Tom Woodruff Jr.

Tom Woodruff Jr.
Tom Woodruff Jr.
	Image of Tom Woodruff Jr. in February of 2018.
Born	January 21, 1959 (age 62); Williamsport, Pennsylvania
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Lycoming College
Occupation	actor; director; producer; special effects supervisor;
Years active	1984–present
Spouse(s)	Tami Spitler (m. 1983)
Children	3

Tom Woodruff Jr. (born January 21, 1959) is an American actor, director, producer and special effects supervisor. He won an Academy Award for Best Special Effects for his work on the 1992 dark fantasy film Death Becomes Her; that same year he was also nominated for the same award for Alien 3.

Some of his most notable works include: The Santa Clause (1994), Starship Troopers (1997), Cast Away (2000), It (2017) and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018).^[1]

Early life[]

Woodruff Jr. was born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania on January 21, 1959. He grew up in nearby Loyalsock Township, Pennsylvania and attended Loyalsock Township High School and graduated in 1977. Upon graduating high school he enrolled at Lycoming College in Pennsylvania where he earned a dual-degree in business administration and theater.^[2]

Career[]

Career success (1990–2010)[]

In 1993 his alma mater Lycoming College awarded Woodruff the Dr. James E. Douthat Outstanding Achievement Award for alumni.

Woodruff was first credited in the 1984 film The Terminator as an assistant special effects supervisor. In the 1980s Woodruff was a crucial part of numerous films and television programs. In 1986 he was part of the Stan Winston Studios Effects Crew on The Vindicator. Also in 1986 Woodruff made his debut on screen, he played a Salvager and also worked as the creature effects coordinator on Aliens.^[3]^[4]

In 1988, Woodruff and fellow Stan Winston alumni Alec Gillis founded effects studio Amalgamated Dynamics, which soon became highly requested in Hollywood, with movies such as Alien 3, Death Becomes Her (both nominated for the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, won by the latter), Demolition Man, Wolf and Starship Troopers.^[5] In the 2010s, Woodruff has continued to do practical effects in films such as Grown Ups 2, Ender's Game, Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2, Harbinger Down, , It, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and Godzilla: King of the Monsters.^[6] Woodruff has also played many creatures in the movie he did effects for, such as Gill-man in the 1987 comedy-action film The Monster Squad, the eponymous demon from Pumpkinhead, and the Alien.

It and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2017–18)[]

In early 2017 Woodruff and his company Amalgamated Dynamics announced they would creating and designing the cosmetics for Pennywise in the Andy Muschietti directed horror film It. In addition to Pennywise Woodruff and business partner Alec Gillis designed and built the dead bodies for the corridors for the film.^[7] Woodruff in particular designed and made the teeth for Pennywise with a great deal of comfort needed for actor Bill Skarsgård portraying Pennywise to be able to speak clearly and smile in a way needed for the film. His contributions in this area were recognized by Mushietti after films release when he said "... without all the hard work from Tom, Alec and all the guys Pennywise wouldn't have had such a big impact on the audience that it did.^[8]

Woodruff and his team received praise for their work on It. They were nominated for Best Makeup by Hawaii Film Critics Society and again at the 44th Saturn Awards.^[9]^[10]

Woodruff and Amalgamated Dynamics were the designers and builders of the life like dinosaurs in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.^[11]

Recent and future projects (2019–present)[]

In 2019 Woodruff served as the lead creature character designer for Godzilla: King of the Monsters. Also in 2019 he served as an executive producer for the short film Playtime which was released on March 9, 2019.^[12] He played Burke in the horror film The Mortuary Collection. In 2019 it was revealed Woodruff and his company would be used during the filming of Godzilla vs. Kong.^[13] The film completed filming in early 2020 and Woodruff was credited as miniature effects supervisor. In late 2019 it was announced Woodruff would serve as the creature designer for the upcoming Guest House film. Director Benjamin L. Brown confirmed Woodruff would have a role in his upcoming horror film Severed Road. Woodruff is also the executive producer in the upcoming science fiction film Wellwood.^[14]^[15]

Business ventures[]

In 1988 Woodruff co-founded Amalgamated Dynamics a special and visual effects company based in Chatsworth, Los Angeles. To date the company has worked on over 150 film and television projects.

