Robert Legato (born 1956) is an American

visual effects supervisor In the context of film and television production, a visual effects supervisor is responsible for achieving the creative aims of the director or producers through the use of visual effects Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated as VFX) is the pr ...

, second unit director, and second unit director of photography. Raised in

Asbury Park, New Jersey Asbury Park () is a beachfront city located on the Jersey Shore in Monmouth County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 15,188, a decr ...

, Legato graduated from

Ocean Township High School Ocean Township High School (OTHS) is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in the Oakhurst section of Ocean Township, in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as the lone secondary school in the Ocean To ...

.Staff. "Shore's Robert Legato is special-effects wizard behind 'Hugo'", ''

Asbury Park Press The ''Asbury Park Press'', formerly known as the ''Shore Press'', ''Daily Press'', ''Asbury Park Daily Press'', and ''Asbury Park Evening Press'', is the third largest daily newspaper in the state of New Jersey. Established in 1879, it has been o ...

'', February 26, 2012. "Many decades later, after growing up in Asbury Park, graduating from Ocean Township High School and studying film in Santa Barbara, Calif., Legato has become the magician."

Career

He directed the 2016 film '' Eloise''. He has been nominated for five

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

and has won three. His first win was for his visual effects work on ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British ocean liner that sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 as a result of striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United States. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers a ...

'', his second was for his work on '' Hugo'' and his third for ''

The Jungle Book ''The Jungle Book'' is an 1894 collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear, though a principal character is the boy or "man-cub" Mowgli, who ...

''. In 1996, he won the

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

award for Best Achievement in Special Effects for ''

Apollo 13 Apollo 13 (April 1117, 1970) was the seventh crewed mission in the Apollo program, Apollo space program and would have been the third Moon landing. The craft was launched from Kennedy Space Center on April 11, 1970, but the landing was abort ...

'', for which he also garnered his first Academy Award nomination. In 2020, he received his fifth Academy Award nomination for Best Visual Effects for ''

The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical coming-of-age drama film directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, produced by Don Hahn, and written by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton. Produced by Walt Disney ...

''. Prior to his work in film, he was a Visual Effects Supervisor for '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' from 1987 to 1992, and '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' in 1993. His work on the ''Star Trek'' franchise earned him three

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

nominations and two wins, as well as an in-front-of-the-camera appearance on ''

Reading Rainbow ''Reading Rainbow'' is an American educational children's television series that originally aired on PBS and afterward PBS Kids from July 11, 1983 to November 10, 2006, with reruns continuing to air until August 28, 2009. 155 30-minute episodes ...

'' for an episode devoted to a behind-the-scenes look at TNG. Legato is a member of the

Directors Guild of America The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertainment guild that represents the interests of Film director, film and Television director, television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad. Founded as the Screen Dir ...

(DGA),

American Society of Cinematographers The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC), founded in Hollywood in 1919, is a cultural, educational, and professional organization that is neither a labor union nor a guild. The society was organized to advance the science and art of cinem ...

(ASC) and the Visual Effects Society (VES).

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * ** * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Legato, Robert 1956 births Living people Visual effects supervisors Best Visual Effects Academy Award winners Best Visual Effects BAFTA Award winners Place of birth missing (living people) Ocean Township High School alumni People from Asbury Park, New Jersey Primetime Emmy Award winners