Gregory Nicotero

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Lore & Background

Nicotero's influence extends across decades of genre filmmaking. KNB EFX Group won an Emmy Award in 2001 for their work on the 2000 Sci Fi Channel miniseries Frank Herbert's Dune and an Academy Award in 2006 for achievement in makeup for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. He served as a senior producer/executive producer, special make-up effects supervisor, and primary director on the AMC TV series The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead. Nicotero has directed 37 episodes of The Walking Dead and is the creator of the webseries The Walking Dead: Webisodes.

In Their Own Story

Nicotero claims he began taking an interest in special effects after viewing the film Jaws. He explains: 'I kept thinking "How the hell did they do that?! How'd they build a big giant shark that could eat people?!" So, between that movie, The Exorcist, Planet of the Apes, and of course all of the Universal horror movies [...] I think Jaws and then later Dawn of the Dead were pretty much the two movies that did it for me.' Nicotero began his career working in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, learning the trade of special make-up effects from Tom Savini and helping on films by director George A. Romero. While working on the 1985 Romero film Day of the Dead, he met Howard Berger, who would become one of his partners at KNB EFX Group.

Reader's Guide

Nicotero's career includes a wide range of notable projects. He worked as FX artist on the 2010 film Predators and created a classic predator figure for the film. He worked as special make-up effects supervisor, co-executive producer and occasional director for the TV series The Walking Dead, as well as acting in a few uncredited cameos. He was at San Diego Comic-Con for the show. He was a guest on Talking Dead on March 24, 2013, October 12, 2014, February 8, 2015, and February 14, 2016. He also supervises the make-up effects for Fear the Walking Dead. In 2011, Nicotero was interviewed for the 2012 zombie special effects book 'Blood Splatter: A Guide to Cinematic Zombie Violence, Gore and Special Effects' by author Craig W. Chenery. He was a guest on the MythBusters Zombie Special on October 17, 2013. He designed a Leatherface skin for the 2023 game - The Texas Chain Saw Massacre that bears his name, known as 'Nicotero Leatherface'. It was released October 24, 2023. In 2025, Nicotero developed and hosted the reality television show Guts & Glory on Shudder.

Did You Know?

• Nicotero's first major job in special effects makeup was on the George A. Romero film Day of the Dead (1985), under the tutelage of Romero and Tom Savini.
• In 1988, he co-founded KNB EFX Group, which has worked on over 400 film and television projects.
• KNB EFX Group won an Emmy Award in 2001 for Frank Herbert's Dune and an Academy Award in 2006 for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
• Nicotero has directed 37 episodes of The Walking Dead and created the webseries The Walking Dead: Webisodes.
• He designed a Leatherface skin for the 2023 game The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, released October 24, 2023.