Janice Kinigopoulos – Mighty Magazine

Today, I’m interviewing Janice Kinigopoulos, a talented
professional whose work in hair and makeup has graced
music videos, magazines, films, and TV shows. Her credits
include HBO’s The Wire and The Deuce, Runaway Bride,
Nashville, We Own This City, Eagle Eye, Live Free or Die Hard, Wide Awake, and many others. She also produced Fishbowl,
a feature film written and directed by her two children.

Q1: What made you want to work with hair design and make up?

A: When I was in my third year of college at the University of Maryland, I got a job at Bloomingdales, in the makeup department. And it was love at first sight.
I eventually went to my parents and told them I wanted to leave school and pursue a career in makeup.
Mind you, this was before Facebook, Instagram, or social media. There was no YouTube, or any type of behind-the-scenes “getting actors ready “awareness.
But, I knew there was a world beyond the makeup counter. I could do makeup for magazines and movies. Although, I didn’t know how to go about it. But I didn’t care.
The great thing about youth, is you act first and think later. I’m glad I was enthusiastic and didn’t entertain the thought of it not working out . It never crossed my mind.

Q2: How old were you when you started?
A: 18 yrs old

Q3: How did you get into working with actors and singers?

A: I married my college sweetheart, George, who was from Baltimore Maryland, and had a family business in Ellicott City. A sub shop named Dollys. So when we got hitched, we lived in Catonsville so he could be close to the shop. Lucky for me, John Waters, Barry Levinson and David Simon hailed from Silver Spring . And shot their movies there. I struck gold and had no idea how lucky I was.
Q4: What would you say is the hardest part of your job?

A: It’s weird to say but, the actual makeup and hair part is so enjoyable to me, even when I’m not sure how something may turn out. It can be very challenging ( like when an actor is portraying a real character. So we’re matching the hair as much as possible with wigs etc.)

The hardest part may be working with so many different personalities, some genuine and kind, others, not so much. This encompasses the actors, producers, and crew members. I’ve learned over the years how to deal with negativity and bring light to my job. And I have amazing teams I work with and always let my coworkers shine and feel respected.

Q5: What was one of your most exciting moments during your journey?
A: There have been so many amazing moments. I think one was when I was called in last minute to design the hair/look of the show for the HBO 70’s portrayal of the porn industry , The Deuce, which was about to shoot in New York.
James Franco was playing real twin brothers ( who navigate the rise of the sex trade in Times Square). I designed two different wigs that showed their undeniable similarities as twins, but each with distinct individuality. One brother was the kind of guy that never changed his hairstyle since high school…..you know, the kind that carried that little plastic black comb he got senior year in his back pocket.
The other, was more modern and moved with the times.
I also created a platinum afro for Maggie Gyllenhal, who played “Candy”, a prostitute. A lot of viewers copied that look , especially the hard front curly afro for Halloween that year. That to me was a huge compliment.
I designed a wig for Method Man reminiscent of the 1970’s character “Priest” in the film Superfly. He loved it and so did I.

Q6: What made you get into being a producer?

A: My kids, Stephen and Alexa are responsible for that.
My son decided to write a film. As a kid, he would always wonder about a scary looking house he’d pass sitting on the bus, looking out the window on his way to school. He created a story about three sisters who lived in that house, with their father. The mother is missing.

After he finished the script, he walked up to the scary house, knocked on the door and when they answered, he asked the nice man with the kind eyes, if he could shoot there. He said yes and we were there for a month. They were the kindest people.

The film stars Rick Kain who is an actor, stuntman and director from Howard County and Judith Hoag, an amazing human and actress who starred in the TV series “Nashville”. And also was the original April in, The Teenage Mutant Turtle movies!
The film is called Fishbowl, and is on Amazon Prime. It’s a great film and definitely cool to watch for locals, because Howard County is the backdrop of that film.

Q7: What part of that job did you do? Did you like it?

A: I designed the makeup and hair and worked on the show every day doing makeup for the cast. My husband and I produced the film from our basement, which became the production office. Making movies is not for the faint of heart and is very expensive to pull off.
George was so supportive, raising funds from several of his friends. It was so nice of them to believe and invest in the kids. My dad also helped us immensely. Along with, Stephen’s mentor , George Pelecanos, writer and producer of the award winning, The Wire, amongst many other accolades. He came every day of shooting and his support and input was invaluable.

Q8: Do you have any different goals for your future?

A: I’m writing these answers from my son’s house in Nashville. I flew in to do makeup and hair for a Black Keys music video he and my daughter, Alexa directed.
I love working with them. They’re young and they follow their instincts , which makes for very interesting projects.
We recently shot a Chris Stapleton music video very close to my heart because it was inspired by my dad/their grandfather’s passing. The song is called “Think I’m in Love With You”.

At the time when Stephen and Alexa got the call to submit a treatment for the music video for Chris’ song, their reality was that my Dad/their Pop Pop was in hospice. Stephen had just returned from visiting Pop Pop during his final days, so when it came time to turn in their vision, the kids wrote about what they knew- they wrote a music video inspired by their grandfather, my sweet Dad.

The video stars Andre Royo, (HBO’s The Wire, Power) an amazing actor Stephen and Alexa have known since they were young kids on set. From the moment Andre arrived in Nashville, we were all on a mission-the vibe was electric. The video is really something. Andre killed it. To work together again ( Andre & I did The Wire together ) after 20 yrs was very special.

In the video, Andre plays a patriarch on his death bed surrounded by his loving family. After passing away before the viewers eyes, he levitates, joyfully landing on his feet, dancing right thru his front door, into the streets, strutting behind his hearse, to the cemetery, ending up in heaven…(which, if you guys don’t know it yet) just happens to be a disco. All of this , in a red Nudies western suit (we can all rest easy knowing the afterlife is a pretty nice disco).

Chris Stapleton and his beautiful wife, Morgane were so touched with the final product , they added something at the end. The words “ Dedicated to Pop Pop & Mom Mom” .
It was such an incredible gesture and it makes me cry everytime I think of it.

Link to the music video she just talked about:

https://youtu.be/5-8D5ILlhNE?si=DdMvdvH2ZZeW9Ub2

I hope the future holds new adventures with the people I enjoy and love.

Q9: If someone wanted to work with you, where can they find you?
A: I’m on Instagram, but need to post more. So many cool jobs and not enough time!!

Janice’s Instagram link;

@jkinigopoulos

Q9: If someone wanted to work with you, where can they find you?
A: I’m on Instagram, but need to post more. So many cool jobs and not enough time!!
Janice’s Instagram link; @jkinigopoulos

Q7: What part of that job did you do? Did you like it?

Q8: Do you have any different goals for your future?

I hope the future holds new adventures
with the people I enjoy and love.