ORLANDO, Fla. – Cesar Castano is a familiar face behind the scenes at some of Orlando’s most popular attractions, and during one of the busiest times of the year, the Colombian-born special effects artist is working around the clock, bringing monsters and more to life.
Castano is quick to point out that special effects makeup is a world apart from traditional beauty work.
“A lot of friends are like, ‘Oh, I’m getting married. Can you do my makeup?’ And I’m like, ‘Ooh, I can make you like the bride of Frankenstein and you’re gonna look beautifully ugly,’” he said. “A good special effects makeup artist relies on those mistakes because to me the mistakes enhance the makeup.”
His path into the craft was anything but conventional. Growing up in Pasto, Colombia — a region rich in indigenous art, culture, and the famous Black and White Carnival — Castano was surrounded by creativity from an early age. He started by drawing on his own hands, then moved to walls, then to body painting on his brother.
“I never thought, ‘Oh, I wanted to be a makeup artist when I grew up,’” he said. “It’s more like, I have these skills, what can I do with them?”
Castano’s Central Florida career began as a performer at Walt Disney World, where he worked for two and a half years before moving into makeup. He then spent five years at SeaWorld’s Howl-O-Scream before landing at Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights.
Cesar Castano, a Colombian-born special effects artist who was inspired by Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” as a child, has become one of Orlando’s most sought-after monster makers, crafting scares for Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights and Pirates Dinner Adventure. (@caesardavidc)
Castano’s prosthetic work can be spotted in two of this year’s most talked-about scare zones: the Sideshow of Decay and the Infernal Carnival of Nightmares.
He also serves as the makeup lead for Vampirates, the seasonal show at Pirates Dinner Adventure, where a cast of nine performers is transformed each night by just two makeup artists.
A viral moment during the COVID-19 pandemic helped launch Castano to an even wider audience. After being laid off from Disney — one of 30,000 employees let go at the time — he turned to TikTok to build a digital portfolio during lockdown.
“I never had an intent of growing or having any sort of attention,” he said. “I just wanted to build a portfolio of makeup.”
That portfolio now reaches 1.8 million TikTok followers and led to an opportunity as a makeup designer for “Young Frankenstein,” the musical with Broadway Sacramento.
Every artist has influences, and for Castano, two legends of the special effects world stand above the rest: Rick Baker and Stan Winston.
It was Baker — the seven-time Academy Award-winning makeup artist — who first sparked Castano’s imagination as a child with his groundbreaking work on an iconic 1983 music video starring Michael Jackson.
“He was the one who made me start with all of this because it was one year, little me watching the TV — ‘Thriller’ — and when I watched ‘Thriller’ I was like, how is that possible?”
His curiosity led him down a rabbit hole of YouTube videos and deeper research, which eventually introduced him to Stan Winston — the creative force behind the creatures in “Jurassic Park”, “Terminator” and countless other iconic films. Winston, who died in 2008, left behind a legacy that continues to inspire artists like Castano to this day.
Part of that legacy lives on through the Stan Winston School, an online platform where aspiring special effects artists can purchase courses on sculpting, mold-making and other hands-on techniques — making world-class instruction accessible to anyone willing to learn from home.
With Halloween winding down, Castano’s schedule shows no signs of slowing. He’s already looking ahead to a new Christmas show at Pirates Dinner Adventure and Grinchmas at Universal Orlando.
“That’s the beauty of being part of the entertainment industry — we’re always active and doing something fun,” he said.
As for whether he’s living his dream, the answer comes easily.
“I came from Colombia, and just the fact that I’m here already doing those things really fulfills me,” Castano said. “As long as I’m happy doing my job and I don’t feel that I’m working, I think I’m doing my job right — and I think that’s the dream.”
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