Steve Wang () is a Taiwan-born American

make-up artist A make-up artist, also called a makeup artist, and often shortened to MUA, is an artist whose medium is the human body, applying makeup and prosthetics on others for theatre, television, film, fashion, magazines and other similar productions inc ...

and filmmaker.

Biography

Born in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

, he and his parents moved to the

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

when he was nine. His greatest inspirations were the

tokusatsu is a Japanese term for live action film or television drama that makes heavy use of practical special effects. ''Tokusatsu'' entertainment mainly refers to science fiction, War film, war, fantasy, or Horror film, horror media featuring such te ...

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

TV shows ''

Ultraman ''Ultraman'', also known as the , is the collective name for all media produced by Tsuburaya Productions featuring Ultraman, his many brethren, and the myriad monsters. Debuting with ''Ultra Q'' and then ''Ultraman'' in 1966, the series is one ...

'' and ''

Kamen Rider The , also known as ''Masked Rider Series'' (until Decade), is a Japanese superhero media franchise consisting of tokusatsu television programs, films, manga, and anime, created by manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori. ''Kamen Rider'' media generall ...

'', as well as Hong Kong kung fu films including ''

Master of the Flying Guillotine ''Master of the Flying Guillotine'' is a 1976 Hong Kong ''wuxia'' film starring Jimmy Wang Yu, who also wrote and directed the film. It is a sequel to Wang's 1971 film ''One-Armed Boxer'', and thus the film is also known as ''One-Armed Boxer 2' ...

''. As a veteran makeup artist and creature designer, Steve has worked with fellow veterans before him including

Stan Winston Stanley Winston (April 7, 1946 – June 15, 2008) was an American television and film Prosthetic makeup, special make-up effects creator, best known for his work in the Terminator (franchise), ''Terminator'' series, the first three ''Jurassic Pa ...

Rick Baker Richard A. Baker (born December 8, 1950), known professionally as Rick Baker, is an American retired special make-up effects creator and actor. He is mostly known for his creature designs and effects. Baker won the Academy Award for Best Makeu ...

and Dick Smith. He has received great praise for his film adaptation of the

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

superhero Guyver in 1994 called '' Guyver: Dark Hero''. Another project which drew attention to him was the direct to video movie, ''

Drive Drive or The Drive may refer to: Motoring * Driving, the act of controlling a vehicle * Road trip, a journey on roads Roadways Roadways called "drives" may include: * Driveway, a private road for local access to structures, abbreviated "drive" ...

'', which starred

Mark Dacascos Mark Alan Dacascos (born February 26, 1964) is an American actor, martial artist and television personality. He won numerous karate and kung fu championships between the ages of 7 and 18. He is known for his roles as Wo Fat in ''Hawaii Five-0'' ...

and

Kadeem Hardison Kadeem Hardison (born July 24, 1965) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Dwayne Wayne on ''A Different World'', a spin-off of the long-running NBC sitcom ''The Cosby Show''. He starred in the Disney Channel series ''K.C. Unde ...

. He also made independent films such as '' Kung Fu Rascals'', based on a series of 8 mm short films he did years before. He and his brother Michael Wang, an award-winning commercials director, were hired in 2008 to work on '' Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight'' (an adaptation of ''

Kamen Rider Ryuki is a Japanese tokusatsu television series. The twelfth installment in the Kamen Rider Series, it was a joint collaboration between Ishimori Productions and Toei, and it was shown on TV Asahi from February 3, 2002 to January 19, 2003. The series ...

''), a second attempt at reviving the

Kamen Rider Series The , also known as ''Masked Rider Series'' (until Decade), is a Japanese superhero media franchise consisting of tokusatsu television programs, films, manga, and anime, created by manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori. ''Kamen Rider'' media genera ...

in the United States, after '' Saban's Masked Rider'' of 1995. They write, produce, and direct as "The Wang Brothers". In 1999, he designed the visual effects for an aborted

Film Roman Film Roman, LLC is an American independent animation studio currently based in Woodland Hills, California and formerly in Burbank. It was previously owned by Starz Inc., which is now a division of Lionsgate, and later by Waterman Entertainment, ...

creation ''Skins for the Deep'', for the proposed Max Degree TV block, but it was cancelled due to lack of international backers. Steve Wang designed a sculpture depicting

Sarah Kerrigan Sarah Louise Kerrigan, the self-styled Queen of Blades, is a fictional character in Blizzard Entertainment's ''StarCraft'' franchise. The character was created by Chris Metzen and James Phinney, and her original appearance was designed by Metz ...

(The Queen of Blades), a character from the ''Starcraft'' Universe in 2012. The sculpture was placed at the Blizzard Entertainment Office in

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

the same year. He has also made statues of Tryndamere and Ryze, two champions from ''

League of Legends ''League of Legends'' (''LoL''), commonly referred to as ''League'', is a 2009 multiplayer online battle arena video game developed and published by Riot Games. Inspired by ''Defense of the Ancients'', a Mod (video games), custom map for War ...

'', for

Riot Games Riot Games, Inc. is an American video game developer, publisher and esports tournament organizer based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in September 2006 by Brandon Beck and Marc Merrill to develop ''League of Legends'' and went on t ...

that same year.

Filmography

Director

*'' Rollerblade II: Taken By Force'' (1989) - 2nd unit director *'' Kung Fu Rascals'' (1992) *'' Guyver'' (1991) - co-director *'' Guyver: Dark Hero'' (1994) *''

'' (1997) *'' Sirens of The Deep'' (1999 - TV show/pilot) *''

Power Rangers Lost Galaxy ''Power Rangers Lost Galaxy'' is a tokusatsu television series and the seventh season of the ''Power Rangers'' franchise, based on the 22nd Super Sentai series ''Seijuu Sentai Gingaman''. The series was the first to follow the Sentai tradition of ...

'' (1999) *''

Kung Pow! Enter the Fist ''Kung Pow! Enter the Fist'' is a 2002 American martial arts comedy film that parodies Hong Kong action cinema. Written, directed by and starring Steve Oedekerk, it uses footage from the 1976 Hong Kong martial arts film ''Tiger & Crane Fists'' ...

'' (2002) - 2nd unit director *'' Wolvy: Twisted at Birth'' (2003) - short film *'' Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight'' (2009)

Producer

*''Guyver: Dark Hero'' *''Kung Fu Rascals'' *'' Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight'' *'' Beast Wishes''

References

External links

*
Steve Wang
on MySpace
Director's Reel
on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

SciFi Japan - Kamen Rider Dragon KnightLatex Mask Central - FX WorkNERDSociety - Interview with Steve Wang
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wang, Steve American film directors of Taiwanese descent American people of Chinese descent American make-up artists Living people Special effects people Taiwanese emigrants to the United States Year of birth missing (living people)