Donald Mowat can bring any story to life with a makeup kit and a little time.
The acclaimed makeup artist made a recent trip to Dallas, coordinated by the Dallas Film Commission, where he participated in Q&As at the Texas Theatre after screenings of the James Bond film Skyfall and Denis Villeneuve’s thriller Prisoners. He spoke to Dallas College and UNT students, and provided demonstrations of his craft for audiences.
Throughout his career, Mowat has worked on scores of projects and served as the personal stylist for actors like Mark Wahlberg, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Daniel Craig. He also works as a department head, overseeing hair and makeup for entire film and television productions. Recently, he received an Oscar nomination for his work on Denis Villeneuve’s Dune.
The work provides Mowat with opportunities for innovation and reinvention. When the decision was made to take an in-his-prime Daniel Craig and turn him into a weary, aging James Bond in 2012’s Skyfall, Mowat had to figure out how to realize that vision while also navigating the complex demands of a decades-old franchise’s image. When Jared Leto decided he wanted to wear contacts that would make him functionally blind on the set of Blade Runner 2049, Mowat and his team were responsible for figuring out the logistics of the request.
Mowat began his career in Montreal, working in theater, before moving into film and television and ultimately arriving in Los Angeles. “I don’t want to say I was a nerd – but I was,” he says. “I was a slightly eccentric, over the top…slightly camp kid who loved theater and movies and TV…and just found [makeup] was something I like.”
His big break came after spending a few years in the industry, when he worked on Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future. “That was a Mattel TV show that was innovative,” says Mowat. “And it was…one of the first [projects using computer-generated imagery]… It was super cool for the time, at the time.” Even though the show “lasted for just one season,” Mowat says it gave him the opportunity to run a department “and a very cool, interesting career.”
That “interesting” career has taken Mowat around the world and allowed him to work with auteur directors, some of the biggest stars in the world, and made him an authority on his craft. It also affords him the ability to be direct about what he likes and does not like: about his industry, his craft, and the films he works on.
“Sometimes you forget, the job that I do is really about helping other people do their thing,” Mowat says. “You’re there to serve and help other people tell their story. And I’m old enough now to do what I want to do.”
For example, speaking on his working relationship with Mark Wahlberg, Mowat says, “I love him really deeply and made…18 movies with him. But the movies he was making were not the movies I wanted to make. People ask [if something happened between us]. No, I just didn’t want to make Ted.”
On June 13 Mowat shared his passion and profession with students at Dallas College’s Brookhaven Campus. This included a discussion with Tony Armer, Dallas’s Film Commissioner, a Q&A session with the students, and a makeup demonstration performed on one of the attendees.
Ahava Silkey-Jones, the vice provost of Dallas College’s School of Creative Arts, Entertainment and Design, helped coordinate the event with the Film Commission. “I think seeing people that have embraced any sort of artistic pathway at a really high level of excellence and then gotten an opportunity to do really big projects is inspiring for students,” says Silkey-Jones. “Dallas College…is really about innovation and being at the forefront of whatever is coming next in…each of our fields… So we’re really open and excited to…partner with organizations [like the Dallas Film Commission] that are interested in bringing our students along with them as Dallas grows.”
Andrea Ortiz, one of the students who attended the on-campus event, said, “As a Theater Arts student, this Q&A with Donald Mowat was so informative and helped me gain so much perspective on how to grow my career, and I very much enjoyed the makeup demonstration.”
Mowat enjoys sharing his perspective and experience with the next generation. He is characteristically honest about the advice he would give aspiring makeup artists: “Stop looking at Instagram for makeup tutorials. Just stop it. You don’t need to see what Lady Gaga’s makeup is. That is bad.”
Instead, Mowat recommends people who want to enter the field immerse themselves in the work that came before them. “Look at Richard Corson’s book on makeup. Read what people used to do… Read about acting, read about movies, read about cinematography… Watch the great movies. Really educate yourself.”
As for himself, Mowat is pushing for recognition and representation within his field. “A lot of my colleagues feel like we’re not being treated right,” he says. “And I tend to agree. [We’re] fighting for credit…and we do a lot on [movies] and put up with a lot and are fighting all the time [because] salaries and things haven’t come up the way they ought to.”
Mowat is also challenging himself to make his teams more diverse and inclusive. Last summer he worked on a job with a team made up exclusively of professionals 35 and up. “It was great,” he says of the experience. “[The team was] all people of color and LGBTQ+ and…that’s what’s been missing on my last couple of jobs.”
Even as he drives and adapts to changes in his industry, however, Mowat’s core motivation remains unchanged: “I love what I do.”
Donald Mowat has multiple upcoming projects, including Dune: Part Two, currently slated for release in 2024. Upcoming events hosted by the Dallas College School of Creative Arts, Entertainment and Design can be found here.
Additional information on the Dallas Film Commission’s upcoming events and the services they offer can be found on their website.
Author
