Tom Woodruff Jr.

Biography

Tom Woodruff Jr. is an American special effects supervisor, actor, director and producer who grew up in Pennsylvania and built a career creating creatures for Hollywood. Born in Williamsport and raised in nearby Loyalsock Township, he studied business and theater at Lycoming College, then moved to Los Angeles and started out as a make-up artist. He joined Stan Winston Studios, worked on Aliens, and played creatures in movies he also handled effects for, among them The Monster Squad (1987) and Pumpkinhead (1988). In 1988 he and Alec Gillis founded Amalgamated Dynamics, whose credits include Alien 3, Starship Troopers (1997) and It (2017). He won the Academy Award for Best Special Effects for Death Becomes Her (1992) and was nominated for Alien 3 that same year, and his team's makeup work on It drew Saturn Award recognition. The studio later designed the dinosaurs for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018).

67years old

Turns 68 on January 21in 72 days

Born January 21, 1959Williamsport
Star sign: AquariusThe sign runs January 20 to February 18
Also credited as Tom Woodruff

Movie Career

Films: 12
Career span: 33 years1987 to 2020

Genres

Horror42%, 5 films
Action33%, 4 films
Fantasy33%, 4 films
Sci-Fi33%, 4 films
Adventure25%, 3 films

First and latest

Did you know?!

Behind the camera
Woodruff and Alec Gillis, both effects supervisors at Stan Winston Studios, departed in 1988 and started their own effects company, Amalgamated Dynamics, located in Chatsworth, Los Angeles. Winston was getting ready to direct A Gnome Named Gnorm and reduce his large effects workload.
First role
Woodruff made his screen debut playing a Salvager in Aliens, the 1986 film he also worked on as part of Stan Winston's effects crew.
Getting ready for a role
Woodruff designed and made the teeth for Pennywise in It, built so that Bill Skarsgard could speak clearly and smile the way the film needed.

Tom Woodruff Jr. movies on Netflix

Guest House2020IMDb rating 4.4as John
The Mortuary Collection2020IMDb rating 6.4as Burke
Astronaut: The Last Push2012IMDb rating 5.3as Control Technician
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant2009IMDb rating 5.8as Wolfman
Race to Witch Mountain2009IMDb rating 5.7as Siphon
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem2007IMDb rating 4.6as Alien
The 'Alien' Saga2002IMDb rating 7.7as Himself
Hollow Man2000IMDb rating 5.9as Isabelle the Gorilla
Tremors1990IMDb rating 7.2as Graboids
Leviathan1989IMDb rating 5.8as Lead Creature
Pumpkinhead1988IMDb rating 6.2as Pumpkinhead
The Monster Squad1987IMDb rating 6.9as Gillman

Best known for

The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.

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Hollow Man2000 Sci-Fi, Thrilleras Isabelle the Gorilla
IMDb rating 5.9149K votes
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem2007 Action, Horror, Sci-Fias Alien
IMDb rating 4.6148K votes
Pumpkinhead1988as Pumpkinhead
IMDb rating 6.232K votes
Race to Witch Mountain2009as Siphon
IMDb rating 5.767K votes
The Monster Squad1987as Gillman
IMDb rating 6.940K votes
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant2009as Wolfman
IMDb rating 5.850K votes
Astronaut: The Last Push2012as Control Technician
IMDb rating 5.31.9K votes
The Mortuary Collection2020as Burke
IMDb rating 6.417K votes

Worked with

Tom Woodruff Jr. shares three films with Lance Henriksen, and one with each of the others. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.

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Lance Henriksen

Kevin Bacon

Frank Welker

Willem Dafoe

John Hurt

Clancy BrownRon UnderwoodDirector, 1 film

Paul VerhoevenDirector, 1 film Colin StrauseDirector, 1 film

Films together

Lance Henriksen3 films together, 1988 to 2012
Lance Henriksen's page
- Astronaut: The Last Push2012IMDb rating 5.3Woodruff as Control TechnicianHenriksen as Walter Moffitt
- The 'Alien' Saga2002IMDb rating 7.7Woodruff as HimselfHenriksen as Himself
- Pumpkinhead1988IMDb rating 6.2Woodruff as PumpkinheadHenriksen as Ed Harley
Kevin Bacon2 films together, 1990 to 2000
Kevin Bacon's page
- Hollow Man2000IMDb rating 5.9Woodruff as Isabelle the GorillaBacon as Sebastian Caine
- Tremors1990IMDb rating 7.2Woodruff as GraboidsBacon as Valentine McKee
Frank Welker1 film together, 1990
Frank Welker's page
- Tremors1990IMDb rating 7.2Woodruff as GraboidsWelker as Graboids
Willem Dafoe1 film together, 2009
Willem Dafoe's page
- Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant2009IMDb rating 5.8Woodruff as WolfmanDafoe as Gavner Purl
John Hurt1 film together, 2002
John Hurt's page
- The 'Alien' Saga2002IMDb rating 7.7Woodruff as HimselfHurt as Narratorvoice
Clancy Brown1 film together, 2020
Clancy Brown's page
- The Mortuary Collection2020IMDb rating 6.4Woodruff as BurkeBrown as Montgomery Dark
Ron UnderwoodDirector, 1 film, 1990
All films by Ron Underwood
- Tremors1990IMDb rating 7.2Woodruff as Graboids
Paul VerhoevenDirector, 1 film, 2000
All films by Paul Verhoeven
- Hollow Man2000IMDb rating 5.9Woodruff as Isabelle the Gorilla
Colin StrauseDirector, 1 film, 2007
All films by Colin Strause
- Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem2007IMDb rating 4.6Woodruff as Alien

Box office

What Tom Woodruff Jr.'s films earned in cinemas worldwide.

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Combined worldwide box office

$528 million

9 of the 12 films have a worldwide figure.

9Worldwide figure
2Never in cinemas
1Figure not found

Top grosser

Hollow Man2000Isabelle the Gorilla$190 million

Highest grossing

The eight biggest films earned 100% of the total. The bars are drawn to scale.

1
Hollow Man2000as Isabelle the Gorilla
$190M36.1% of the total
2
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem2007as Alien
$130M24.7% of the total
3
Race to Witch Mountain2009as Siphon
$106M20.2% of the total
4
Tremors1990as Graboids
$49M9.2% of the total
5
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant2009as Wolfman
$28M5.3% of the total
6
Leviathan1989as Lead Creature
$16M3.0% of the total
7
Pumpkinhead1988as Pumpkinhead
$4.4M0.8% of the total
8
The Monster Squad1987as Gillman
$3.8M0.7% of the total