How Hollywood’s Most Realistic Prosthetic Penises Get Made

Collins clearly has range, but, he estimates, over the past two years phalluses have accounted for up to 15 percent of his business. “We started getting calls from people [after] we did Euphoria,” he says. “[Productions] know that I can do that and I know the methodology to get it done.”

Prosthetic penises are made in a similar way as facial prosthetics, with the exception of how much plasticizer — an oil added for flexibility — is in the silicon-based formula. If it’s erect and doesn’t require much movement, less plasticizer is used; if it’s supposed to be soft, the plasticizer-to-silicone ratio is substantially higher. From start to finish, the process takes about three weeks, beginning with the creation of a life cast or a three-dimensional copy of the actor’s groin and leg area.

To be clear: Actors do not get their actual genitalia cast. You’re probably not seeing an accurate representation of their real-life anatomy onscreen. But casting the groin area allows artists to adhere and blend the prosthetic, making it appear to be a real appendage.

For productions that don’t require a customized prosthetic, Collins has approximately 12 different penis molds to which details like veins can later be added. (Collins notes that a majority of the ones he works on for American productions are circumcised.)

In many cases, the non-custom molds and finished prosthetics can be reused on production after production. “Unless something is specifically indicated somewhere or an actor may feel like, ‘I want my penis to look like this,’ there’s no real reason to get into sculpting more and more penises,” says Collins. “You could have 20 or 30 molds, but at the end of the day, you’re gonna see it for a few frames. A penis is a penis is a penis.”

Once it’s ready to go, there are a few ways to attach the prosthetic. It can be glued onto the actor, it can be worn with a belt or strap-on device, and there are techniques that are a combination of both. Sometimes, “there are caverns, if you will, that allow it to pull on like a sock,” says Collins. After the penis is applied, makeup is used to blend the piece to the body.