C. Andrew Nelson is an award winning artist, performer, and consultant. Andrew served from 2002 to 2004 as the Visual Effects Director for the School of Animation and Visual Effects at the prestigious Academy of Art University in San Francisco. Andrew had previously spent four years as a visual effects artist at Industrial Light & Magic. His credits at ILM include Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace , Galaxy Quest , Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle , The Perfect Storm , Jurassic Park III , The Time Machine , and Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones .
Prior to joining ILM, Andrew spent nearly six years at LucasArts Entertainment Company where he served as a visual effects supervisor. At LucasArts he helped create such popular games as Dark Forces , Rebel Assault II , Full Throttle , The Dig , Jedi Knight , Curse of Monkey Island , Masters of Teras Kasi , Shadows of the Empire , and Indiana Jones & the Infernal Machine . Andrew has worked extensively with sister companies Lucasfilm Ltd., Lucas Learning, Lucas Licensing, and THX. He is also an active member of the Visual Effects Society.
In addition to his tenure with the Lucas companies, C. Andrew Nelson is a consulting VFX supervisor and art director for some of the top effects, animation and post-production facilities in the country.
When he's not at a workstation conjuring up images for motion pictures and television or on the lecture circuit, Andrew can be found in front of the camera or behind a microphone as a performer. Andrew has appeared in numerous feature films, television series, commercials, and print ads. He has also lent his vocal talents to numerous games, animated films, and interactive multimedia projects.
Andrew is probably best known for having played the character of Darth Vader in the Special Edition re-release of the original Star Wars trilogy as well as for the Rebel Assault II and Dark Forces games from LucasArts. Andrew has been portraying Vader for Lucasfilm since 1994 for commercials, television shows, print ads, posters, magazine covers, games, and live appearances and has managed to spend more time in the official Vader costume than any other actor.
Andrew and his wife Veronica - a gifted voice actor, singer, print model, and photographer in her own right - live in the San Francisco Bay Area with their two children.
Credits
Darth Vader Appearances: (Partial List)
- Star Wars Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back: Special Edition
- Rebel Assault II (LucasArts game)
- Dark Forces (LucasArts game)
- Commercials for Kenner Toys, Taco Bell, Wal-Mart, ESPN, Cingular, M&Ms, and others
- Numerous television and live appearances
Visual Effects - Film: (Partial List)
- Star Wars Episode II – Attack of the Clones
- The Time Machine
- Jurassic Park III
- The Perfect Storm
- Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle
- Galaxy Quest
- Star Wars Episode I – The Phantom Menace
Visual Effects - Computer & Video Games: (Partial List)
- Force Commander
- Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine
- Rogue Squadron
- Star Wars: Behind the Magic
- Grim Fandango
- Mysteries of the Sith
- Shadows of the Empire
- Masters of Teras Kasi
- Curse of Monkey Island
- Jedi Knight: The Force Within
- Mortimer and the Riddles of the Medallion
- Rebel Assault II
- The Dig
- Full Throttle
- Dark Forces
Other:
- Various roles in feature films and television shows
- Much sought after voice actor for animation & games
- Long background in theater
- Former stand-up comic & magician
- The only actor to have ever officially played both Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker
- Visual Effects Director for the Academy of Art University 2002-2004
- Founder and president of Thwack Theory, a production & post-production company based in the San Francisco Bay Area
- Husband and a father of two
