The Bikeriders Makeup Department Head Talks Collaborating With Jeff Nichols and Michael Shannon

We talked to Ashleigh Chavis about her work on The Bikeriders.

By Jamie Jirak

The Bikeriders was released in theaters this weekend, and the new film was directed by Jeff Nichols (Take Shelter, Midnight Special) and is based on a photography book by Danny Lyon that follows a motorcycle club in the 1960s. The new movie is currently up on Rotten Tomatoes with an 82% critics score and a 72% audience score. In honor of the film's release, ComicBook had the chance to chat with Makeup Department Head, Ashleigh Chavis. During our chat, she spoke about collaborating with Nichols and working with Michael Shannon who she also with on the Showtime series, George & Tammy. 

"This is the first time I've ever worked with Jeff, but when I saw the movie Loving, and I'd already seen some of his other ones  ... I just thought, 'Oh my gosh, I hope I can work with this Jeff Nichols guy sometime.' I didn't know him personally, but I just thought, 'Gosh, I love the way he tells a story.' But he himself is the nicest guy. He is so trusting of his teams that he puts together, and I think, again, everything feels very intentional from what I could tell with him"

"It's like once he picks who's going to be where and uses his production team as well and producers to help him with that, he just has trust in you," she continued. "He's done what he needed to do to hire who he wants to hire, and then once you're there, he trusts you. And so he communicates trust through his words, through his actions, his tone. He's not a screamer on set ... That kind of environment starts at the top and trickles down onto everybody else. And so he has this very calming way about him. And I think if you spoke to anybody on the cast or the crew, everybody appreciates that kind of personality for sure."

Ashleigh Chavis Talks Michael Shannon:

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(Photo:

Michael Shannon as Zipco in The Bikeriders (2024). 

- Focus Features)

"I guess specifically for Michael, he has his needs, but he's also just so professional that he wants it to look good," Chavis told ComicBook when asked about working with Shannon on multiple projects. "So obviously, if there are things that are uncomfortable to an actor that you could avoid, that's great, but he just wanted it to look good. And he is patient in the chair. He gives you the time that you need in the mornings ... You can have that time that you need as an artist at the beginning of the day."

"But that show [George & Tammy], it was shot out of chronological order with the six different episodes. So he was old, he was young, he was old. We were just back and forth," she continued. "So just ensuring that his skin wasn't irritated with everything and the prosthetics and the bald cap and the adhesives. But he's good about it. I mean, he's such a professional and such a warm guide to work with."

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"There's nobody else better to have had [play Zipco in The Bikeriders]," she added. 

The Bikeriders is now playing in theaters.  Stay tuned for more from our interview with Ashleigh Chavis. 

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