Joel Harlow
It all started when…
Joel Harlow is one of the most innovative makeup and special effect make-up designers in American motion pictures. In 1986, Harlow left his hometown of Grand Forks, ND to study at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan, NY. Initially starting as an animation major, Harlow would turn to make-up and prosthetics and later found work on an array of low-budget genre pictures, creating characters on shoestring budgets.
After years of work between various make-up effect studios, Harlow’s eventual admission into the union granted him the opportunity to work on bigger productions, quickly leading to jobs on high-profile films like How the Grinch Stole Christmas, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, Planet of the Apes, Constantine, and perhaps his biggest early breakthrough, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Harlow would go on to work on all five Pirates films, forming a longstanding relationship with Johnny Depp in the process, opening the door for Harlow to work as Depp’s make-up artist on several other projects, including Alice in Wonderland, Alice Through the Looking Glass, The Tourist, Transcendence, and Mortdecai, amongst others.
Fast-forward over a decade, Joel Harlow has been a force to be reckoned with and has established himself as one of the most in-demand make-up and make-up effects artists working today. Amidst his individual and collaborative success, Harlow’s work ethic has never relented. His company, Morphology FX Inc., continues to create groundbreaking, state-of-the-art make-up designs and prosthetics that set the standard for the rest of the industry.
Harlow is a four-time Oscar nominee for Best Achievement in Make-up and Hairstyling (Star Trek {dir. JJ Abrams}; Star Trek Beyond {dir. Justin Lin); The Lone Ranger; and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever), one-time Oscar winner (Star Trek), five-time Emmy Award nominee for Outstanding Make-up and Outstanding Prosthetic Make-up (The Stand; The Shining; Buffy the Vampire Slayer {S.6}; Carnivále {S.2}; Mad Men {S.1}); two-time Emmy Award winner (The Stand; The Shining), seven-time Hollywood Make-up Artist & Hair Stylist Guild Award nominee and two-time winner for Special Make-up Effects (Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl; Star Trek Beyond), two-time Saturn Award winner for Best Make-up (Star Trek, Black Panther), and two-time Critics’ Choice Award nominee for Best Make-up and Hair (Black Mass; Star Trek Beyond).
Some of Harlow’s recent film work includes Special Character Make-up for the upcoming films Red One (dir. Jake Kasdan), Blade (dir. Yann Demange) and Thunderbolts (Dir. Jake Schreier), Special Ghost Character Design for the upcoming Disney remake of The Haunted Mansion (Dir. Justin Simien), Department Head for the highly acclaimed Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Dir. Ryan Coogler), as well as Special Character Make- up for genre favorites Logan (Dir. James Mangold), A Quiet Place II (Dir. John Krasinski) and Hellboy (Dir. Neil Marshall), as well as Department Head for the 2021’s blockbuster Jungle Cruise (Dir. Jaume Collet-Serra).
His recent television work includes Special Character Make-up for Evil (S.1 – S.4), and Special Character Make-up for Zachary Quinto on AMC’s N0S4A2. Currently, Harlow’s company, Morphology FX Inc. continues to create a full range of state-of- the- art makeup, special makeup effects and prosthetics. Seeing characters through, from lab to set, continues to be the artistic passion of everyone on the team.
