In August, the first trailer for “Maestro,” a biopic of Leonard Bernstein, the composer of “West Side Story” and so much more, set off a backlash almost immediately: Bradley Cooper was wearing a prosthetic nose for the title role.
Critics on social media accused the star, who is also the director, of playing into an antisemitic trope with the Size XL prosthesis — and asked whether someone who is Jewish would have been more sensitive about makeup choices.
Cooper and Netflix, where “Maestro” will begin streaming on Wednesday, declined to comment. In a statement at the time, Bernstein’s three children, who had been working with Cooper on the film, came to the actor’s defense, noting in a series of posts on X, “It happens to be true that Leonard Bernstein had a nice, big nose.” (The family declined to offer additional comment.)
It’s hardly the first time an oversize septum has made an onscreen appearance or courted controversy. Here are 12 of the most memorable fake noses in cinematic history, sorted by size from dainty 🥸 to elephantine 🥸🥸🥸🥸🥸.
Orson Welles, ‘Touch of Evil’ 🥸
Nicole Kidman, ‘The Hours’ 🥸
Ralph Fiennes, ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2’ 🥸
Meryl Streep, ‘The Iron Lady’ 🥸
Laurence Olivier, ‘Richard III’ 🥸🥸
Rudolph, ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’ 🥸🥸
Margaret Hamilton, ‘The Wizard of Oz’ 🥸🥸🥸
Matt Damon, ‘Ocean’s Thirteen’ 🥸🥸🥸
Steve Carell, ‘Foxcatcher’ 🥸🥸🥸
Alec Guinness, ‘Oliver Twist’ 🥸🥸🥸🥸
Billy Crystal, ‘The Princess Bride’ 🥸🥸🥸🥸
Steve Martin, ‘Roxanne’ 🥸🥸🥸🥸🥸