Biography

Academy Award winner Matthew W. Mungle is regarded as one of Hollywood's premier make-up special effects artists. With over 100 film and television projects to his credit, Matthew has earned accolades and recognition as one of the industry's top masters of makeup effects illusion.

Born in Durant, Oklahoma in 1956, Matthew was one of five children born to Atoka dairy farmer Jene and Becky Mungle. As a boy he recalls seeing "Frankenstein," "Dracula" and "The Mummy." He was fascinated with the make-up, often times "borrowing" his mother's cosmetics to create his own version of horror. As he got older, he would send away for theatrical make-up from New York and Dallas specialty stores — experimenting with face casts and prosthetics on willing family members and friends. Although his parents thought it was a phase he would soon outgrow, Matthew knew differently. In 1964 with the release of "The Seven Faces of Dr. Lao," Matthew credits the film as having been his greatest influence and deciding factor in becoming a make-up special effects artist.

In 1968, a film that would revolutionize make-up special effects and further impact the small town boy from Atoka, was the release of "Planet of the Apes." It's hard to say how many times Matthew saw the film. What he did know was that he wanted to follow in the footsteps of his mentors, namely Lon Chaney, Sr., Jack Pierce and John Chambers, who won the Academy Award for the specialized make-up effects for "Planet of the Apes."

In high school, Matthew worked at the local movie theatre. When "Return to the Planet of the Apes" was released, he encouraged the owner to let him dress up to promote the film. Not only did he dress the part, but he created his own prosthetics to look the part of a chimpanzee. The realism was so startling to the small town of Atoka, that many thought Hollywood had sent an actor to hype the film!

Matthew graduated from Atoka High School in 1975. Although his sights were still on Hollywood, at his father's insistence, he applied and was accepted into Oklahoma State University as a theatre arts major. Working with props and make-up for various productions, Matthew eagerly absorbed the educational tools being given.

Matthew finally arrived in Hollywood in 1977. In 1978 he applied and was accepted into Joe Blasco's Make-up Center --- the premier academy responsible for training many of the film and television industry's elite make-up artists. "From the very beginning, Matthew showed exceptional talent!" claims Blasco, whose own career as a top make-up artist turned educator, has been instrumental in graduating Academy Award winners. "I instinctively knew that Matthew had what it takes to become a success in this business. His dedication to the art form and rapid ability to master the craft led me to hire him as an instructor following his graduation from my school in 1978. He stayed on-staff until his own popularity as a working make-up artist became too demanding."

Matthew credits Joe Blasco with his professional start in the industry. "I was a sponge, absorbing every ounce of knowledge I could. Whether learning the techniques of beauty make-up or casting molds and working with prosthetics, I wanted to be as versatile as I could." Today, Matthew is a veteran voice to up-and-coming artists hoping to find their own niche in the industry. "If you want to be a working make-up artist, then you need to learn and perfect all areas of the craft."

Matthew's professional career began on low-budget projects that taught him to think quick on his feet. His first major success was on EDWARD SCISSORHANDS in 1990. Sixteen years later, Matthew has accumulated an impressive list of credits and an equally impressive genre of box office successes including: BRAM STOKER'S DRACULA, earning him his first Oscar in 1992; SCHINDLER'S LIST, giving him another nomination in 1993; creating Arnold's pregnancy stomach in the comedy spoof JUNIOR; tackling special make-up effects for OUTBREAK, CONGO; PRIMAL FEAR, and aging James Woods to 72 in GHOSTS OF MISSISSIPPI, which earned him his 3rd Oscar nomination in 1996.

Aging has become one of Matthew's strongest calling cards and an area of make-up effects that's definitely challenging. His fascination with artificially making someone young look old prompted him to research more viable methods, such as with gelatin, which was first used in the 1930's but later abandoned when the hot lights caused it to melt. With today's less intense lighting and faster film, Matthew has resurrected the nearly-transluscent substance, which when applied looks and moves like real skin. "I've made it a part of my craft to see how skin moves. I'm intrigued with how women and men age differently. Both get jowls and tend to get that fold of skin over the top lid of the eyes and bags under the eyes. However, men's ear lobes get longer and women's skin gets creepy and translucent."

One of Matthew's greatest challenges is with the hit Broadway show WICKED, creating the prosthetic face masks for the production's various characters. Balancing his film and TV projects, Matthew continues his work for the show's Broadway, U.S. tour, Japan and Los Angeles productions.

In 1999, Matthew conducted a 3-day seminar on advanced prosthetics for SCREEN TRAINING IRELAND in Dublin and in June, 2000 was a featured guest lecturer aboard the Q.E.II.

He's appeared on a wide variety of TV shows including Discovery Channel's MEGA, MEGA MOVIE MAGIC where he aged a 12-year-old girl into an 80-year-old woman!

BBC's TALK OF THE TOWN, a highly-rated and popular London-based magazine show. He's been interviewed for TURNER ENTERTAINMENT REPORT, E! ENTERTAINMENT NEWS, THE MORNING SHOW, FX DAILIES, CNN, GOOD DAY L.A. and Japan's CH. 5 NEWS NETWORK. His interview can also be seen on the behind-the-scenes trailer for the 8th and 9th season episodes of "X-FILES" for video and DVD release. Matthew's recent appearances include INSIDE EDITION and ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT.