For his first college commencement address, John Malkovich couldn’t have picked an institution more suited to someone of his talents than the Savannah College of Art and Design. The actor, director and producer spoke Saturday at the SCAD graduation at the Georgia World Congress Center.
Malkovich is known for his stage and screen work but he is also a fashion model and a menswear designer. If he were to add painter, dancer and animator to his resume, he’d cover most of the departments at the internationally renowned art and design school.
The Academy Award-nominated actor is quite familiar with SCAD not only because he has conducted acting and design classes, but because he owns a home near the campus in Lacoste, France and often encountered SCAD students in the nearby village.
“And not one had a run-in with authorities,” he joked.
Perhaps best known for his portrayal of the sinister and sensual Valmont in the 1988 film “Dangerous Liaisons,” Malkovich was nominated for his first Oscar for his feature film debut in 1984 as Sally Field’s blind boarder Mr. Will in “Places in the Heart.” He later won an Emmy for his role as Biff in a television adaptation of “Death of a Salesman.”
Malkovich created his own fashion company, Mrs. Mudd, in 2002. That was followed by "Technobohemian" in 2010 in which Malkovich designed the outfits himself. Most recently, he launched his third fashion line, a menswear collection complete with chino pants and silk scarves, available at johnmalkovich.com and select stores.
Not sure of the career he’d take on in adult life, Malkovich relied on the foundation he’d built in college and the friends he’d made there to set his path.
“I moved to Chicago with kids I knew from school and started a theater,” Malkovich told the Atlanta group of the more than 2,400 graduates at SCAD’s three campuses. Including students in Savannah and Hong Kong, the Class of 2017 is the largest in the college’s history.
Those “kids” he started the theater with were Joan Allen, Gary Sinise and Glenne Headly. “Now 40 years later, Steppenwolf.” that theater, “is still going strong,” he added.
Malkovich said several times in his speech that he’s not one to give advice, but he did say that survival depends on many things with luck, perseverance, stubbornness, talent and a solid foundation being necessary components.
“It’s normal to question your decisions and be apprehensive,” he said. “It’s normal to question your goals. It’s normal to question your aptitude.”
The star power SCAD attracts with staff members, guest workshops, seminars, artist-in-residence programs and other events helps to build future stars.
Valedictorian Taner Ergin earned a bachelor’s degree in graphic design Saturday. As a Turkish immigrant, he faced challenges to “fit in” to his new country while maintaining the identity of his homeland. As a creative trainer at Apple, he was able to go back to Istanbul and help launch a store there.
He said his time at SCAD has allowed him to showcase his awareness of his Turkish-American identity as well as his deep appreciation for the level of problem-solving and understanding that visual communication requires. Two days after graduation, Ergin joins the support team at MailChimp in Atlanta.
Robyn Hicks, a 2009 alumna with a degree in performing arts, returned to earn a master’s in film and television. She was awarded the Excelsus Laureate, SCAD’s highest honor for masters-degree students.
She and her husband had moved to New York after graduation, but when he was diagnosed with cancer, they moved back to Georgia where it “felt safe,” she said. Hicks enrolled as a graduate student in 2014 looking to gain insight into the inner workings of film production. Her directorial debut, “The Good Die Young,” is scheduled for release later this year.
No graduation ceremony would be complete without the support of friends and family.
Carmen and Ken Mack drove from Fort Lauderdale to cheer their daughter Jasmine Mack, an illustration major with a minor in animation. Carmen Mack said Jasmine’s success was no surprise to them. She showed a talent for illustration at an early age.
“She wasn’t one to just draw in the lines of a coloring book,” Mack said. “She’d do her own embellishments – mixing new colors, adding more elements – she’d always make it her own.”
Jasmine Mack has already obtained a job illustrating a children’s book.
That success story isn’t unusual at SCAD. Ninety-eight percent of SCAD’s class of 2016 responding to a survey said they were employed or pursuing further education or both within 10 months of graduation.
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