6 celebs whose “look ” was part of their contract
Recently, Zayn Malik opened up to Complex Magazine about one of the reasons he left One Direction: it turns out, Zayn really, really, really wanted a beard. His contractual obligation to the band, though, meant he had to maintain a certain look and that look was no facial hair.
“There were certain restrictions in terms of the way that we could come outside of that young teen boy look,” Zayn told Complex. “Mainly my beard, honestly. I wasn’t allowed to keep it. Eventually, when I got older, I rebelled against it, and decided to keep it anyway. . . [Now] I get to keep my beard. I also wanted to dye my hair when I was in the band, but I wasn’t allowed to.”
In other words, we have the One Direction split to thank for Zayn’s extremely dreamy facial hair. But rest assured, he’s certainly not the only celeb who had to adhere to certain rules in his contract regarding the way he looks. Here are 6 other celebs whose “look” was dictated by a contract:
1. Anna Paquin
True Blood fans know Anna Paquin as the blonde Sookie Stackhouse, but as soon as the show ended, Anna changed her hair color drastically. Her contract said she had to wear it blonde, and back in 2014, she celebrated the end of the show by “fulfill[ing] her teen dream of being a mermaid.”
2. Emma Watson
Can you imagine Hermione Granger with short hair? Neither could Warner Bros, which was why Emma Watson had to keep her Hermione aesthetic for almost a decade. “I was contractually obliged not to cut my hair, not to tan,” she told Vogue in its December 2010 issue. “All the normal things girls do, I couldn’t. So when I got the chance to change my appearance, this [gesturing to her short hair] is what I did.” We’re so glad she did, because Emma had the cutest pixie cut in all the world.
3. Kit Harington
Jon Snow wouldn’t be Jon Snow without those luscious long locks, and that’s why Kit had to keep it long. “It has its own contract definitely,” he said on Live with Kelly and Michael in June 2014. “I never thought I’d say that about my own hair. . . . I’m just not allowed to cut it, and I didn’t realize this until recently. I wanted to cut it. I’ve had long hair for ages and they were like, ‘no, no, no, that won’t be happening.”
4. Mark Hamill
In an interview with the BBC in July of 2014, Mark Hamill joked about his role in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, explaining that “it’s really about the new generation of characters. We’re just there to lend our support, and grow contractually obligated beards.” He talked about his beard again a few months later. “I’m not really a beard person,” Mark later added in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that December. “I suppose if I got used to it, I could become one. It’s just one of those things. I think they look fine on other people, it’s just not for me. Every time you take a sip of coffee. . . Ugh, you’re always getting food and drink in it.” We think it suits him just fine!
5. The male stars of Duck Dynasty
We may know the Louisiana family for their big, bushy beards, but that facial hair is all actually contractually obligated. “I grow one every year during hunting season,” Alan Robertson told the hosts of Los Angeles morning program Good Day LA back in 2013. “We all do. We all used to cut them off. But now, since they [his brothers] are such big stars and their beards are in their contracts, they have to keep them a certain length.” Who knew?!
6. Kelly Osbourne
Think of Kelly Osbourne, and one of the first phrases that comes to mind is “purple hair.” We totally loved the lavender locks. . . and so did her bosses at Fashion Police, because they actually forbade her from changing it. “I’m contracted to this hair color,” she told E! back in April of 2013. “I can’t change it for two years. I wanted to go green, but was told I wouldn’t be able to work anymore.” Good thing her hair looks incredible in green.
It’s a hard life, being a celeb!
