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{{Infobox person
| name               = John Schoonraad
| image              = John Schoonraad.jpg
| caption            = '''John Schoonraad''' at Elstree Studios, 2011
| birth_name         = 
| birth_date         = {{birth date and age|1952|10|02|df=y}}
| birth_place        = [[Harrow, London|Harrow]], [[Middlesex]], United Kingdom
| death_date         = 
| death_place        = 
| restingplace       = 
| other_names        = 
| occupation         = [[Lifecasting|Lifecast]] [[special effects]] artist
| years_active       = 1981–present
| children           = 2
| website            = {{URL|lifecast.co.uk/}}
}}
'''John Schoonraad''' (born 2 October 1952) is a [[Lifecasting|lifecast]] and [[special effects]] artist who has created over 2,000 lifecasts, a technique used in film and television production.<ref name=tel>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/art/what-to-see/hollywoods-favourite-art-work/|title=''Hollywood's Favourite Art Work''|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=31 July 2015}} Telegraph Accessed 2016-1-25 (slow loading)</ref>

== Early work ==

Schoonraad began his career in 1981 with ''[[Green Ice]]'' starring [[Ryan O'Neal]], and has contributed to numerous films, including ''[[Return of the Jedi]]'', ''[[Indiana Jones]]'', ''[[Gladiator (2000 film)|Gladiator]]'', ''[[Saving Private Ryan]]'', and ''[[Troy (film)|Troy]]''. He has collaborated with actors such as [[Russell Crowe]], [[Tom Hanks]], [[Kristin Scott Thomas]], and [[Orlando Bloom]]. His work includes creating lifecasts for ''[[The English Patient (film)|The English Patient]]'' and additional casts for films such as ''[[Clash of the Titans (2010 film)|The Clash of The Titans]]'' and ''[[Casino Royale (2006 film)|Casino Royale]],'' as well as supervising the cutting in half of a [[Boeing 727]].<ref name=tel/><ref name="screen">Cooper, Sarah ''John Schoonraad'' Screen International, June 17th 2010</ref>

== Later work==

Schoonraad's lifecasts have been featured in drama films such as ''[[The English Patient (film)|The English Patient]]'', as well as in [[science fiction]] and [[fantasy]] films, including ''[[Return of the Jedi]], [[Black Hawk Down (film)|Black Hawk Down]],'' and ''[[28 Days Later]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Studios |first=Elstree |title=The King's Speech success marks a first for Elstree Studios |url=http://www.elstreestudios.co.uk/News/news_242.aspx |access-date=2016-01-25 |website=www.elstreestudios.co.uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Lambie |first=Ryan |date=2012-03-06 |title=Life-caster and special effects artist John Schoonraad interview |url=https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/life-caster-and-special-effects-artist-john-schoonraad-interview/ |access-date=2024-08-03 |website=Den of Geek |language=en-US}}</ref> He is currently the creative director of Lifecast Ltd, a special effects company based at [[Elstree Studios (Shenley Road)|Elstree Studios]] in [[Borehamwood]].<ref name="tel" /><ref name="screen" />

He was part of the creature crew for ''[[The Wolfman (2010 film)|The Wolfman]]'', working alongside [[Rick Baker (makeup artist)|Rick Baker]] and [[Dave Elsey]], which won the [[83rd Academy Awards|2010 Oscar]] for [[Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling|Best Makeup and Hairstyling]].<ref>Debrecini, Todd ''Special Makeup Effects for Stage and Screen: Making and Applying Prosthetics'' published by Taylor & Francis,2013 page 93-4 {{ISBN|1136060774}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=6 March 2012 |title=Life-caster and special effects artist John Schoonraad interview |url=http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/18833/life-caster-and-special-effects-artist-john-schoonraad-interview |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919133335/http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/18833/life-caster-and-special-effects-artist-john-schoonraad-interview |archive-date=2016-09-19 |access-date=2016-01-26 |website=Den of Geek}}</ref>

== Music industry ==

In the music industry, Schoonraad created a lifecast of [[Grace Jones]] for the chocolate models of her body made by [[Thorntons]] chocolate factory featured in her tenth studio album, ''[[Hurricane (Grace Jones album)|Hurricane]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Grace Jones: Hurricane - Art Direction {{!}} Hingston London |url=https://www.hingston.studio/work/grace-jones/ |access-date=2024-10-15 |website=Hingston Studio {{!}} Creative Agency, London}}</ref> He also worked on transforming [[The Darkness (band)|Darkness]] singer [[Justin Hawkins]] into a devil for the video [[One Way Ticket to Hell... and Back|“One Way Ticket To Hell and Back”]], which won the [[MTV Australia Video Music Awards 2006#Best Rock Video|Australian MTV Video awards for Best Rock Video]].<ref>{{Cite web|title = Dan Martin - Special Effects - Kayak Productions - Independent media production company|url = http://www.kayakproductions.com/about-us/dan-martin|website = www.kayakproductions.com|access-date = 2016-01-26}}</ref> His video career led to work with [[Björk]] on her track "[[Hunter (Björk song)|The Hunter]]".<ref>Sleeve Notes Credit for the Hunter</ref>

== Family ==

Schoonraad often collaborates with his sons '''Tristan'''<!--Bold format for redirect target from Tristan Schoonraad. See WP:RPLA--> and Robin on projects, through their company Lifecast.<ref name=tel/>

Tristan has showcased his work at art [[car boot sale]]s, including [[Brick Lane Market|Brick Lane]], the [[The Big Chill (music festival)|Big Chill]], Mutate Britain's “One Foot in the Grove”, Tate the Biscuit, and the Urban Art Show in Tokyo. He had his own exhibition of ''Boy Soldier''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Boy Soldier {{!}} Art UK |url=https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/boy-soldier-313576 |access-date=2024-11-19 |website=artuk.org |language=en}}</ref> in [[London]] and has worked with Art Below involved in exhibiting in [[Parliament Square]] on the Plinth of Peace.

Robin participated in the molding of many of the creatures for ''[[Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)|Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire]]'', as well as special effects in ''[[The Last Samurai]]''.<ref name="tel" /><ref name="screen" /><ref>{{Cite news|title = Kick Ass 2 movie to use Schoony sculpture|work = BBC News|date = 8 May 2013|url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-22450889|access-date = 2016-01-26}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://lifecast.co.uk/ lifecast.co.uk]
* {{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0774821/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1|title=''John Schoonraad''|website=[[IMDb]] }} at IMDb

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schoonraad, John}}
[[Category:1952 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:British special effects people]]
[[Category:People from Harrow, London]]

{{Wikipedia attribution|original_title=John Schoonraad|access_date=2026-03-04}}