Some nights when I am alone, I’ll order seamless, read old messages from my ex and watch the entire first season of Gossip Girl drooling over how perfect Blake Lively is. I mean come on, she has the body, the sexiest bedroom eyes, and the BEST golden locks that have ever graced this Earth!
Celebrity hairstylist Rod Ortega has been working with Blake since her days as a teenage tomboy sharing pants with her besties on the big screen. Since then, Rod has been responsible for some of her most to die for looks, including her show-stopping hair at the 2012 Los Angeles premiere for Savages. (She could show up to any red carpet in that exact same look for the rest of her career and everyone would still get their life in amazement.)
We chatted with Rod on how he pulls off Blake’s effortless looking hair, what it’s like working on movies with A-listers, and more.
What would you say are some of your iconic looks on Blake?
Rod Ortega: The Savages premiere, that’s a pretty iconic look. After that, there were so many variations of that style. For me, that was my moment. She looked so old school yet modern Hollywood. She looked stunning in that Zuhair Murad gown. They made a Barbie doll after that.
Also, The Green Lantern premiere with the side braid. After that there were a lot of side braids and variations of that look, too.
What are your thoughts on Blake bringing back the hair to the side with waves trend?
Well if you look at the Golden Globes, everything was kind of to the side; everything was kind of like that style Blake had. I could pick out six girls that had their hair to the side with waves.
How do you come up with a red carpet look for Blake?
She sends me a picture, and says, “These are your options,” which I love. I get the options and I go through my movie and book library to do research on the period to try to figure out what was different. What angle, what texture? That’s how I do it. I don’t go through Us Weekly and look at what the girls had last week. Nowadays, I think young hair stylists do that.
How do you stay true to who Blake is as a person with her looks?
Blake is much of that California glam girl, so I always have to keep that in mind. I keep the essence of who Blake is and marry it to what designer she is picking to wear, and connect those together and come up with something I think is beautiful.
Did you do her hair for her wedding with Ryan Reynolds?
Yes, I did. It was exciting.
What was her hairstyle for the wedding?
There are no pictures of it. It was just Blake, that’s it.
We all know ladies love some weave, so do you use extension in Blake’s hair?
Nope, it’s always all hers.
What about wigs?
For The Green Lantern Blake wore a wig. Wigs are my life. I love, love, love wigs!
Rod has mastered the skill of red carpet hair but check out the video featuring celebrity makeup master Sir John sharing his red carpet beauty product must haves!
Eva Mendes. We were doing like six movies together.
Would you say Eva Mendes is the client who launched your career?
I would say that. That’s when I started getting out there and doing more coverage. The thing was, I was just L.A.-based, and I moved to New York and did this movie called Hitch with Eva and pretty much all the girls in the film. That was the vehicle for me to move to New York. That’s when things started happening. It was tough in L.A. for me when I started.
Why was L.A. tough?
It’s just very tight-knit. I’m a stylist that does film, editorial, and theater. I just don’t do like one thing. And most stylists do either film or editorial or theater. And to get in, it’s tough. Like if they don’t know you they’re not gonna hire you. So it’s pretty tough to get your name in there, it takes a lot of work.
You’re doing a lot of people in the background, a lot of extras, I would arrive on set and they would be like ‘we’re doing this commercial, can you do those people way in the back.’ That’s how I started, I started from the bottom.
How did you get your start working in film?
I did [Out of Time] with Denzel Washington and Eva Mendes — that’s how I actually first met Eva. I worked with the costume designer Sharen Davis. She’s the one that actually gave me my big break.
What are some of the movies you have worked on?
I did New Year’s Eve with Sarah Jessica Parker, The Backup Plan, Enough and Selena with Jennifer Lopez. Too Fast, Two Furious, Out of Time, Stuck on You, and Hitched with Eva, I did Jennifer Aniston for Cake, Leslie Mann for This is 40, The Other Woman, and so many more.
How do you prep for a big movie?
You get to read the script, break it down, consult with the actress, You figure out what you think she looks like, what is her hair color, what would be her style? Next you figure out if you want to do a wig or color her hair. If it’s a wig, you have to go to a wig maker and then you go to the actresses house to take a fitting and mold her head. Once you do that, you go and have the wig made, which takes two to three weeks. Then you go back to the actress, put it on, adjust it, go back to the wig maker, have her make tweaks and so on. It’s a lot.
So doing big movies and working with Blake has to be a lot, what’s your schedule like with traveling?
I’ve been doing this for a long time, like 31 years, and people don’t understand there’s no such thing as jet lag. You get off the plane and then you go to work. You could be in London one day, New York the next and then LA and Miami.
Was there ever a time in your life when your schedule felt like too much?
It doesn’t stop!
Are there any hair trends you hate?
I don’t hate any trends because as long as people are doing something, that gives me a job. It gives me a platform to create and be like, “Hey, why don’t you try this?” because if we didn’t have that then hairdressers would be out of business. You have to have trends people want to copy.
What’s next for you?
I filmed The Disappointment Room with Kate Beckinsale, who I made blonde. It’s a drama/thriller. It comes out this year and I am extremely excited.
Rod has mastered the skill of red carpet hair but check out the video featuring celebrity makeup master Sir John sharing his red carpet beauty product must haves!