Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1531371
Doug Stewart L Specialty Costume Keyperson and Breakdown Artist Doug Stewart knew prey early on that he wanted to work in the world of Special FX and monsters and jumped into filmmaking work as soon as he le high school. "My focus from my junior year in high school was to get out to Hollywood and make monsters. For training, I did some special FX makeup and stuff at home, based on seeing it and the how-tos—they didn't really have those back then—but watching the behind the scenes and then meeting people who actually did it. I went out and I sort of planted myself into the middle of it and forced myself into a job that paid maybe $8.50 an hour. But I was 18 and this is what I wanted to do. And so, I did it just by scraping by the skin of my teeth and then it just sort of grew from there into today." Doug also had an interest in art and painting which he aributes to his success in his work. One of Doug's first projects was Ultraman: The Ultimate Hero in 1993 where he worked as a creature costume painter and adds, "we didn't consider those costumes back then. They were just Super Suits. It was special makeup effects and special effects sort of stuff. When I got into the union, that was when I learned about what costumes really were, before that I never really thought about it." He got his union qualifying days when a friend in the Special FX community brought him in for 2001's Planet of the Apes. "I met Colleen Atwood and interviewed with her. I didn't know who she was. This is some lady who's making a monkey movie. This all seemed in my wheelhouse, so that's when I really started. And then [I] evolved from there as a painter. It took a long time to get from one job to another. The next job I got was working with Ma Reitsma on The Last Samurai." Doug's career has included a range of work on period pieces, horror and superhero sci-fi blockbusters, including The Chronicles of Riddick; The Hangover; Oz the Great and Powerful; X-Men: Days of Future Past, X-Men: Apocalypse; Roots (2016); and Perry Mason (2020). Most recently, Doug has lent his expertise to The Walking Dead franchise, joining the Fear the Walking Dead team during Seasons 6, 7, and 8. His next project that audiences can watch is the newest series in the franchise, Season 2 of The Walking Dead: Dead City. Dead City is a direct spinoff with protagonists Maggie and Negan, introduced in the original series, and their mission to save Maggie's kidnapped son from other survivors in post-apocalyptic island of Manhaan. There are different factions of antagonistic survivors and hordes of decaying zombies. As the key breakdown artist, Doug handles mostly the lead characters, day players and stunts and guides his team in the background players and zombies. "When they're doing their background zombies, I'm envious because that looks like the most fun. I do it once a while, but they're just blasting through it." The shows in this franchise have filmed in several different locations and oen Doug is the only Local 705 member of the textile artists hired for the show. "I think if you can collaborate, you can probably do anything. I get thrown into The Walking Dead stuff, I'm gonna be the only 705 person there, so I have to be able to collaborate and guide them if they need guidance. Some of them don't. Some of them are like chunks of gold that have fallen out of the sky and I'm like, 'yeah, I want to keep you, you just keep doing what you're doing' and that's the best part. (Above) Metalhead Walker jackets look like "molten metal" for Fear the Walking Dead; (opposite) Moss-covered Army jacket and helmets for the Dead City bad guys for Fear the Walking Dead. 28 SPRING 2025