Brian Badie has spent more than two decades building a reputation as one of television’s most respected hairstylists. From “Law & Order: SVU,” where Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni personally championed him as department head, to acclaimed projects like “Lovecraft Country” and “True Detective,” his work has been consistently recognized. With HBO’s “The Penguin,” Badie steps into a new arena, earning his third Emmy nomination and his first for a project in the Batman universe.
“The Penguin,” created by Lauren LeFranc and set within Matt Reeves’ cinematic Gotham, became the most nominated series in HBO history with 24 Emmy nods. Badie’s recognition is tied to “Cent’Anni,” the Cristin Milioti showcase episode that traces Sofia Falcone’s descent from devoted daughter to battered Arkham prisoner, and finally her emergence as a ruthless mob boss. Over the course of that single hour, Milioti cycles through four or five distinct looks, what Badie calls “the deconstruction of the daddy’s little girl hairstyle,” before her shocking emergence in the now-iconic yellow dress.
“For me and Cristin, it was a very symbiotic relationship,” Badie explains. “We knew we didn’t want Sofia to have a typical hairstyle that’s trendy right now. No beach waves, no bob, nothing conservative. We wanted something iconic, something that could even set a trend.” That decision led to the wolf cut, a daring choice that, paired with the costume and makeup design, became the visual fingerprint of Sofia’s unraveling psyche.
Badie credits the collaborative nature of the production, where hair, makeup, and costume often developed ideas independently only to find them aligning perfectly. “You’d think we sat in a room for five hours talking it through, but often it just happens organically,” he says. “With Cristin’s character, everything married together perfectly.”
For Badie, the Emmy recognition carries a particular weight. “I’m not usually an awards guy, but for this show, I feel so passionate,” he says. “I truly believe the looks themselves deserve a win. If I hadn’t been the one to do them and saw that hair on screen, I’d still think it deserved recognition.”
In his conversation with Awards Focus, Badie reflects on his career trajectory, the significance of his work on Sofia Falcone, and how hairstyling in “The Penguin” became a vital layer of Gotham’s visual storytelling.
Awards Focus: First off, congratulations on your Emmy nomination. Where were you when you found out about the nomination?
Badie: I was in the trailer working on a show called “Maya.” The whole team knew nominations were coming out. I had an actor in my chair, and when my agent texted me 15 minutes after the announcements, I thought, okay, she wouldn’t be texting me to say sorry. I opened my phone and saw “congratulations,” and I just started jumping up and down. The whole trailer celebrated with me for 20 minutes. It was amazing. I even had tears in my eyes. I’m not usually an awards guy, but for this show, I feel so passionate. I truly believe the looks themselves deserve a win. If I hadn’t been the one to do them and saw that hair on screen, I’d still think it deserved recognition.
AF: The show received an incredible number of nominations across categories. How did you first become involved with the project?
Badie: I had worked with Dana [Robin] and Bill Carraro, who were the producers on “Lovecraft Country” and they called me to join them on “The Penguin.” I had no idea it was about to happen. When Dana called me, my jaw just kind of hit the floor because I thought, oh my God, I’m going to work on “The Penguin.” And I’ve been a fan since childhood.
AF: That must have been thrilling. How exciting was it to step into such an iconic franchise, especially something tied so closely to the Batman universe?
Badie: It was a big honor, a real feather in my cap. I’ve always wanted to work on one of the DC projects, especially the films. You never know when these things will happen in your career, but for me it was very special. To design something that could segue into the DC world even further is a huge honor.
AF: Much of your career has been celebrated through projects with predominantly Black casts. Early on, did you ever worry about being typecast in that space or that people might overlook your ability to work across a wider range of stories and characters?
Badie: Yes, I worried about that. Not that I wasn’t capable, but that I might not be given opportunities. I do feel there’s always that chance. And there are really a lot of questions built into that one, but I’ll start here: I believe we have to design our careers and our résumés. Not every job that comes your way is necessarily the job you’re supposed to take.
AF: You mentioned feeling pressure to prove yourself across all hair textures. Was that something you thought about deliberately as you built your résumé?
Badie: Absolutely. For me, it’s interesting because I did start in an all-Black film world. My mentorship and early opportunities came from Black actors and hairstylists, but at the same time I had white colleagues and friends on set who also took me under their wings. So I always felt support from all sides. Still, there were moments when I didn’t get a job because someone wanted a white hairstylist, or I felt I had to prove I could work across all textures.
I’m from New Orleans, and that helped prepare me. In the salon there, I had a very diverse clientele, so I learned to handle every kind of hair texture. That carried into the film industry. Shows like “Law and Order” were pivotal. I became department head on “SVU” for seven years, and that was because Mariska Hargitay and Chris Meloni personally championed me and requested I be their hairstylist. So yes, you can be stereotyped in this business, but there are also people from all backgrounds who are willing to help.
AF: This nomination is tied directly to Cristin Milioti’s showcase episode, “Cent’Anni” which became the submission piece. Thinking back on her transitions across that hour, do you remember exactly how many distinct looks she had?
