So you want to know Fred Durst’s beauty secrets?

Who else is making a toast to the make-up department in Y2K? Set during the last night of 1999 and early hours of the new millennium, A24’s new film is hyper-realistic to its time period, from the costumes and music, to even Fred Durst. The Limp Bizkit frontman plays a 90s version of himself in the film and, apart from being a little dishevelled from the impact of the apocalyptic millennium bug, he looks fairly convincing as his younger self. 

This turning back of 25 years came courtesy of Christopher Milone, head of make-up for the film, who used skincare, make-up and facial hair tricks to give the illusion of Durst’s youth. “Without giving too much away we shaved his facial hair into his iconic soul patch look from 99 and coloured him in,” Milone explains. “That alone can take years off. I gave him some really good skincare and full coverage where needed.” The costume designer also did a great job in sourcing that iconic red hat, he says. “I heard it wasn’t easy to find since the logos have changed since the 90s.”

But it can’t all be smoke and mirrors, and Durst himself doesn’t seem to have aged much in the last two decades. To find out his secrets, we spoke to the Limp Bizkit frontman to find out more about this seemingly magical reversal of time, his memories of the real Y2K night, and what his own skincare routine is.

What does Fred Durst remember from NYE 1999?

Fred Durst: We played when the ball dropped. The hype about Y2K was definitely everywhere but I’m not sure any of us really thought anything was gonna happen. I just figured it’ll be funny to do Prince’s ”1999” when the ball drops and if somebody found this song written by Limp Bizkit through the rubble, millions of years later.  It was a really crowded and crammed MTV live situation with a countdown going on. I’d never been in Times Square until that moment and I saw it on television but it was a lot of fun. 

Out of all of your electronics, which one do you think would’ve seeked revenge if the Y2K bug were to happen?

Fred Durst: Maybe the Motorola Skytel two-way pager. They had this weird phone back then, a Nextel two-way telephone where you could walkie-talkie anybody, anywhere, from the phone. If you had a Nextel as well and you were where you are, I could walkie-talkie right now, directly to you. [Miming being on the phone] Hey, what’s up Hatti? 

You recently had a role in I Saw The TV Glow and now you’re in Y2K. How did you get into working with A24?

Fred Durst: Fortunately, I was asked by both of the filmmakers to play different roles. It had nothing to do with me knowing A24 or anything like that but it was a dream come true. I thought I would have never been able to be on their radar. So when I got the calls I was like, ‘Wow this is amazing of course I’ll take a look at this’. With Jane Schoenbrun’s movie I Saw The TV Glow I was like ‘hell yeah, let’s go’. With Y2K I was like, ‘Nope not doing that. I’m not playing myself because I don’t know how to do that’. You know, I love playing characters and I created Limp Bizkit to then become a filmmaker. 

What made you change your mind?

Fred Durst: On the third Zoom call with Kyle and Evan, I realised they really did write this with me in it from the beginning. I tried to tell him to use Vanilla Ice, because he’s gonna look exactly like he did back then. Not like the old guy pretending he’s not old.

What was the hair and make-up process like, your beard turned back into a goatee?

Fred Durst: Well, I had a white beard at the time and by the second Zoom, I go: ‘Why don’t I just keep this thing and it’ll be really funny that I’m dramatically aged after the aliens came?’. 

They go:  ‘That’s very funny. But no. We really want you to do the 1999.’

I go: ‘How is that going to be possible? I don’t look 29 years old, I’m 50 freaking four years old.’ 

They go: ‘No man, it’d be great.’

I go: ‘Are you gonna use deepfake? Is it gonna be prosthetics? I mean, what’s gonna happen?’

They go: ‘No, it’ll be great.’

The wardrobe was clearly nailed right off the bat, and I didn't know how the make-up was gonna work. I just sit in the chair and the next thing I know he’s got some black eyelash make-up to put on my goatee. I was like ‘Wow, this is really dark. I don’t remember my goatee being that dark.’ 

