Arts & Entertainment

Lisle Man, Syfy 'Face Off' Champ, 'Having Fun and Making Monsters'

Anthony Kosar could let his career take him to Hollywood, but he prefers to do his work from Lisle, Westmont and the Chicago suburbs.

J. Anthony Kosar, the 27-year-old Lisle man who emerged as champion of the fourth season of special-effects competition “Face Off” on the Syfy network, is seeing his creative career take off with everything from movie gigs to making Halloween masks to giving classes at his Westmont studio, the Daily Herald reports.

According to the paper, Kosar, a Lisle Senior High School alumnus, has worked on blockbuster movies like “Avatar” and “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” but since winning “Face Off,” his opportunities have multiplied massively in mask-making, theatre, film, speaking gigs, shows and more—yet instead of moving to Hollywood, he has chosen to remain in Lisle and the Chicagoland suburbs. 

"You don't necessarily have to be in L.A. to work in this industry. People are nicer here," he told the paper. "Plus, by not going out and working for a studio, I can do my own thing…  I'm having fun and making monsters.

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"I've been able to be selective about the jobs I've been taking, so I can enjoy my 'Face Off' success… When your 15 minutes lasts only so long, you have to make the most of it." 

Kosar’s latest project is hosting an appointment-only art show by students from The American Academy of Art in Chicago, his alma mater, at his studio in Westmont, the paper said; the show opens Aug. 2 and more details are available on the Kosart Effects Studios website.

Find out what's happening in Lislewith free, real-time updates from Patch.


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