David Sproxton

A founder of England's Aardman Animations, David Sproxton has been key to the company's considerable success, both at home and abroad. Sproxton, who primarily works in a producing capacity, started Aardman in 1972 with Peter Lord, and the studio worked on various projects over the years, including music videos and title sequences for films. During the 1990s, Sproxton, Lord, and fellow Aardman collaborator Nick Park achieved a new level of success with two series of beloved stop-motion shorts: "Wallace & Gromit" and "Creature Comforts," both of which won Oscar and BAFTA awards. In late 1997, Sproxton and others on the Aardman crew began production on their first feature film, "Chicken Run," which was finally released in 2000 to widespread acclaim. The movie's warm reception allowed Sproxton to move forward with two pet projects--a regular "Creature Comforts" TV show and a feature-length "Wallace & Gromit" adventure. The latter, "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit," was unveiled in 2005, followed by "Flushed Away," a CGI-animated film created in the style of Aardman's handcrafted, tactile look. Juggling various made-for-TV stop-motion productions, including "Shaun the Sheep," Sproxton also prepped another computer-animated feature, the 2011 holiday-themed movie "Arthur Christmas," an additional feather in the company's cap.