Brian Johnson
Crew
1939-06-29 · Surrey, England, UK
Brian Johncock (born 29 June 1939) is a British designer and director of film and television special effects. He changed his surname to Johnson during the 1960s. Joining the team of special effects artist Les Bowie, Johnson started his career behind the scenes for Bowie Films on productions such as On the Buses, and for Hammer Films. He is known for his special effects work on TV series including Thunderbirds (1965–66) and films including Alien (1979), for which he received the 1980 Academy Award for Best Visual Effects (shared with H. R. Giger, Carlo Rambaldi, Dennis Ayling and Nick Allder). Previously, he had built miniature spacecraft models for Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey. Johnson's work on Space: 1999 influenced the effects of the Star Wars films of the 1970s and 1980s. Impressed by his work, George Lucas visited Johnson during the production of the TV series to offer him the role of effects supervisor for the 1977 film. Having already been commissioned for the second series of Space: 1999, Johnson was unable to accept at the time. He worked on the sequel, The Empire Strikes Back (1980), whose special effects were recognised in the form of a 1981 Special Achievement Academy Award (which Johnson shared with Richard Edlund, Dennis Muren and Bruce Nicholson).
Filmography
Thunderbirds 60th Anniversary Double Bill - Trapped in the Sky / Terror in New York City
2025 · Movie
Prisoners in Space
2025 · Movie
The Eagle Obsession
2025 · Movie
2001: Creating Kubrick’s Space Odyssey
2024 · Movie
Family Vanished
2018 · Movie
Century 21 Slough
2018 · Movie
This Is Supermarionation
2014 · Movie
Filmed in Supermarionation
2014 · Movie
The Beast Within: Making Alien
2003 · Movie
2001: The Making of a Myth
2001 · Movie
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
2000 · Series
The Alien Legacy
1999 · Movie
Space Truckers
1996 · Movie
Highlander III: The Sorcerer
1994 · Movie
Their Finest Hour
1991 · Movie
Caged Fury
1990 · Movie
Slipstream
1989 · Movie
Aliens
1986 · Movie
Spies Like Us
1985 · Movie
The NeverEnding Story
1984 · Movie
Krull
1983 · Movie
The Pirates of Penzance
1983 · Movie
Journey Through the Black Sun
1982 · Movie
Countdown to Disaster
1982 · Movie
Dragonslayer
1981 · Movie
SP FX: The Empire Strikes Back
1980 · Movie
Alien Attack
1980 · Movie
The Empire Strikes Back
1980 · Movie
Alien
1979 · Movie
The Medusa Touch
1978 · Movie
Revenge of the Pink Panther
1978 · Movie
The Glitterball
1977 · Movie
The Day After Tomorrow: Into Infinity
1975 · Movie
Space: 1999
1975 · Series
When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth
1970 · Movie
Taste the Blood of Dracula
1970 · Movie
Moon Zero Two
1969 · Movie
2001: A Space Odyssey
1968 · Movie
Quatermass and the Pit
1967 · Movie
Thunderbirds: Security Hazard
1966 · Movie
Thunderbirds: The Cham-Cham
1966 · Movie
Thunderbirds: Martian Invasion
1966 · Movie
Thunderbirds: Attack of the Alligators!
1966 · Movie
Thunderbirds: Brink of Disaster
1966 · Movie
Thunderbirds: The Duchess Assignment
1966 · Movie
Thunderbirds: Move - And You're Dead
1966 · Movie
Thunderbirds: Danger at Ocean Deep
1966 · Movie
Thunderbirds: Cry Wolf
1966 · Movie
Thunderbirds: The Man from MI.5
1966 · Movie
Thunderbirds: The Imposters
1966 · Movie
Thunderbirds: City of Fire
1966 · Movie
Thunderbirds: The Mighty Atom
1965 · Movie
Thunderbirds: Vault of Death
1965 · Movie
Thunderbirds: Operation Crash-Dive
1965 · Movie
Thunderbirds: Sun Probe
1965 · Movie
Thunderbirds: The Uninvited
1965 · Movie
Thunderbirds: End of The Road
1965 · Movie
Thunderbirds: Desperate Intruder
1965 · Movie
Thunderbirds: 30 Minutes After Noon
1965 · Movie
Thunderbirds: Day of Disaster
1965 · Movie
Thunderbirds: Edge of Impact
1965 · Movie
Thunderbirds: Terror In New York City
1965 · Movie
Thunderbirds: The Perils of Penelope
1965 · Movie
Thunderbirds: Pit of Peril
1965 · Movie
Thunderbirds
1965 · Series
Thunderbirds: Trapped in the Sky
1965 · Movie
First Men in the Moon
1964 · Movie
The Kiss of the Vampire
1963 · Movie
The Phantom of the Opera
1962 · Movie
Captain Clegg
1962 · Movie
The Day the Earth Caught Fire
1961 · Movie
The Crawling Eye
1958 · Movie
Quatermass 2
1957 · Movie