John Blakeley

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John Blakeley (born January 19, 1946 in Blackpool, UK) is a sculptor and special effects artist who has worked in the film industry for over 20 years. Classically trained in London, Carrara and Athens, John Blakeley worked as an illustrator, stone carver and portrait sculptor before working on his first film, Greystoke - The Legend of Tarzan. Working alongside special effects artist Rick Baker (responible for the Michael Jackson's Thriller video), John was responsible for sculpting some of the chimpanzee suits including Tarzan's mother.

After being a sculptor on Never Say Never Again (1983), Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) and Top Secret! (1984), John achieved his first Head of Department role on Little Shop of Horrors in 1986. He created the first talking Plant in the film. In 1989 John worked alongside Bruce Robinson (director of Withnail and I), designing and sculpting the talking boil in How to Get Ahead in Advertising. Later that year, John also worked for Jim Henson, creating the giant Monster for his Monster Maker TV film, part of The Jim Henson Hour series. Throughout the nineties, John continued to work in the film industry. His films included: The Witches (1990), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990), Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992), GoldenEye (1995), Muppet Treasure Island (1996) and Entrapment (1999).

In 2000, he made his acting debut in Quills (2000), playing Napoleon's Court Sculptor. He later went on to be Head of Department for both Tomb Raider films, worked on three Harry Potter films and headed up Batman Begins (2005)

Outside the film industry, John Blakeley continues to produce his own figurative sculpture and illustrations from his studio on the Isle of Wight.