Robert Hall
In the last decade Robert Hall has become one of the most popular and prolific special effects makeup artists in Hollywood. Hall and his studio, Almost Human, have been responsible for creating some of the most horrifying and photorealistic FX work in film and television.
Hall's creatures were featured weekly the phenomenally successful cult series' Angel, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Firefly. He also did subtle aging prosthetics on S. Epatha Merkerson for HBO's Lackawanna Blues. The film was nominated for an Emmy for Best Makeup and Merkerson won Best Actress Golden Globe and Emmy Awards.
Originally born In Detroit, Hall began his career as a youngster in Alabama, buying makeup and materials at the local Wal-Mart for his friends' Halloween makeups. While his friends were out playing sports, Hall was busy messing up his face in the mirror, getting tips from horror magazines such as FANGORIA. In 1992, at the age of 18 and fed up with his job as a chicken deboner for Tyson Chicken, he traveled more than 300 miles to Selma, Alabama, where he impressed Tom Burman and talked him into hiring Hall to work as an assistant makeup effects artist on Abel Ferrara's Body Snatchers.
Hall remembers thinking, "Wow, I get paid to do this?" So with that enthusiasm and love for the craft, he continued to take risks in pursuit of his passion. With less than $100 dollars in his pocket, 19-year-old Hall packed his bags and moved to Hollywood.
He worked non-stop for other special effects makeup studios where he mastered his craft and developed his own unique style. During this time he worked for Stan Winston on such films as The Ghost and the Darkness, The Island of Dr. Moreau and The Relic.
In 1996, Hall decided it was time to step out on his own and set up his own studio. With the company's name pulled from the title of a KISS song, Almost Human special effects makeup studio was born. In the early stages of the company, Hall worked with extremely small budgets on over 30 film and TV projects for the legendary Roger Corman's Concorde Productions. He considers himself a graduate of the "Roger Corman School of Film."
Most recently Almost Human has created FX makeup for films such as Vacancy, Super Bad, Prom Night, and the Seth Rogen film Pineapple Express. Hall and Almost Human also created all of the prosthetics, makeup effects and endoskeletons for the Fox series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.
Hall has directed music videos for bands such as Drivin N' Cryin, Buckcherry, Manntis, and In This Moment.
In 2005 Hall made his writing and directorial feature film debut with Lightning Bug starring Bret Harrison (Grounded for Life, The Loop) Laura Prepon (That 70's Show), Hal Sparks (Queer As Folk), Kevin Gage (Heat), and Lucas Till (Walk The Line).
The semi-autobiographical tale won several top awards at film festivals including "Best Of Show" at the Trenton Film Festival and The George Lindsay Film Festival. It was also a "Festival Favorite" at the prestigious Philadelphia Film Fest where it broke the attendance records as the most attended film in the festival's thirteen year history. The film was distributed courtesy of Anchor Bay Entertainment/Starz Home entertainment.
Hall's sophomore directing endeavor (and his first horror film), Laid To Rest debuted theatrically in Feb 2009 from Starz/Anchor Bay. The film stars Bobbi Sue Luther (Killer Pad), Lena Headey (300), Thomas Dekker (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles), Jonathan Schaech (Prom Night), and verteran actor Ricard Lynch.