Boston Actor Kevin Chapman FUE Hair Transplant

Boston-born actor Kevin Chapman underwent FUE hair transplant surgery at Leonard Hair Transplant Associates in 2013 after deciding that Hollywood makeup could only take him so far. Known for playing Detective Lionel Fusco on Person of Interest and for memorable roles in Mystic River, Brotherhood and dozens of other film and television productions, Chapman had spent years watching makeup departments create things for his characters that disappeared when the cameras stopped rolling.

“In my line of work, makeup can always add hair,” Kevin said.

Eventually, he decided he wanted the benefit to extend beyond the set. Kevin underwent FUE hair transplant surgery to restore areas of permanent hair loss using his own donor follicles, trading the temporary illusion of more hair for a solution designed to grow as his own.

From Dorchester to Hollywood

Kevin Chapman is Boston through and through. Born in Dorchester, Massachusetts, he worked for the City of Boston’s film office before being discovered by director Ted Demme, beginning an acting career that would eventually span decades of film and television. He became especially recognizable as Detective Lionel Fusco throughout all five seasons of the CBS series Person of Interest, while his film work includes Clint Eastwood’s Mystic River, 21 Grams, Unstoppable and the Academy Award-winning CODA.

His television résumé is just as extensive, with roles in Brotherhood, Rescue Me, 24, City on a Hill, Blue Bloods, The Punisher, Billions, NCIS, FBI: Most Wanted and Chicago Fire. More recently, Chapman returned to familiar territory with an appearance as Fire Chief Terry Morgan on Boston Blue. For an actor whose face has appeared on screens for decades, appearance is part of the business, but Kevin’s decision to address his hair loss was ultimately personal.

He also came to hair transplantation with some skepticism. Like many people who grew up seeing the conspicuous hair plugs of previous generations, Kevin’s mental picture of a hair transplant was shaped by procedures that looked like procedures. He specifically remembered the stigma surrounding older hair restoration and wondered whether the result could ever look natural enough for someone who regularly appeared on camera.

Hair transplantation had changed considerably by the time Kevin came to Leonard Hair Transplant Associates. Instead of the large grafts associated with early transplant techniques, modern follicular-unit transplantation works with naturally occurring groups of individual follicles, allowing transplanted hair to be distributed and positioned in a way that more closely follows natural growth.

Kevin Chapman’s FUE Hair Transplant

Kevin underwent FUE hair transplant surgery at Leonard Hair Transplant Associates in 2013. His procedure was performed by practice founder Dr. Robert Leonard, who later retired from Leonard Hair Transplant Associates in 2018.

FUE, or follicular unit excision, is a hair transplant technique in which individual follicular units are removed from the permanent donor area and transplanted into areas where hair has been permanently lost. Because follicles are harvested individually, FUE does not create the linear donor scar associated with FUT hair transplant surgery.

The absence of a linear scar does not mean FUE is automatically the right procedure for every patient. The donor area contains a finite number of follicles that can safely be moved, and how those follicles are harvested matters just as much as where they are ultimately placed. Age, donor density, existing hair, the pattern and progression of hair loss and the possibility of future procedures all need to be considered before surgery.

For an actor accustomed to seeing what cameras and makeup can conceal, the distinction was significant. A hair transplant is not stagecraft. The follicles are actually relocated, and once successfully transplanted and grown, the hair can be cut, washed and styled like the patient’s other hair.

Kevin originally said his motivation was more personal than professional, although he was happy to acknowledge that having his own hair could have benefits on camera as well. The objective was not to create a different face for the screen. It was to restore hair in a way that still looked like Kevin when the makeup came off.

FUE Hair Transplant Surgery in New England Today

More than a decade after Kevin’s procedure, Leonard Hair Transplant Associates is led surgically by Chief Hair Restoration Surgeon Dr. Matthew Lopresti. Dr. Lopresti personally performs both FUE and FUT hair transplant surgery, treating patients from Greater Boston, throughout Massachusetts and New England, and from across the country. Hair transplant surgery is performed in Newton, Massachusetts and Warwick, Rhode Island.

FUE and FUT are different methods of obtaining the donor follicles used in a hair transplant, and neither technique should be selected simply because one happens to be more familiar or more heavily advertised. The appropriate approach depends on the patient’s hair loss, donor characteristics, hairstyle, goals and long-term restoration plan. For patients who are not yet candidates for surgery, treatment may instead include PRP with ACell, finasteride or minoxidil when medically appropriate.

Kevin’s story also provides a useful perspective on how far hair transplantation has come. His original hesitation was based largely on what hair transplants used to look like. By the time he decided to have surgery, the procedure he had imagined and the procedure available to him were two very different things.

Hollywood can do remarkable things when the cameras are rolling. Kevin decided he wanted something that didn’t disappear when somebody yelled cut.