The Path From Hobby to Academy Awards: An Interview With SFX Makeup Artist Dave Elsey

We continue to inspire you with stories of successful makeup artists in the film industry.

We had the honor to speak with one of the most talented makeup artists in the SFX industry, Dave Elsey! Dave is an Academy award-winning artist known for special make-up effects, creature effects and animatronics in films such as X-Men: First Class, Ghost Rider, Star Wars, Hellraiser, Indiana Jones, The Wolfman and others. 

Special Effects was originally Dave’s hobby. He started when he was about ten years old, and it just grew and grew (when you have a passion, and cultivate your talents for what you love, this is the key to success!). Dave started writing to individuals in the industry who inspired him, like Dick Smith, Chris Tucker, and Rick Baker, and that really helped him see the SFX industry as something that could be an actual prospect after he left school. “I never really had a backup plan, I just did everything I could to gain as much knowledge and experience, and that led directly to my first job in the industry, and I never looked back”, — Elsey says.

Surely, you, like us, are interested to know about Dave's day. He said that if he is working on a film, it depends on what he is doing. If it is early on, Dave is either designing or building out the vision of the specific characters. Then once filming, it will usually begin early and include many late nights applying and removing the makeup for the day. Dave notes: “I love all of it, and don't really have an off switch. Luckily I work with Lou, my wife, so we get to be together more than if I just did it alone, because it's a job that consumes time.”

Talking about what Dave has learned through working in the industry for all these years, he admits that he learns while working and with experience as he continues to create. Dave did learn something very important from Rick Baker when he met him for the first time when Dave was 16. Rick said: “keep making stuff all the time, and try to make everything better than the last”. That stuck with Elsey, and now that is what he always tells others. 

Dave shared with us what has been the most influential of his career, “The most influential thing in my career was always the work of my hero's. Just seeing that was inspirational to me. Other than that, it was the Dick Smith makeup course. It's still the best course in the world”, — he said. 

Dave also told us about his goals for the future. “Just keep making cool stuff for movies'', — he said. “In the past few years, I've also written and directed a couple of things too, and I want to keep doing that too, and direct a feature film. It will, of course, always have makeup in it. Shameless plug, you can watch my short 'Keep the Gaslight Burning' on Amazon Prime. It does have Makeup Legend Rick Baker in it, so turn the lights down, pull the curtains and watch!”

Dave is especially proud of his Academy Award with Rick Baker for The Wolfman. “How can I top that?” — he said. And we agree, this is truly a great achievement and the ultimate reward for a makeup artist! Bravo!

We were really interested to know if a Makeup Artist of Dave’s skill level notices mistakes when watching films. This is what Dave answered: “I usually watch movies in a sort of way, so unless the makeup is horrible, I don't notice. The next time I watch it however, that's all I see! Every mistake crushes me, even if it's not my work”.

We are very grateful to Dave for sharing his story with us. Be sure to check out his work on his Instagram.