Chris Walas
Christopher James Walas (born 1955) is an American special effects artist, make-up effects artist, film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known for his work on the film The Fly (1986),[1] for which he won an Academy Award and was nominated for two British Academy Film Awards.
Biography
His main body of work is with special effects in a wide variety of films, from science fiction to action-adventure. His work on The Fly won him an Academy Award for Best Make-Up and led to his directorial debut on The Fly II.[2]
Walas grew up a fan of monster movies and particularly the work of Ray Harryhausen, even considering becoming a stop motion animator. After moving to Los Angeles in his early twenties seeking any filmmaking opportunity, he got a job at Don Post Studios, a mask-making company, learning all about creation of props and prosthetics. After meeting Phil Tippett making Piranha, Walas was recruited by him to do effects in Dragonslayer. At the same time Tippett joined another Industrial Light & Magic production, Raiders of the Lost Ark,[3] being responsible for the famous scene where the Nazis melt from the intense heat created by the Ark of the Covenant.[4] Walas would then work in Return of the Jedi, designing five creatures seen in Jabba the Hutt's palace.[3] Walas left ILM to found his own company, Chris Walas Inc. (CWI), once he was recruited by Piranha director Joe Dante to create the creatures from Gremlins. CWI remained in high demand for film, television and commercials.[5]
Filmographies
Special effects
| 2002 | Dark Heaven | designer: angels |
| 1991 | Curse III: Blood Sacrifice | monster design |
| 1991 | Naked Lunch | special effects and monster design |
| 1990 | Arachnophobia | creature effects supervisor |
| 1989 | The Fly II | effects designer and creator: Chris Walas Inc. |
| 1987 | House II: The Second Story | makeup and creature effects designer |
| 1986 | The Fly | creature effects |
| 1985 | Enemy Mine | aliens creator and designer: Chris Walas Inc. special creature makeup and effects director: Chris Walas Inc. |
| 1984 | Gremlins | creator: Gremlins |
| 1983 | Return of the Jedi | creature consultant |
| 1982 | E.T. the Extraterrestrial | model maker (uncredited) |
| 1981 | Dragonslayer | close-up dragon: ILM |
| 1980 | Airplane! | special projects |
| 1980 | Humanoids from the Deep | special effects (uncredited) |
| 1979 | Up from the Depths | special effects |
| 1978 | Piranha | special properties |
Makeup effects
| 1995 | Jade | special makeup effects |
| 1995 | Virtuosity | special makeup effects |
| 1989 | Tales from the Crypt: "The Switch" | special makeup effects |
| 1985 | Enemy Mine | special makeup effects |
| 1984 | Gremlins | special makeup effects |
| 1981 | Raiders of the Lost Ark | special makeup effects: ILM |
| 1981 | Caveman | creator: abominable snowman |
| 1981 | Scanners | special makeup effects |
| 1980 | Galaxina | special makeup effects |
| 1979 | Something Waits in the Dark (later known as Screamers) | special makeup effects, U.S. filmed additions to L'isola degli uomini pesce |
Visual effects
| 2002 | Dark Heaven | visual effects |
Director
| 1992 | The Vagrant |
| 1990 | Tales from the Crypt: "'Til Death" |
| 1989 | The Fly II |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 12th Saturn Awards | Best Special Effects | Gremlins | Template:Won |
| 1986 | 13th Saturn Awards | Best Make-up | Enemy Mine | Template:Nom |
| 1987 | 59th Academy Awards | Best Makeup | The Fly | Template:Won |
| 14th Saturn Awards | Best Make-up | Template:Won | ||
| 1988 | 41st British Academy Film Awards | Best Make-up Artist | Template:Nom | |
| Best Special Effects | Template:Nom | |||
| 1993 | 2nd Fangoria Chainsaw Awards | Best Makeup Effects | Naked Lunch | Template:Nom |
References
External links
This article incorporates text from the Wikipedia article "Chris Walas", available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License.Retrieved 2026-02-28.