Personal life[]

In 1983 Woodruff married fellow Loyalsock and Lycoming grad Tami Spitler.^[16] The couple have three children named David, Taylor and Connor. In 2013 Woodruff delivered the commencement speech at his alma mater Lycoming College.^[17] In 2019 Woodruff and his wife moved back home to Pennsylvania, settling back in their home-town of Loyalsock Township.^[18] Woodruff's son, David T. Woodruff, works in special effects and costumed acting like his father today.^[19]

Filmography[]

Film[]

Tom Woodruff Jr. filmography
Year	Work	Role					Notes
Year	Work	Actor	Director	Producer	Special effects	Visual effects / Animation	Notes
1984	The Terminator
1986	Aliens						Credited as Salvager
	The Vindicator
	Invaders from Mars
1987	The Monster Squad						Portrayed Gill-man
1988	Pumpkinhead						Portrayed Pumpkinhead
1988	Alien Nation
1989	Leviathan
1990	Tremors						Credited as Grabboid
1992	Alien 3						Credited as Lead Alien
1992	Death Becomes Her
1993	Demolition Man
1994	Wolf
1995	Mortal Kombat						Credited as Goro
1995	Jumanji
1996	Michael
1996	Tremors 2: Aftershocks
1997	Alien Resurrection
1997	Starship Troopers
1998	The X-Files
1999	My Favorite Martian
2000	Hollow Man
	Cast Away
	Mattress of Solitude						Short film; portrayed Batman
	Bedazzled
2001	Evolution
	Bubble Boy
	Tremors 3: Back to Perfection
2002	John Q.
2002	The Santa Clause 2
2003	Looney Tunes: Back in Action
2003	Scary Movie 3
2004	Tremors 4: The Legend Begins
2004	Alien vs. Predator
2005	Elektra
2006	Failure to Launch
2006	The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause
2007	Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem
2007	My Cousins Keeper
2009	Race to Witch Mountain						Credited as Siphon
	Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant						Portrayed Wolfman
	Old Dogs
2010	Skyline
2011	The Thing
	Zookeeper
	Beautiful Wave						Credited as Coach Parks
2012	Astronaut: The Last Push
2013	Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters
	Fire City: King of Miseries
	Grown Ups 2
	Ender's Game
2015	Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2
	Harbinger Down
	Kids vs Monsters
	Unnatural
2016	Change of Heart
2017	It
2018	Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
2018	Sorry to Bother You						Credited as Equisapien
2019	Godzilla: King of the Monsters
	Playtime
	The Mortuary Collection						Credited as Burke
2020	Guest House
2021	Godzilla vs. Kong
TBA	Severed Road
TBA	Wellwood

Television[]


Year	Series	Role
1989	Monsters	Herbert
1990	Tales from the Crypt	Utility Monster
1998	Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction	Gorilla
1999	Chicago Hope	Stevie
1999	Seven Days	Kiki the Gorilla
2011	The Tonight Show with Jay Leno	Bernie the Gorilla
2012	Harry's Law	Gorilla
2013	Blood and Guts with Scott Ian	Himself
	Horror Halku	Demon Rufus
2016	Zoo	Gorilla Suit Performer
2019	Room 104	Elmer

Awards and nominations[]


