‘Pam & Tommy’s Talking Penis Was Created Using Actual Mold of Sebastian Stan’s Goods
Viewers don't just get up close and personal with Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson in Pam & Tommy — they also meet Lee's infamous, imagined talking penis in all its full frontal glory.
In his 2004 memoir Tommyland, Lee, played by actor Sebastian Stan in Hulu's new series, wrote about the time he got into a heart-to-heart conversation with his own penis during a drug-induced, hallucinatory haze.
Lee's talking penis (voiced by actor Jason Mantzoukas) is introduced in Pam & Tommy Episode 2, "I Love You Tommy."
Jason Collins, the special effects makeup artist for the series, revealed to British GQ how they made the talking penis practical effect so life-like — as well as nearly identical to actor Stan's own goods.
“When you read a scene like that, your mind goes a little crazy, you can go into really extreme ridiculousness. Are they really going to shoot this? We thought at first, maybe it should be sort of comical and cartoonish. And then, maybe realistic," Collins explained.
Ultimately, the team decided to make the member look as real as possible. The fake penis was created using silicone cast from a mold of Stan's own penis.
“[It] involved lifecasting Sebastian so that we could then sculpt the appropriate size and blend points," Collins revealed. "Once we were done sculpting, another mold was made and we cast it from a plasticized silicone. The silicone is medical grade and gives the appendage a life-like fleshy quality."
The fake penis was applied to Stan by having the actor "saddle" himself onto the puppetry appliance, similar to a sleeve. It was then glued in place and painted to blend into Stan's skin tone, "vein work" included.
"All modesty is out the door in these scenarios and we become quick personal friends when you're in those positions," Collins added.
It took two puppeteers to move the penis left, right, up and down, as well as operate the urethral "mouth" movement — i.e. the "talking."
Thanks to the use of the practical penis puppet, Stan was able to improvise much of the scene at the encouragement of director Craig Gillespie, which led to some "gold moments."
Although shooting the talking penis scene was admittedly awkward at times, Stan told Variety, "By the end of it, I treated it like it was an intimate buddy conversation that one might have when they’re falling in love."
The first three episodes of Pam & Tommy are now available to stream on Hulu.