Coming from a theatrical family, his mother Delores Ross was an opera singer and his grandfather's cousin was Elizabeth Webb. In the 1960s he was a child actor in TV commercials and in 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'. He lost the part of 'Oliver' to Mark Lester, when his voice broke at the audition!After attending the Phildene Arts Academy in Chiswick, London in 1977 he began work as a technician on the West End productions 'Irene' 'Annie' and 'Beyond the Rainbow' but his desire to work in film was to dictate the direction he would go. A fascination for make-up and special effects since a youngster, he was irresistibly drawn to this area and got his big break in 1981 working for Rick Baker on 'An American Werewolf in London' he also worked as a make-up effects trainee with Christopher Tucker (Elephant Man) and for make-up artist Nick Maley.In 1996, he headed his own department as co-coordinator for the prosthetic and animatronic effects on Paramount pictures 'Event Horizon' he was Special Effects Liaison on Gerry Bruckheimer's 'Pearl Harbor' 2001.He doubled for Griffin Dunne's hand in the cinema scene in 'An American Werewolf in London' as a joke, Rick Baker suggested he kept the prosthetic appliance on when making his journey home. He did! And got horrified looks from passengers on the train.