Year	Ceremony	Category	Film	Result	Notes
1991	Saturn Awards	Best Special Effects	Tremors	Nominated	Nomination shared with Alec Gillis
1992	Academy Awards	Best Visual Effects	Death Becomes Her	Won	Win shared with Ken Ralston Alec Gillis George Gibbs
	Academy Awards	Best Visual Effects	Alien 3	Nominated	Nomination shared with Richard Edlund Alec Gillis George Gibbs
	British Academy Film Awards	Best Special Effects	Death Becomes Her	Won	Win shared with Ken Ralston Alec Gillis George Gibbs
	British Academy Film Awards	Best Special Effects	Alien 3	Nominated	Nomination shared with Richard Edlund Alec Gillis George Gibbs
1993	Awards Circuit Community	Best Special Effects	Death Becomes Her	Won	Win shared with Ken Ralston Alec Gillis George Gibbs
	Awards Circuit Community	Best Special Effects	Alien 3	Nominated	Nomination shared with Richard Edlund Alec Gillis George Gibbs
	Saturn Awards	Best Special Effects	Death Becomes Her	Won	Win shared with Ken Ralston Alec Gillis George Gibbs
	Saturn Awards	Best Special Effects	Alien 3	Nominated	Nomination shared with Richard Edlund Alec Gillis George Gibbs
1995	Saturn Awards	Best Make-Up	The Santa Clause	Nominated	Nomination shared with Alec Gillis
1998	Saturn Awards	Best Special Effects	Starship Troopers	Won	Win shared with Phil Tippett Scott E. Anderson Alec Gillis John Richardson
1998	Saturn Awards	Best Special Effects	Alien Resurrection	Nominated	Nomination shared with Erik Henry Alec Gillis
1999	Saturn Awards	Best Make-Up	The X-Files	Nominated	Nomination shared with Alec Gillis Michael Mill Greg Nelson
2001	Saturn Awards		The 6th Day	Nominated	Nomination shared with Jeff Dawn Alec Gillis Charles Porlier
2012	Rondo Hatton Awards	Best Short Film	Joe Comes to Life	Nominated	—
2012	Saturn Awards	Best Make-Up	The Thing	Nominated	Nomination shared with Alec Gillis
2017	Fangoria Chainsaw Awards	Best Makeup & SFX	The Monster	Won	Win shared with Alec Gillis
2018	Hawaii Film Critics Society	Best Makeup	It	Nominated	Nomination shared with Alec Gillis
2018	44th Saturn Awards	Best Makeup	It	Nominated	Nomination shared with Alec Gillis

References[]

^ "With horror industry heavy hitters already in place from the 1970s, the 1980s built upon that with the rise of brilliant minds in makeup and effects artists, as well as advances in technology". Bloody-Discusting.com. March 6, 2018. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
^ Rashid, Jerry. "A special homecoming" (PDF). Lycoming magazine. No. Spring 2011. Lycoming College. p. 14.
^ "One of Tom Woodruff Jr.'s most abiding memories of playing an alien in the Alien movies". Vanity Fair. May 18, 2017. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
^ "The Worst Parts of Playing the Xenomorph in Alien". CinemaBlend.com. May 19, 2017. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
^ VFX Artists Tom Woodruff & Alec Gillis Of StudioADI Celebrate 30 Years
^ "Tom Woodruff Jr working on Monsters FX Inbound". May 23, 2017.
^ Zelig, Leonard (January 17, 2018). "Interview with Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff, Jr. of Studio ADI". The Fincher Analyst. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
^ "Practical-ly Perfect: Pennywise, Past and Present with Alec Gillis, Tom Woodruff Jr., and Bart Mixon". Daily Dead. October 17, 2017. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
^ Hammond, Pete (June 28, 2018). "'Black Panther' Tops 44th Saturn Awards With Five; 'Blade Runner 2049' , 'Shape Of Water', 'Get Out' Also Score". Deadline. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
^ Ryan, Jackson. "The Last Jedi, Black Panther win big at the 44th Saturn Awards". CNET. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
^ Failes, Ian. "The Unexpected Techniques 'Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom' Used to Create Super-Realistic FX". Thrillist. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
^ Playtime, retrieved June 24, 2020
^ "Godzilla Vs Kong: Release Date, Cast, Trailer, Plot And Every Detail At One Place". Auto Freak. June 22, 2020. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
^ N'Duka, Amanda (January 30, 2018). "'Game of Thrones' Actress Keisha Castle-Hughes To Produce & Star In The Indie Film 'Wellwood'". Deadline. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
^ "StudioADI Providing Extraterrestrial FX to Sci-Fi Film Wellwood". Dread Central. February 5, 2018. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
^ "Award-winning Hollywood special effects creator to speak at Lycoming College". Lycoming College. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
^ "Academy Award winner to deliver Lycoming College commencement address". Lycoming College. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
^ Mussina, Mark. "After almost 40 years, Academy Award winner returns to Williamsport's CTL". NorthcentralPA.com. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
^ "David T. Woodruff's bio at IMDb.com".

