In our exclusive one-on-one interview, Patton explains his thoughts about Evan Hedges being put through to the finale, which sparked fan fury on social media. Plus, he also reveals how an audition for another reality show landed him a spot on Face Off and explains how a band in Cleveland gave him his first big gig.
SheKnows: Tell us about that last challenge. After you got an extra hour to improve your makeup, how confident were you in your creation? Did you think you were going to make it to the Face Off finals?
Jordan Patton: I personally thought it looked a little bit better before that last hour [laughs]. I did up the contrast of it and I did agree with Glenn’s comment about the proportions if I was going to go cartoony to go all out. I did agree with his critique of that, so I tried to do my best of fluffing out the features.
SK: Were you surprised you didn’t land a spot in the final three?
JP: I kind of had a feeling that I wasn’t gonna make it in because I had stood out too much among the others in that last challenge there. I honestly thought that Scott was gonna be the third spot in the finale, but I agree with what the judges said about Evan’s. He did make a lot of changes. He really listened to what they said and that’s what got him in the third spot. It was well-deserved for Evan.
SK: Speaking of Evan, a lot of viewers ignited social media with anger that he made it to the finals instead of you or Scott. What’s your take on the fan reaction that argued he wasn’t as deserving as the two of you?
JP: I think people are being a little bit harsh. From the judges’ eyes, Evan did make a lot of changes. He really listened to what they had to say and what they wanted to see changed in his character. I think he really played the game right and that’s what got him the third spot. I think it was pretty well deserved.
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SK: What’s it like just missing out on the final challenge and a shot at the $100,000?
JP: It sucks [laughs], but that’s how the game goes. Of course I would’ve loved a spot in the finale, but just to be there and experience that whole entire challenge with everyone else was a great experience.
SK: How did you land a spot as a contestant on Face Off?
JP: I had actually tried out for another show on Syfy called Jim Henson’s Creature Shop Challenge about a year before that. I had actually gotten contacted by the same people again telling me they weren’t gonna renew that. That was more my route of things: animatronics, puppets, sculpting. Not so much the makeup aspect of things. They contacted me again to see if I’d like to do Face Off. At that point in time I hadn’t really done a whole lot of makeup, but I figured why not? I picked up makeup again and tried to re-learn everything as well as teaching myself how to fabricate with foam. I just tried to really get everything under my belt that I needed to do Face Off. I was ready to give it a try.
SK: You have a very unique style. What is your motivation when you’re creating these characters? They’re very reminiscent of Beetlejuice.
JP: I love doing the super-cartoony characters. I feel like you can pack a lot of personality and story into those. Growing up, I loved cartoons and horror movies. I really wanted to mesh the two together. That is my style [laughs].
SK: Favorite horror movie?
JP: My favorite horror movie growing up is probably between Evil Dead, and I always grew up on the Nightmare on Elm Street movies.
SK: What is day-to-day life like for you? Do you work daily making monsters or do you have a job outside of the industry that might surprise us?
JP: I do have a job at a shop. I’m a shop technician. I help take care of machinery, as well as help our members with projects they’re working on. Also, literally every day, I’m always making masks, monsters, new creations. I’m also working on my own personal project that I’m trying to get out there. I’m trying to create my own show based off of all my original characters.
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SK: Where are you aiming to have this show featured?
JP: I’m going to start it off on YouTube and maybe hopefully get it on Adult Swim.
SK: You appeared very calm on the show. How did you keep it so cool?
JP: I tried to just keep a level head while I was out there. I just really tried to have fun with everything I was doing and that’s what got me as far as I did. I tried to stay relaxed and have fun with it all.
SK: When it comes to the judges, who did you strive to impress the most?
JP: I think I really liked whenever Glenn was pleased with my characters. I liked hearing his feedback and knowing he was excited about my characters. I think we’ve got a similar taste when it comes to characters; very horror-esque characters.
SK: With Halloween coming up, what are you going to be?
JP: Oh, I have no idea. Halloween always sneaks up on me when it comes to my own personal costume or idea for myself. October is always super busy for me with the mask community. People are always wanting masks, whether it be for collector purposes or for parties that they’re going to. October is usually taking care of other people’s things before my own.
SK: What is it like watching yourself on TV and seeing the fan reaction?
JP: It was a little bit weird at first. I didn’t know how to react to seeing myself on TV, but I got used to it pretty quickly. As far as hearing the feedback, it was always very interesting to see what the fans thought. Just seeing it from a different perspective other than the judges’.
SK: Have you had any strange fan encounters?
JP: It’s just really cool to be walking down the street and have someone recognize you. That’s something I’m not used to at all.
SK: Is there any film, TV show or music video where fans may have actually seen your work before?
JP: I used to do work for this band out of Cleveland [Mushroomhead], and they used to wear my masks onstage. They do a big Halloween show every year and they wore a few of my pumpkin-style masks for one of their Halloween shows one year. They also wore them on tour.
SK: How did you become affiliated with Mushroomhead?
JP: My senior year in high school, back when I first started making masks, they were a band that I listened to a decent amount. I had gone to several of their shows and got in contact with a few of them. I showed them a few of my things and started making things for them gradually. I built a relationship with them over the years. I actually got my first bigger mask-making gig with them whenever their original mask artist, Dave Greathouse (House off Face Off Season 4), was out for Face Off, and I got the opportunity to make masks for them.
SK: If somebody wants you to make a mask for them, how would they go about ordering one?
JP: Usually I just take care of mask orders through Facebook. I’m also trying to get a Web site up and running. Life has been crazy since Face Off started. I’ve been trying to address every little thing. Unfortunately, the Web site got put on the back burner, which should probably be a top priority. I just haven’t gotten around to it… some of my original characters have a lot of details and extras. I have one character with custom, wooden gages in his ears as well as dental acrylic teeth, hair, so usually it’s about $250 for an average price.
SK: What do you want viewers to know about yourself that maybe they didn’t get to see on TV?
JP: I’m just a fun-loving dude. I just like making characters, masks, creations and I want to do this every day of my life. It is 100 percent my passion and I will continue to do it until the day I die.
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