First things first: All of the actors on Netflix’s queer hit Boots wore nude briefs under those omnipresent boxers. Though according to the cast members’ thirst trap Instagram posts, jockstraps were worn under those track shorts at least once. Just in case you were wondering.
Judging from what they’ve posted lately, most of the guys would not likely have minded if the underwear they did wear as Marine recruits was a little more revealing. “By the time we were done, I think they were peeing on each other’s shoes,” costume designer Billy Ray McKenna laughingly tells Crafty during a very fun, very cheeky interview.
But lest you think dressing the cast of Boots—about a gay teen who impulsively joins the Marines with his straight bets friend at the height of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell—meant throwing fit young actors into fitted T-shirts and short shorts and calling it a day, know this: Every single time you watch a TV show or a film and the costumes seem so banal as to be invisible? Those are the most complicated ones.
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“A lot of times, the hardest part of being a costume designer is when there’s a uniform involved or when there’s no clothes at all,” McKenna says. For Boots, he began with research into the ‘90s Marines, though some historically accurate details had to be finessed for aesthetic purposes. McKenna and the production opted to use the red and gold PT uniforms instead of all-green ones, and technically, the guys would have been in tightie-whities, but for the most part, the clothes were to-the-thread accurate.
“We would literally move a pin on those uniforms to take it one thread over because my technical advisor would be like, ‘Uh-uh, uh-huh, it’s not an eighth. It’s a ninth. It’s not right,’” McKenna says. “And we really went through that on a daily basis.”
Not to mention that every single medal on an officer’s uniform tells part of their backstory for those who understand. “Those were not just arbitrary ribbons thrown on the chest of someone,” McKenna says. “It really took somebody to be there in the thick of it at that particular time to be able to translate that. That’s why our amazing technical advisors were there, not only for the uniforms, but for the show in general.”
That attention to detail, coupled with a cast of young, up-and-coming actors, all coalesced in a vivid portrayal of life in boot camp during the era. How convincing was it on set? When production resumed in New Orleans after the strikes, a handful of the background players didn’t return—because they had joined the Marines.
“I swear to you, there were a few people who could not return because they went off to become real Marines,” McKenna says. “That’s how committed these people were.”
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Their transformation from sloppy recruits into seasoned graduates was subtly assisted by tiny details that have an outsized effect. When we first meet them, the uniforms are looser, the rolled sleeves a little sloppy. But as their training takes over and they become accustomed to life as a Marine, the uniforms tighten up. All that training for hours of shooting a day also played its part, of course.
But in the midst of all that olive green (a blessing in the Louisiana heat; some days the crew would just hose the actors down to fill in the dry spots around the sweat) was a pop of color in the form of Vera Farmiga’s Barbara Cope, out in the world while her son (Miles Heizer) goes through boot camp.
“We really just tried to look like a birthday cake exploded, to tell you the truth,” McKenna says. “Netflix was all about wanting to get color, so that it was a nice separation of the world that we were living in 90 percent of our show. And to have it done with such wonderful people. And Vera, when she walked in…. Some people can wear 1980s clothes and some people just can’t. She was built for a 1980s wardrobe.”
The remarkable thing about Boots is seeing so many different body types performing the same grueling physical tests. This isn’t the volleyball game from Top Gun. And to the cast members’ credit, every single one was fully committed to doing what it took. Mud and all.
“Every single background artist, all the way down to background artist number 75, they were in it to win it from the very get-go,” McKenna says. “None of them, not one of them, wanted to be lesser than their brothers beside them. Meaning that if one was gonna do it, they were all gonna do it. And that’s exactly what the mentality of the Marines is. Not one person was going to say, ‘I can’t do this. It’s too hot. I’m not comfortable.’ They all just did it. I believe that’s why this show translated so beautifully. They were all in, every single one of them.”
Billy Ray McKenna’s costume credits include Rebel Ridge, Rizzoli and Isles, and NCIS: New Orleans. His go-to at craft services? “Anything that I can shove in my face. I always go for the Twinkies. I don’t know why. I know they have a shelf life of a million years, but if there’s a Twinkie there, I’m gonna eat it. If there’s a hot dog on the set, I’m gonna eat it. I don’t care if I’m hungry or not, I’m gonna eat it.”
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