Tom Woodruff, Jr. (born January 21,[1] 1959)[2] is an Academy Award-winning American special effects artist and actor who portrayed the Lead Alien in the 1997 film Alien Resurrection and Grid in the 2004 film Alien vs. Predator. He also served as part of the creature effects crew on the 1986 film Aliens, the 1992 film Alien3, Alien Resurrection, Alien vs. Predator, the 2007 film Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem and the 2018 film The Predator. He also portrayed the Alien in Alien3 and the Predalien (as well as the normal Aliens and, very briefly, Wolf) in Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem, and appeared in cameo as an unnamed technician in Alien vs. Predator, although he was not credited for these roles.
In 1988, Woodruff co-founded Amalgamated Dynamics, Inc. (ADI) with Alec Gillis, and the company has since provided creature effects for Alien3, Alien Resurrection, Alien vs. Predator and Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem.
Woodruff has won an Academy Award for Visual Effects (for Death Becomes Her) and a BAFTA. For his work on Alien3, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Visual Effects, a BAFTA and a Saturn Award. He is frequently listed among the top 10 creature performers.[3][4][5]
Work[]
Aliens[]
The card.[6]
In 1985, Woodruff was working for Stan Winston on Aliens.[6] Woodruff helped sculpt the Alien Warrior head at Stan Winston Studio and touched up paint on the head in the workshop at Pinewood Studios.[7] Shortly after the Warrior costumes were completed and before filming, Tom stayed late after-hours one night, got into costume, and Richard Landon took the first set of photos of a completed Alien, "without even the benefit of covering the suit in slime as intended for the film."[8][6] Woodruff and Landon found a snowy backdrop outside of their workshop and he "thought it'd make a nice Christmas Card someday".[6] Tom was "more interested in seeing how different body posing could disguise the shape of a man inside the suit than the intended on-screen finished look."[8]
After seeing some of the performances and physiques of some of the performers wearing the Alien suits in Aliens, Tom was motivated to have a talk with Stan Winston that led to playing Gill-man (from Creature from the Black Lagoon) in a cameo appearance in The Monster Squad, their next film.[8]
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem[]
As Predalien[]
In certain scenes, Woodruff had to stand on boxes to make his Predalien as tall as Wolf.
As Wolf[]
In Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem, Woodruff played Wolf in insert shots of the Predator's hand pressing buttons on the wrist gauntlet while Wolf is inside the crashed Scout Ship.[9]
Alien 5[]
There was a rumour that ADI had pitched their own Alien 5 to 20th Century Fox. In an interview with blogs Strange Shapes and Monster Legacy published on January 16, 2014, Woodruff stated, "If true, I would not elaborate."[8][10]
The Predator[]
After nearly a decade away from the Alien and Predator movies, Woodruff and Alec Gillis returned in The Predator recommended by producer John Davis and co-writer Fred Dekker (who knew the duo since Monster Squad, which he co-wrote with The Predator director Shane Black), to do the Predator make-up.[11] He's also acknowledged with an in-joke, where at a certain point in the movie a cop mentions "Woodruff Street".
Awards and Nominations[]
| Year | Film | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Alien3 | Nominated — Academy Award for Best Visual Effects Nominated — BAFTA for Best Special Effects Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Special Effects |
| 1997 | Alien Resurrection | Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Special Effects |
Filmography[]
| Year | Title | Functioned as | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Effects Artist | Actor | |||
| 1984 | The Terminator | 
|
|
With Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton and Arnold Schwarzenegger, directed by James Cameron |
| 1986 | The Vindicator |
|
|
|
| Aliens |
|
|
Uncredited as actor | |
| 1987 | The Monster Squad |
|
|
|
| 1988 | Pumpkinhead |
|
|
With Lance Henriksen, directed by Stan Winston |
| Alien Nation |
|
|
With Abraham Alvarez, Tom Finnegan, Alec Gillis, Diana James and Thomas Rosales, Jr. | |
| 1989 | Leviathan |
|
|
Uncredited as actor |
| 1990 | Tremors |
|
|
Uncredited as actor |
| 1992 | Alien3 |
|
|
Uncredited |
| Death Becomes Her |
|
|
With Paulo Tocha | |
| 1993 | Demolition Man |
|
|
With Steve Kahan, Henry Kingi and Jesse Ventura |
| 1994 | Wolf |
|
|
|
| 1995 | Mortal Kombat |
|
|
Uncredited as actor; with Brad Martin and Rodney Mitchell, directed by Paul W. S. Anderson |
| Jumanji |
|
|
Uncredited as actor | |
| 1996 | Tremors 2 Aftershocks |
|
|
With Thomas Rosales, Jr. |
| Michael |
|
|
Uncredited as actor | |
| 1997 | Alien Resurrection |
|
|
|
| Starship Troopers |
|
|
With Michael Papajohn | |
| 1998 | The X-Files |
|
|
With William H. Burton, Jr. |
| 1999 | My Favourite Martian |