Badie: Yeah. She goes from what I call the “daddy’s little girl” hairstyle at the party to Arkham. And even within Arkham, you could say there are several looks. When she’s being hosed down, that’s the deconstruction of the party look. Then in the cafeteria, it’s even more deconstructed, but still with remnants of the waves from her party hair. I didn’t want it to play as soaking wet and lifeless — I wanted hints of what she had before.
AF: And after Arkham, there are more transformations.
Badie: Right. Then you have the reveal when she arrives in the yellow dress. That’s another look. I even consider the gas mask sequence its own look, because we styled the hair to stick out in a way that felt demonic under the mask. I just rewatched the episode recently to grab pictures, and I’d say it’s about four or five distinct looks within that hour.
AF: Sofia Falcone isn’t as widely referenced in DC lore. How did you and Cristin arrive at what has now become her defining hairstyle across the series?
Badie: For me and Cristin, it was a very symbiotic relationship. She’s a fashion girl, and I love fashion too, so we instantly clicked from an artistic point of view. We both knew we didn’t want Sofia to have a typical hairstyle that’s trendy right now. No beach waves, no simple bob, nothing conservative. We wanted something iconic, something that could even set a trend.
She actually suggested the wolf cut. I was like, oh my God, I never would’ve thought to put that on the table because it’s so daring, but it was a dream for me. That became the yellow dress cut, and I loved it because it set such a tone. These cuts exist, but they aren’t household names here yet. They’re more popular in Europe, Asia, the South Pacific. I’ve seen them in New Zealand and Australia and they’re slowly making their way to America.
So we agreed on it, and I kept in mind how this could segue into Matt Reeves’ world of “The Batman.” We wanted her to have a fashion-forward, distinctive look, but it also had to fit that larger cinematic world. If I had gone too far in another direction, she wouldn’t have matched the tone of the film.
AF: How much collaboration was there with makeup and costume in developing a character’s overall look?
Badie: There are a couple of ways it can go. Sometimes you all sit together and put your heads together. But a lot of the time, costumes get the jump start before us. They’re already designing clothes and will share boards with us, which gives me a general idea. At the same time, I’ll have ideas in my head, and makeup will have ideas as well. What’s beautiful is when all of our ideas come together, and they just marry really well. That actually happens a lot when I work with costume designers and makeup artists. You’d think we sat in a room for five hours talking it through, but often it just happens organically. That was the case with Cristin’s character. I only saw a few costumes, but the way I styled her hair, the way makeup approached her look, and Helen’s work with costumes all came together perfectly.
AF: When you watched the yellow dress scene on screen for the first time, what went through your mind?
Badie: First of all, when I watched the whole series, it was like, I was a fan. I forgot everything I had filmed, so I was watching it from scratch. To see that yellow dress scene and realize the story I was trying to tell with the hair came through so clearly, that was special. And to then hear other people online saying they could tell her energy from her hair, that she was coming down ready to annihilate people, that was even better.
Even in the later scenes when she changed her hair again, people picked up on it. That made me feel really good, because it showed audiences were reading the nuances of hairstyling. It wasn’t just about fashion. It was about mood and energy. Her hair had a life of its own. That’s exactly what I wanted to convey, and people got it. Watching that play out on screen was one of the better moments of my career.
AF: And now we’re here talking about the Emmys. When voters look at hairstyling, how much weight do you think is placed on technical achievement versus storytelling impact?
Badie: It’s interesting, because when you read the description of what voters are supposed to consider, it’s about the technical. They want to know how the look was achieved — the cutting, the detail. It’s not really about creativity or storytelling.
But of course, being human, we’re going to incorporate some of that. And I stand by Cristin’s hair from the technical side. Compared to a lot of shows, where everyone’s hair just looks nice, the wolf cut and mullet required a lot of technical work. I cut both of those styles with a straight razor, no shears, because I wanted them to look controlled but messy, jagged, a little dangerous, almost like tentacles. That technique gave the hair an edge that supported the character.
AF: So when we as viewers see Sofia’s new haircut, should we imagine it was meant to look self-inflicted, as if she cut it herself?
Badie: Exactly. There was actually a bathroom scene that didn’t make the final cut, where she chops at her own hair. That’s why I didn’t want it to look precise. It needed to feel manic, like it was cut in a frenzy. That was the transition from post-Arkham to her new look. Even though audiences don’t see that scene, it informed how I styled her hair.
AF: Beyond Cristin, who else stood out to you from a hairstyling standpoint across the season?
Badie: I really enjoyed cutting Rhenzy’s hair as Victor, because it was such an odd shape. It was important to show he wasn’t the coolest guy in the room. He had this bowl-like cut that made him look a little off, which matched his character. You see him stutter, you see his vulnerability, and you want to love him right away. The haircut supported that. Rhenzy was totally on board, and it worked perfectly.
AF: Congratulations again, and best of luck at the Emmys.
Badie: Nice to meet you too, and thanks again.