External links[]

Tom Woodruff Jr. at IMDb

[1] "With horror industry heavy hitters already in place from the 1970s, the 1980s built upon that with the rise of brilliant minds in makeup and effects artists, as well as advances in technology". Bloody-Discusting.com. March 6, 2018. Retrieved March 9, 2018.

[2] Rashid, Jerry. "A special homecoming" (PDF). Lycoming magazine. No. Spring 2011. Lycoming College. p. 14.

[3] "One of Tom Woodruff Jr.'s most abiding memories of playing an alien in the Alien movies". Vanity Fair. May 18, 2017. Retrieved March 9, 2018.

[4] "The Worst Parts of Playing the Xenomorph in Alien". CinemaBlend.com. May 19, 2017. Retrieved March 9, 2018.

[5] VFX Artists Tom Woodruff & Alec Gillis Of StudioADI Celebrate 30 Years

[6] "Tom Woodruff Jr working on Monsters FX Inbound". May 23, 2017.

[7] Zelig, Leonard (January 17, 2018). "Interview with Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff, Jr. of Studio ADI". The Fincher Analyst. Retrieved June 24, 2020.

[8] "Practical-ly Perfect: Pennywise, Past and Present with Alec Gillis, Tom Woodruff Jr., and Bart Mixon". Daily Dead. October 17, 2017. Retrieved June 24, 2020.

[9] Hammond, Pete (June 28, 2018). "'Black Panther' Tops 44th Saturn Awards With Five; 'Blade Runner 2049' , 'Shape Of Water', 'Get Out' Also Score". Deadline. Retrieved June 24, 2020.

[10] Ryan, Jackson. "The Last Jedi, Black Panther win big at the 44th Saturn Awards". CNET. Retrieved June 24, 2020.

[11] Failes, Ian. "The Unexpected Techniques 'Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom' Used to Create Super-Realistic FX". Thrillist. Retrieved June 24, 2020.

[12] Playtime, retrieved June 24, 2020

[13] "Godzilla Vs Kong: Release Date, Cast, Trailer, Plot And Every Detail At One Place". Auto Freak. June 22, 2020. Retrieved June 24, 2020.

[14] N'Duka, Amanda (January 30, 2018). "'Game of Thrones' Actress Keisha Castle-Hughes To Produce & Star In The Indie Film 'Wellwood'". Deadline. Retrieved June 24, 2020.

[15] "StudioADI Providing Extraterrestrial FX to Sci-Fi Film Wellwood". Dread Central. February 5, 2018. Retrieved June 24, 2020.

[16] "Award-winning Hollywood special effects creator to speak at Lycoming College". Lycoming College. Retrieved June 24, 2020.

[17] "Academy Award winner to deliver Lycoming College commencement address". Lycoming College. Retrieved June 24, 2020.

[18] Mussina, Mark. "After almost 40 years, Academy Award winner returns to Williamsport's CTL". NorthcentralPA.com. Retrieved June 24, 2020.

[david_woodruff-19] "David T. Woodruff's bio at IMDb.com".

