marked increase in demand for cosmetic surgery in Hollywood.
Since the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (Sag-Aftra) – and in the weeks leading up to it – one plastic surgeon has revealed he has been working seven days a week to make sure her can fulfil the requests of all of his clients.
Dr Ben Talei of the Beverly Hills Center for Plastic Surgery has claimed business is ‘booming’ now that actors have the time to book in to go under his knife and – crucially – recover without it being noticed or them having to skip work.
He said that when the Writers’ Guild of America (WGA) were discussing going on strike ‘maybe four months ago’ (they subsequently did in May), that was when actor started to prep and come in for consultations.
He also suggested it was higher profile ‘A-list and B-list’ names that he’d been doing work on, although, of course, as a medical professional he keeps his clients’ confidentially tightly under his hat.
‘It’s the A-list and B-list actors who I’d say are the more financially comfortable as well as the ones who are – those are the ones who are running in to do it,’ Dr Talei shared with .
The practitioner also explained how there were ‘contingency plans’ in place depending on if an actors’ strike went ahead or not.
‘The contingency plans on our consults a few months ago was if there’s no major strike and nothing happens, we’re just going to do a skin-tightening treatment.
‘If the strike happens and we think it’s going to last a few months, we do the facelift,’ he added.
Dr Talei also claimed that he had recently done procedures on two of his favourite sports stars and two of his favourite singers, as well as three producers and ‘five or six actors that I used to drool over as a kid’.
He also revealed that he had treated an actor who is a member of the Church of Scientology, and requested that the operating room was ‘a certain way when you do my surgery, which Dr Talei politely refused, pointing out that as he works at a ‘very high’ level, ‘the last thing you want to do is introduce a variable’ or increase the chances of something going wrong.
‘Doesn’t matter who it is, what the situation is, I refuse to change because I have a pattern of how I do things and that’s what keeps me from messing up,’ he explained.
As both the WGA and Sag-Aftra strikes continue, shooting haslike Deadpool 3, which stars Ryan Reynolds in the titular role, as well as John M. Chu’s screen adaptation of the stage musical Wicked with Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo – which was just days away from completion.
Brad Pitt has also with Sir Lewis Hamilton, which was recently seen filming at Silverstone ahead of the British Grand Prix.
The actor and producer is said to ‘very much stand’ alongside his fellow actor union members, the PA news agency understands.
Many other stars have also been spotted showing their support, including an , who rocked up with a sign to join the picket line outside Paramount Studios in LA, as well as Susan Sarandon and Julianna Margulies in New York.
Meanwhile, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson has made a to a charitable fund assisting those most affected by the work stoppage of the strikes.
