Mark Rappaport (creature Effects Artist)

Mark Rappaport (creature Effects Artist)

Mark Rappaport (born 1954) is an American special effects/makeup artist.

His main body of work is with special effects in a wide variety of films from science fiction to horror, to comedy and theater. Mark has created hyper-realistic animatronic animals including the horse used by Tom Cruise in The Last Samurai and memorable prosthetic makeup effects for 300 and I Am Legend. His company, Creature Effects, Inc.is at the leading edge of the Hollywood creature and makeup effects industry. Mr. Rappaport was born in Yokohama, Japan. At the age of three Mark’s family moved to the Napa Valley in northern California. Mark graduated high school in Napa and attended San Diego State University where he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree. Upon graduation Mark returned to Northern California and worked in law enforcement before meeting and working with Bob Hartman, a San Francisco puppeteer and street performer. Mark’s work with Bob sparked an interest in creating effects for the entertainment industry and he pursued employment at Industrial Light & Magic. At ILM he worked on feature film projects, including Innerspace and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. From ILM Mark went to work with Chris Walas and created effects for films including The Fly II and Child's Play.