Chris Walas has…
worked on theatre, television, and film productions for years, starting his career at Don Post Studios in LA as a painter. He was promoted to designer and eventually left to join the special effects team at Roger Corman’s New World Pictures, where he worked on many productions including “Piranha”.
Chris went out on his own and soon won attention for his startling work on David Cronenberg’s cult thriller, “Scanners”. He joined ILM working on legendary films such as “Raiders of the Lost Ark”, “Return of the Jedi” and “Dragonslayer”.
He eventually formed his own company consisting of a full capacity animatronics and special makeup effects crew where he created memorable designs for such classic films as “Gremlins”, “Enemy Mine”, “Romancing the Stone”, “The Fly”, “Arachnophobia”, “Ghost” and “Naked Lunch”. His company also created three full-size animatronic dinosaurs for the amusement park industry in Japan.
Chris went on to direct projects that included “The Fly II”, “Tales from the Crypt”, and the black comedy “The Vagrant”.
Chris has won numerous awards including the 1987 Academy Award for Best Makeup, one nomination and two awards from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror, and two additional nominations by BAFTA.
