Steve LaPorte

Creations In Makeup

Click Above for Current Resume.

    With over 30 years as a Makeup Artist in the motion picture industry, Steve LaPorte has worked on everything from Low Budget to Mega Budget Productions. From his first break in the makeup show at the Universal Studios Tour to over fifty feature films to his credit, including “The Color Purple”, “Lost Boys”, “Beetlejuice” (for which he won an Oscar), ”Terminator 2 & 3” and “Windtalkers”,

LaPorte credits basic out of kit techniques as a solid foundation for his work. Additional Awards include a Primetime Emmy for “X-Files” and a Saturn Award for “Beetlejuice”.

     Proficiency in Beauty, Prosthetics, Aging and Character, including facial hair work, is a must in today’s competitive field.

In addition, knowledge of products and raw materials is an added bonus when you have to make “magic” on the set.

As a Motion Picture Academy Member, Steve also served on the Makeup Awards committee which oversees the Academy Award for Makeup from 1990 to 2004.

     In the Summer of 2004 the phone rang. A new kind of TV Series Pilot had been completed and was about to continue shooting in Hawaii. Not knowing what to expect, Steve packed up part of his home lab, molds, stock prosthetics and supplies and flew off to Paradise. ABC’s “Lost” resumed shooting with LaPorte at the Makeup Dept. helm. Eleven shows grew into a full season . Six seasons and 112 episodes later, Steve is preparing for new horizons. Transitioning from Feature Films into Television and “Lost” proved to be a challenging endeavor. To strive for Film Quality on a Television schedule and budget is a never-ending task. In addition to Dept. Head and Makeup Designer, LaPorte sculpted, molded and fabricated all of the prosthetics and makeup effects for “Lost”. Having a loyal and close knit crew allowed him to achieve the high standard that all makeup artists should strive for. Simply put, Steve states, “Many talented Makeup Artists have taught me a lot of my skills and it is my duty to pass those skills on to those who want to carry the torch to the next level.”

    Much of Steve’s work is out of kit using character colors, various adhesives and sealers for aging, scrapes, scabs, burns, chapped lips and using basic materials. Basically, it’s creating 3 dimensional effects or enhancing a makeup with what you have at hand. These skills are an absolute must to be well rounded makeup artist.

  Coming from a performing background which includes Magic , Pyrotechnics, Costume and Prop making, coming up with inventions, products and formulations that apply to his work is a part of  everyday life.

As a Respected Motion Picture Makeup Artist his work speaks for itself.        

     “Something that I take great pride in is my ability to work with a multitude of personalities on both sides of the camera. As a Makeup Supervisor I’ve always enjoyed bringing out the best in my fellow artists. Whether it be only a few in the confines of an intimate working environment or a large crew handling a multitude of background players, getting the cast to set on schedule and looking their best is part of the challenge that I embrace”.

View the “Longmire” Highlight reel below    for Special Makeup Effects