|
|
With David St. James |
| 2000 | Hollow Man |
|
|
|
| Bedazzled |
|
|
With Thomas Rosales, Jr. | |
| Cast Away |
|
|
||
| 2001 | Evolution |
|
|
With Steven Gilborn |
| Bubble Boy |
|
|
With Danny Trejo | |
| Tremors 3: Back to Perfection |
|
|
With Eddie Yansick | |
| 2002 | John Q |
|
|
|
| The Santa Clause 2 |
|
|
||
| 2003 | Scary Movie 3 |
|
|
|
| Looney Tunes: Back in Action |
|
|
Uncredited as actor; with Archie Hahn and Ron Perlman | |
| 2004 | Tremors 4: The Legend Begins |
|
|
With J. E. Freeman and Eddie Yansick |
| Alien vs. Predator |
|
|
||
| 2005 | Elektra |
|
|
Uncredited as actor |
| 2006 | Failure to Launch |
|
|
|
| The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause |
|
|
||
| 2007 | Wild Hogs |
|
|
|
| Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem |
|
|
||
| 2009 | Super Capers: The Origins of Ed and the Missing Bullion |
|
|
|
| Race to Witch Mountain |
|
|
||
| Cirque du Freak |
|
|
||
| Old Dogs |
|
|
With Michael Papajohn | |
| 2010 | Skyline |
|
|
|
| 2011 | Beautiful Wave |
|
|
Uncredited as actor; with Lance Henriksen |
| Zookeeper |
|
|
||
| 2012 | Astronaut: The Last Push |
|
|
With Alec Gillis and Lance Henriksen |
| 2013 | Grown Ups 2 |
|
|
With Eddie Yansick |
| Ender's Game |
|
|
||
| 2018 | The Predator |
|
|
|
Documentary Appearances[]
- Alien3 promotional featurette
- The Making of Alien3
- HBO First Look: Alien Resurrection - Behind the Scenes
- The Alien Saga
- Superior Firepower: Making Aliens
- Wreckage and Rage: Making Alien3
- One Step Beyond: Making Alien Resurrection
- HBO First Look: Alien vs. Predator - Behind the Scenes
- The Making of AVP
Trivia[]
- Technically, as he very briefly stood in for Ian Whyte as Wolf for insert shots in Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem, Woodruff is the only actor to have played both an Alien and a Predator.
- Ironically, every time Woodruff has been nominated for a major award for his effects work on an Alien film, he has lost out to his own work on another movie — in 1993, his Academy Award, BAFTA and Saturn Award nominations for Alien3 all lost out to his work on Death Becomes Her, while in 1998, his Saturn Award nomination for Alien Resurrection lost out to his work on Starship Troopers.
Gallery[]
![Woodruff with a Queen.[12]](/wiki/File:Tom_and_Queen.png "Tom and Queen.png (146 KB)")
![Woodruff as the Alien in Alien3.[8]](/wiki/File:Tom_as_Dragon.jpg "Tom as Dragon.jpg (68 KB)")
![Woodruff "getting some tail"[13] with the help of Dave Elsey (immediately behind Woodruff on his right).[14]](/wiki/File:Tom_Tail_Help.jpg "Tom Tail Help.jpg (78 KB)")
![Woodruff sculpting the Alien head for Aliens at Stan Winston Studio.[7]](/wiki/File:10172852_596989403754195_4652544618553454409_n.jpg "10172852 596989403754195 4652544618553454409 n.jpg (58 KB)")
![Woodruff touching up paint in the workshop at Pinewood Studios.[7]](/wiki/File:Alienpaintwoodruff.jpg "Alienpaintwoodruff.jpg (80 KB)")
![Woodruff gives a final inspection to an Alien head.[3]](/wiki/File:Photo_173_large.jpg "Photo 173 large.jpg (138 KB)")
Videos[]
See Also[]
- Bolaji Badejo — An actor who played the Alien in Alien.
- Kevin Peter Hall — An actor who played the Jungle Hunter in Predator and the City Hunter in Predator 2.
External Links[]
- Tom Woodruff, Jr. at the Internet Movie Database
- AMALGAMATED DYNAMICS, INC
- Shock Till You Drop - Interview: Amalgamated Dynamics’ Tom Woodruff, Jr.
- Strange Shapes - Strange Shapes/Monster Legacy interviews Tom Woodruff Jnr
- Tom Woodruff Jr
- Tom Woodruff Jr. interview
- Tom Woodruff, Jr. (Tom_WoodruffJr) on Twitter
References[]
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=5001670111757&set=a.1489873239030.2068648.999946608&type=1&permPage=1
- ↑ http://www.studioadi.com/filmography.php#biography
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 https://www.stanwinstonschool.com/artists/special-effects-character-creator-tom-woodruff-jr
- ↑ http://www.thetoptens.com/best-creature-performers/
- ↑ http://www.imdb.com/list/ls000564055/
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1622601957165&set=a.1443524840349.2058396.999946608&type=1&stream_ref=10
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 https://www.facebook.com/studioADl/posts/572172096233132
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 https://alienseries.wordpress.com/2014/01/16/strange-shapesmonster-legacy-interviews-tom-woodruff-jnr/
- ↑ Alec Gillis, Tom Woodruff, Jr., Chris Ayers. Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem: Inside the Monster Shop, p. 44 (2007), Design Studio Press.
- ↑ http://monsterlegacy.wordpress.com/2014/01/16/strange-shapesmonster-legacy-interview-tom-woodruff-jnr/
- ↑ https://www.avpgalaxy.net/2017/12/02/alec-gillis-tom-woodruff-talk-predator-blomkamps-alien-5/
- ↑ http://www.studioadi.com/filmography.php
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/tom.j.woodruff.5/posts/3869196400622?stream_ref=10
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=3869192400522&set=a.3869192360521.2149078.999946608&type=1&stream_ref=10