Sonny Tilders is an Australian

animatronics Animatronics refers to mechatronic puppets. They are a modern variant of the automaton and are often used for the portrayal of characters in films and in theme park attractions. It is a multidisciplinary field integrating puppetry, anatomy a ...

artist, known for his work as creative director of the Creature Technology Company.

Works

Tilders led the team that designed and built the animatronics for ''

Walking with Dinosaurs − The Arena Spectacular ''Walking with Dinosaurs − The Arena Spectacular'' was a live adaptation of the award-winning television series ''Walking with Dinosaurs''. Like the TV series, ''The Arena Spectacular'' has to recreate dinosaurs to the point of the viewers accep ...

'', which premiered in 2007. He was also the creature-maker for the 2012 arena production of ''

How To Train Your Dragon ''How to Train Your Dragon'' (abbreviated ''HTTYD'') is an American media franchise from DreamWorks Animation and loosely based on the eponymous series of children's books by British author Cressida Cowell. It consists of three feature films: ' ...

'', produced by CTC's parent company, Global Creatures Group, and Hollywood studio DreamWorks. In 2013, he created the on-stage puppet of the title character for the musical production of ''

King Kong King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...

'', which premiered at Melbourne's Regent Theatre before moving to Broadway. At the time, it was reportedly the largest animatronic puppet ever created for a theatrical production.

Awards

In 2019, for his work on the ''King Kong'' puppet, Tilders won the

Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Puppet Design The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Puppet Design is an annual award presented by the Drama Desk in recognition of achievements in the theatre among Broadway, off-Broadway, and off-off-Broadway Off-off-Broadway theaters are smaller New York C ...

, the Outer Critics Circle Special Achievement Award, and a

Special Tony Award The Special Tony Award category includes the Lifetime Achievement Tony Award and the Special Tony Award. These are non-competitive honorary awards, and the titles have changed over the years. The Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre ...

Biography

Tilders grew up in Frankston, a southern suburb of

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, with his mother and stepfather, who were both school teachers. His biological father was the Australian blues singer and guitarist

Dutch Tilders Dutch Tilders (29 August 194123 April 2011), born Mattheus Frederikus Wilhelmus Tilders, anglicised as Matthew Tilders, was a Netherlands-born Australian blues singer-songwriter and guitarist. He performed and released material as a solo artist ...

, although Dutch was not present for most of Sonny's childhood.

References

Australian artists Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Special Tony Award recipients Drama Desk Award winners {{Australia-artist-stub