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show v t Academy Award for Best Visual Effects
1963-1980	Emil Kosa Jr. (1963) Peter Ellenshaw, Eustace Lycett and Hamilton Luske (1964) John Stears (1965) Art Cruickshank (1966) L. B. Abbott (1967) Stanley Kubrick (1968) Robbie Robertson (1969) L. B. Abbott and A. D. Flowers (1970) Alan Maley, Eustace Lycett and Danny Lee (1971) L. B. Abbott and A. D. Flowers (1972) No Award (1973) Frank Brendel, Glen Robinson and Albert Whitlock (1974) Glen Robinson and Albert Whitlock (1975) Carlo Rambaldi, Glen Robinson and Frank Van der Veer (1976) John Stears, John Dykstra, Richard Edlund, Grant McCune and Robert Blalack (1977) Les Bowie, Colin Chilvers, Denys Coop, Roy Field, Derek Meddings and Zoran Perisic (1978) H. R. Giger, Carlo Rambaldi, Brian Johnson, Nick Allder and Dennis Ayling (1979) Brian Johnson, Richard Edlund, Dennis Muren and Bruce Nicholson (1980)
1981-2000	Richard Edlund, Kit West, Bruce Nicholson and Joe Johnston (1981) Carlo Rambaldi, Dennis Muren and Kenneth F. Smith (1982) Richard Edlund, Dennis Muren, Ken Ralston and Phil Tippett (1983) Dennis Muren, Michael J. McAlister, Lorne Peterson and George Gibbs (1984) Ken Ralston, Ralph McQuarrie, Scott Farrar and David Berry (1985) Robert Skotak, Stan Winston, John Richardson and Suzanne Benson (1986) Dennis Muren, William George, Harley Jessup and Kenneth F. Smith (1987) Ken Ralston, Richard Williams, Edward Jones and George Gibbs (1988) John Bruno, Dennis Muren, Hoyt Yeatman and Dennis Skotak (1989) Eric Brevig, Rob Bottin, Tim McGovern and Alex Funke (1990) Dennis Muren, Stan Winston, Gene Warren Jr. and Robert Skotak (1991) Ken Ralston, Doug Chiang, Doug Smythe and Tom Woodruff Jr. (1992) Dennis Muren, Stan Winston, Phil Tippett and Michael Lantieri (1993) Ken Ralston, George Murphy, Stephen Rosenbaum and Allen Hall (1994) Scott E. Anderson, Charles Gibson, Neal Scanlan and John Cox (1995) Volker Engel, Douglas Smith, Clay Pinney and Joe Viskocil (1996) Robert Legato, Mark Lasoff, Thomas L. Fisher and Michael Kanfer (1997) Joel Hynek, Nicholas Brooks, Stuart Robertson and Kevin Mack (1998) John Gaeta, Janek Sirrs, Steve Courtley, and Jon Thum (1999) John Nelson, Neil Corbould, Tim Burke and Rob Harvey (2000)
2001-present	Jim Rygiel, Randall William Cook, Richard Taylor and Mark Stetson (2001) Jim Rygiel, Joe Letteri, Randall William Cook and Alex Funke (2002) Jim Rygiel, Joe Letteri, Randall William Cook and Alex Funke (2003) John Dykstra, Scott Stokdyk, Anthony LaMolinara and John Frazier (2004) Joe Letteri, Brian Van't Hul, Christian Rivers and Richard Taylor (2005) John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and Allen Hall (2006) Michael Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris and Trevor Wood (2007) Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron (2008) Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones (2009) Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley and Peter Bebb (2010) Robert Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossmann and Alex Henning (2011) Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan de Boer and Donald R. Elliott (2012) Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, Dave Shirk and Neil Corbould (2013) Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Ian Hunter and Scott R. Fisher (2014) Mark Williams Ardington, Sara Bennett, Paul Norris and Andrew Whitehurst (2015) Robert Legato, Adam Valdez, Andrew R. Jones and Dan Lemmon (2016) John Nelson, Gerd Nefzer, Paul Lambert and Richard R. Hoover (2017) Paul Lambert, Ian Hunter, Tristan Myles and J. D. Schwalm (2018) Guillaume Rocheron, Greg Butler and Dominic Tuohy (2019) Scott R. Fisher, Andrew Jackson, David Lee and Andrew Lockley (2020)

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