Toby Froud

Early life

Froud was born in 1984 in London, to English painter Brian Froud and American puppet-maker Wendy Froud. His maternal grandfather was the German-American sculptor Walter Midener (1912–1998), and his maternal grandmother was Margaret "Peggy" Midener (née Mackenzie; 1925–2016), a painter and collage artist in Michigan.

His parents met in 1978 while working on preproduction for the 1982 Jim Henson film The Dark Crystal, for which Brian was the conceptual designer and Wendy a puppet fabricator. They married in 1980. Froud was born during preproduction of his parents' second film with Henson, Labyrinth (released in 1986), and at the age of one he was featured in the film as the baby who is wished away to the Goblin King by his older sister Sarah. The name of the baby in the script had originally been Freddie, but was changed to Toby so as not to confuse Froud. Due to Labyrinths popularity Froud has garnered a cult status and been described as one of the most famous babies in cinema and of the 1980s.

Froud was raised in Chagford, Devon, on the edge of Dartmoor. He developed an interest in puppetry from a young age due to exposure to his parents' artwork.

Career

Froud apprenticed at the Muppet Workshop in New York in 1999, and in 2004 worked at Weta Workshop in New Zealand as a sculptor, fabricator, and miniature effects artist for the 2005 films The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and King Kong. He graduated from Wimbledon School of Art in 2006 with a BA in technical arts and special effects.

In 2007 he built props and sets for the British children's television show What's Your News?, and created masks and puppets for the London theatre productions of Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella. Michael Curry Design Inc. in Portland, Oregon hired Froud in 2009 as a puppet fabricator and video artist on several productions, including Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour.

In 2010 Froud worked for Legacy Effects in San Fernando, California as a fabricator on the film Cowboys & Aliens. Since 2010, Froud has worked for the stop-motion animation studio Laika in Portland, sculpting and fabricating puppets for the studio's films ParaNorman (2012), The Boxtrolls (2014), Kubo and the Two Strings (2016) and Missing Link (2019).

Froud established the production company Stripey Pajama Productions, named for the outfit he wore as the baby in Labyrinth. He wrote and directed the 2014 fantasy short film Lessons Learned, produced by Heather Henson's company IBEX Puppetry for its Handmade Puppet Dreams series.

He served as a creature designer on the 2016 film I Am Not a Serial Killer, and alongside Heather Henson was executive producer of the 2017 film Yamasong: March of the Hollows.

Froud spent two years serving as design supervisor on the 2019 streaming television series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, a prequel to The Dark Crystal, and in 2019 he began work as a puppet sculptor on the Guillermo del Toro film Pinocchio.

Performing arts

Froud's performance skills include stiltwalking and fire juggling. He performed in various productions with William Todd-Jones and music group Daughters of Elvin. He puppeteered as the opening act for Scissor Sisters at the 2005 Brit Awards, and has performed at Faerieworlds. As of 2007 and 2011, Froud was working as a stilt-walker and dancing bear with a troupe touring throughout England.

Personal life

Froud is married and has a son, Sebastian. He resides in Portland, Oregon.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards

References

References

1. (2 September 2024). "Actor's page from MyMovies.it.".
2. Abraham, Molly. (6 October 1998). "Walter Midener: War hero became president of art school". [[Detroit Free Press]].
3. "Toby Froud". [[Journal of Mythic Arts]].
4. Russel, Erica. (1 July 2017). "Brian Froud: The Real Goblin King".
5. (2016). "Labyrinth: The Ultimate Visual History". Titan Books Ltd.
6. (5 December 1989). "Family displays art at McCune". [[Petoskey News-Review]].
7. Walsh, Kathleen. (3 November 2017). "Here's What Toby From 'Labyrinth' Looks Like IRL Now That He's All Grown Up". [[Bustle Digital Group]].
8. Lampert, Nicole. (27 August 2019). "Puppet masters". C21Media.
9. (10 September 2014). "The glamour of Hollywood comes to Dartmoor town".
10. Nuth, Grace. (25 November 2019). "Toby Froud and The Dark Crystal".
11. Bradley, Bill. (22 September 2016). "30 Years Later, The Baby From 'Labyrinth' Is Now A Real-Life Goblin King".
12. (2019). "[[The Crystal Calls – Making The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance]]". Definitive Film.
13. Coles, Diana Murphy. (29 October 1999). "The darker side of ...fairy tales". [[Fort Collins Coloradoan]].
14. ShortList Team. (8 January 2016). "Famous Movie Babies: Where Are They Now?".
15. (2011). "Bio of Brian, Wendy & Toby Froud".
16. (28 November 2011). "The Art of the Frouds at Nafe Katter Theater". [[University of Connecticut]].
17. (12 June 2014). ""LESSONS LEARNED" The Next Generation of Henson and Froud to Premier Puppet Film at Hollywood Theatre". Oregon Film.
18. Scott, Aaron. (19 June 2014). "Toby, the Baby from Labyrinth, Grows Up to Be a Goblin King — in Portland".
19. Pirnia, Garin. (9 September 2019). "Dark Crystal: The Age of Resistance's Design Supervisor Was Also the Baby in Labyrinth".
20. Scott, Aaron. (23 June 2014). "Toby Froud's New Puppet Film Returns Us to the Magical World of 'Labyrinth' and 'The Dark Crystal'".
21. (3 March 2015). ""I AM NOT A SERIAL KILLER" gets rolling with Christopher Lloyd et al.". [[Fangoria]].
22. (5 May 2015). "Watch the Trailer for Puppet Epic Yamasong: March of the Hollows".
23. Bellwoar, Rachel. (16 April 2019). "Movie Review – Yamasong: March of the Hollows (2017)".
24. "Toby Froud". [[The Jim Henson Company]].
25. Phillips, Patrick. (13 May 2020). "What happened to the baby from Labyrinth?".
26. The Newsroom. (5 May 2007). "What's happened to...Toby Froud?". [[JPIMedia]].
27. (27 January 2009). "Faerieworld enchants Eugene with unique charm".
28. Solan, Colin. (9 November 2011). "NYC – World of Froud Panel".
29. "Obituary for Margaret Peggy Midener".
30. Liu, Jonathan H.. (15 July 2013). "GeekDad Interview: Toby Froud on Lessons Learned".
31. (29 September 2014). "2014 Film Festival Awards".
32. "2014 FilmQuest".
33. "6th Annual Award Winners".
34. Huff, Lauren. (29 January 2020). "The Lion King reigns at 2020 Visual Effects Society Awards".