I’ve just watched it and you do look like you. It’s you now but it’s still believable, especially when you’re following along the story. 

Fred Durst: That’s the idea, it’s movie magic and these people are all professionals. They’re all so talented and know what they’re doing and in my position, you have to trust them and I’m hearing from you Hatti that they did an okay job. I watched the movie up until I came in. 

Do you have any of your own beauty routines or skincare regimes, maybe a specific beard wax that you use?

Fred Durst: Well, I grew up kind of a hillbilly in North Carolina. I knew nothing in regards to taking care of your skin or yourself, besides a bar of Irish Spring. When Limp Bizkit took off, I came out to LA as about 28 years old in 1998 and all of a sudden what are these stores? People are taking me to Barneys, Fred Segal’s, Ole Henriksen and they’re like ‘Oh, you need to take care of your skin.’ So I’m like, ‘wow, what do I need?’

So I started to get a routine back then and I just thought it was fun and cool to wash my face, to exfoliate it, to put on a cream at night, to sleep, and always moisturise around my eyes and sometimes I would splash a toner on my face. I have that routine to this day and the particular products are very pure and clean stuff, it’s a simple routine. I was always told to use SPF, but I never really did do that part. I don’t know if that has anything to do with my skin or if it’s genetic but I’m adopted so, you know, maybe it’s genetic. I feel like I look really old but some people say ‘Hey man, your skin is really nice,’ and I’m like wow, really? Thank you, because I look in the mirror and go no, just go back.

Maybe it’s because you’ve been consistent with your skincare? 

Fred Durst: I wouldn’t know but I have been, I’ve tried to turn lots of people onto the ideas of these things and it wasn’t working but now it seems like it’s crossed into…

It’s definitely more mainstream now to have these routines. 

Fred Durst: Yeah, it’s very interesting. And the beard, I never really had a full beard. Very early on I met a guy from Scotland who has this beard oil he created and gave to me on tour. I was like ‘Wow this smells good’. He was way ahead of the game. I said this is gonna be big, this should go everywhere: men should know about this, or anybody with facial hair. It is like a thing now right? Now people go, you’ve got to use beef tallow only and I’m like, well I’m not using that. 

Nookie, marry, kill: making music, directing films, or acting in films. 

Fred Durst: Oh, that’s amazing. I would say I’m someone that doesn’t have a favourite anything and never likes to make choices like that. I’m emotionally very diverse and like different things at different times but I would definitely choose directing or acting. I think directing, yeah. 

I’ve got another one. Nookie, marry, kill: staying in on NYE, going out, or a house party?

Fred Durst: I really am not very good in social situations but I enjoy having conversations with people but I’ve run into a lot of people that have no interest in anything, they’re just waiting to speak and that happens a lot in the world that I’m circling in. So I’d rather be at home and having intimate thoughts or conversations with somebody.

Nice. In 1999, you’re doing it all for the nookie. What are you doing it all for in 2025? 

Fred Durst: The funny thing about that though, nobody listened to the story in “Nookie” they just listened to the catchphrase. It’s like when I say Rage Against The Machine they listen to “fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me”, they don’t listen to the rest of it. 

Nookie. The first time I had been intimate with someone it happened later and I was very much head over heels in love because of that and I was just that guy. I was very much a vulnerable person in that world and I couldn’t believe it even happened. So I fell in love and then this person was sleeping with other people and people would say ‘Fred, you’re so upset, why are you staying?’ and I’d say ‘because, we made love’ and I found a different way to say that: I did it all for the nookie. That sounded more fun. So what I did it for then was the love. And what I do it for now is for the love. I have a new daughter, she’s eight months old.

Congrats!

Fred Durst: Thank you, her name’s Cali and I’m just living for every moment with her right now. That’s what I’m doing it for now, still doing it for the love. 

Y2K is officially screening in theatres worldwide.