Making his mark on ‘Face Off’ launches opportunities
Walter Welsh’s life goal is to someday scare the heck out of you — in a good way, of course.
The Martinez resident ,who recently was a finalist on “Face Off,” the Syfy reality TV competition for aspiring special-effects makeup artists, hopes to leave his frightful mark on screens everywhere.
“I really want to work on big-budget movies,” he says. “I’d love to be involved with the next ‘Star Wars,’ or a big television or movie franchise.”
Welsh, 26, took a big step toward achieving that goal by thriving on “Face Off.” During the show’s 10th season, which ended last week, he joined 14 other contestants tasked with creating demons, goblins and other fantastical creatures. He won three major challenges along the way and concocted some of the show’s most intricate works before landing in the final, where he was edged out by Rob Seal.
“It was a little heartbreaking, to tell you the truth. I put so much work into it, and I thought I had a really good shot at winning,” Welsh says. “I was a little bent over it for a while before telling myself, ‘It’s OK. It’s just a competition.’ Ultimately, it was a great experience.”
It could enhance Welsh’s chances of success. Already, the “Face Off” stint has led to an invitation to teach a special-effects makeup even on Welsh’s radar until watching “Face Off” for the first time years ago. Up to that point, he had worked for the city of Martinez and dabbled in competitive bodybuilding and portrait painting. The show spurred him to enroll in the Cinema Makeup School in Los Angeles, where he developed his new passion. “I’ve been obsessed with movies and sci-fi and comic books my whole life, so this was right up my alley,” he says. “I told myself, ‘You can do this.’ ”
ON THE TUBE: KNTV’s local documentary series returns this weekend with “Passion to Preserve” (9 p.m. Saturday, Channel 11). The hourlong film examines how the Bay Area became “the political, intellectual and spiritual leader of a worldwide environmental movement.” ... “United Shades of America,” anew roving TV series hosted by Berkeley comedian W. Kamau Bell, debuts Sunday (10 p.m., CNN). It has Bell traveling the country to explore various subcultures. First stop: Ku Klux Klan territory in the deep South. ... Guy Fieri’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” (10 p.m. Friday, Food Network) makes a stop in Oakland, where he checks out a vegan joint that offers “outrageous okra gumbo and a meatless spin on succulent sandwiches.” Follow Chuck Barney at Twitter.com/chuckbarney and Facebook.com/ bayareanewsgroup. chuckbarney.