Hal Hickel, one of the greatest masters of animation and visual effects in America, winner of 1 Oscar, 2 Emmy, 1 Bafta.
Originally from Portland, Oregon, Hickel trained at the California Institute of the Arts and began his career at Will Vinton Studios as a clay animator and animatronic supervisor. After his experience at Pixar as animator of the first Toy Story, he found his definitive place in 1996 in George Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) where he quickly went from animator in "Jurassic Park: The Lost World" to lead animator in "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace", helping to give life to some of the most iconic characters in the saga.
In 2000 he was promoted to animation supervisor collaborating with visual fx legend Dennis Muren in Steven Spielberg’s "A.I. Artificial Intelligence" and then in "Star Wars: Episode II - The Clone Wars, e still in "Iron Man" and the first three chapters of the Pirates of the Caribbean saga. His work on "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man' s Chest" was awarded in 2007 with the Oscar and BAFTA for best visual effects.
His most famous works include "Pacific Rim" by Guillermo del Toro, which earned him a fifth BAFTA nomination, and the animated film "Rango", winner of the Oscar for best animation, where he worked as head of animations. Hickel has also starred in some of the epic scenes for "Warcraft" and oversaw the animation of "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story", earning prestigious Oscar, BAFTA and VES nominations. Most recently, he curated the spectacular train robbery sequence in "Solo: A Star Wars Story" and brought his talent to the two series "The Mandalorian" and "The Book of Boba Fett".