John Knoll

John Knoll is the kind of figure I find endlessly compelling: the invisible engineer of cinematic wonder. As chief creative officer at Industrial Light and Magic, with an Academy Award and BAFTA for visual effects, he sits at the very top of his craft. What makes him remarkable is the fusion of engineer, programmer and artist in one mind, the same blend that helped birth the prototype of Photoshop. He never stands in front of the camera, yet audiences worldwide have gasped at images he conjured. I have always believed the people behind the curtain are the real magicians, and Knoll proves it.

Name (English)

John Knoll

Name (Japanese)

ジョン・ノール

Reading

じょん・のーる

Born

October 6, 1962 (age 63)

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Libra / Tiger

Origin

Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States

Occupation

visual effects supervisor / engineer / computer scientist / writer / programmer

High school

Huron High School

University

University of Southern California

Awards & achievements

• Saturn Awards
• 2003 Visual Effects Society Award for Outstanding Visual Effects in an Effects Driven Feature Motion Picture
• 2005 Satellite Award for Best Visual Effects
• 2006 Satellite Award for Best Visual Effects
• 2007 BAFTA Award for Best Special Visual Effects
• 2007 Academy Award for Best Visual Effects

• Wikipedia (English)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John%20Knoll
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%B8%E3%83%A7%E3%83%B3%E3%83%BB%E3%83%8E%E3%83%BC%E3%83%AB
• Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11313

Tags

• Michigan
• visual effects supervisor
• engineer
• computer scientist

Last updated

2026-06-23

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.