Beta.Romeo.Zulu: Men..."whatever inspires you, raid your mums make up box."

Why men dare to be different: Daniel Radcliffe, Patrick Wolf and Heath Ledger.

When I saw 'Dazed & Confused's' recent photo shoot and interview with Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe I was stunned at how beautifully daring it was. It got me wondering about men and feminine transformations and styles. Obviously I'm not talking Gene Simmond's KISS, and I could mention David Bowie, but I don't need to, we've heard all that before. What really interests me is why?

For Daniel Radcliffe I believe this shoot was a way for him to well and truly stamp on his wizards cloak and tell the world that he's not a boy but a man, a man who can be as daring and striking as any other male in the performance industry. And although he did this when performing in Peter Shaffer's raunchy stage play 'Equus', he was still playing Harry Potter. Now the films are over, the transformation can commence. I think that the use of make up in the shoot shatters any thoughts of the 'geeky boy wizard'; he's genuinely beautiful in these pictures, if not a little scary, but I think that's the point.

In the 'Dazed & Confused' interview Radcliffe says:

"when you're covered head-to-toe in make up, the only thing you can do is go for it."

And this conjures up thoughts of why us women wear make up all the time. Essentially it's confidence, to feel beautiful and to transform. Why do we really dress up at Halloween even though we're too old to go trick and treating? Because we can become our alter-egos, a fantastical representation of who we wish we were. I think the same ideals of make up and dressing up apply to men, but obviously it is something not everyone is quite used to in the modern world!

The shoot of Radcliffe aesthetically (with the smeared face paint, dark eyes and slick back hair) drew many parallels to

Matthew Bourne's 'Swan Lake', an all male ballet which I imagine is far more popular and memorable than the classic

'women in tutus' version (not to sound condescending, both 'Swan Lakes' are truly awe inspiring and Darcey Bussell is a national gem!) But what I'm trying to get at is that Bourne completely transformed this very feminine fairy tale into

something with balls (excuse the pun) and in turn transformed male ballet dancers into something certainly not to be

laughed at but people to admire and very much respect.

Next, a man whom I would consider one of my favourite musicians of the last decade is Patrick Wolf. Patrick Wolf has the most beautiful sense of style which includes make up a' plenty and a mixture of daring couture with British heritage folk.

His style absolutely reflects his music, as with three albums that he has (almost single handedly) produced, he has transformed himself musically and physically. What is so wonderful about this is that we as an audience can see this transformation as a journey through his life as it happens.

His first album 'The Magic Position' is an exploration of electro but with a sense of whimsy, delving into personal feelings of love and heartbreak, for example the songs 'Bluebells' and 'Augustine'. His second album 'Wind In The Wires' for me, saw Wolf going back to his roots, exploring nature and British folk. And although some songs expressed frustration and lack of confidence in human nature ('The Libertine' and 'Tristan') there was still this beautiful air of him, and us, being a part of our landscape. For example, the opening lyrics in 'Ghost Song' are:

"While I'm asleep my spirit crawls out of this bellybutton and goes down to the sea to gather the wind, the wires and the shore, to wander the hills like a day gone before."

Finally, his most recent album 'The Bachelor (Battle One)' Wolf has thrown himself head first into electro. The video for 'Hard Times' directed by Ace Norton speaks for itself! And especially in comparison to the video for 'Bluebells' from his first album.

http://vimeo.com/4887811 - 'Hard Times'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89yEOAapoMc - 'Bluebells'

There is a wonderful romance about Patrick Wolf in the sense that we don't really know who he is. He twists between

styles, he dresses himself up so fabulously, it's like he is playing various different characters of himself. But I also feel

that this is because even he doesn't know who he truly is, and his writing and creating of albums are pieces of the

journey he goes on to search for Patrick Wolf.

The questioning of who he is has even gone as far as his sexuality, presumably because of his expressive style and

appearance, and Patrick's answer to this:

"I don't know if I'm meant to spend the rest of my life with a man, a woman, or a horse."

A brilliant quote which reflects the continual search of himself but also his ability to be comfortable with that.

Ok, so last case study for men in make up. How could we forget the late Heath Ledger and obviously his iconic role of The Joker in the Batman film 'The Dark Knight' directed by Christopher Nolan. Firstly, I think the point about men and transformations in this case is entirely different to Daniel Radcliffe and Patrick Wolf. When Heath Ledger so sadly passed away there were many speculations that his huge immersion of the Joker character might have been to blame in some way. Ledger took a method acting approach to this role and spent many days locked in a London flat trying to find the Joker's psychotic psyche inside himself. When he emerged, what he had created was something nobody expected; a relatively unknown actor in terms of respectability and credibility (apart from 'Brokeback Mountain' he was mainly remembered for teen flick '10 Things I Hate About You') he had suddenly become this terrifying monster. Although Jack Nicholson's adaptation of the Joker was pretty damn scary, he had nothing on Heath Ledger, everything about him was frightening, especially the fact that he'd taken the role so seriously.

"I sat around in a hotel room in London for about a month, locked myself away, formed a little diary and experimented with voices — it was important to try to find a somewhat iconic voice and laugh. I ended up landing more in the realm of a psychopath — someone with very little to no conscience towards his acts. He’s just an absolute sociopath, a cold-blooded, mass-murdering clown" - Heath Ledger Empire magazine interview.

So, the very fact that Heath Ledger had transformed himself so completely for this role made his performance absolutely breathtaking, and his appearance, especially the make up has become completely iconic, and I don't know if the role had anything to do with him passing away; regardless, he well and truly earned the respect of everyone. The image of Heath as the Joker will remain iconic for many years to come and it's just tragic that he'll never know that. Whether his role had anything to do with his passing is not for me to say, all I do know is that he did a bloody good job. But back to make up. Evidently, the Joker's relationship with appearance is that of fear, and this is something quite important when discussing men and make up. To be scary aesthetically for a man seems ok, in that it still gives the impression of power and masculinity. But to wear make-up in a feminine sense seems to attract a lot of fear for men, probably because it is still deemed as quite unusual (which is madness in 2010!)

So to conclude, it should most definitely not be strange for men to dare to wear make up in any capacity. To prove this, we have artists like Patrick Wolf, who express themselves in whichever way they feel and can be happy in themselves, even if they don't know who their true 'self' is yet. There's people like Daniel Radcliffe who want to prove a point and that point is that he is a man, and he has done that incredibly successfully by wearing make up. And finally, Heath Ledger who has become one of the most iconic film villains ever, and his face paint will be massively remembered and copied by men all over the world. If that wasn't enough, the very last picture ever taken of Heath Ledger shows him in make up, and looking as stunning as ever.