Adam Savage Biography

Fast Facts

• Received the Harvard Humanism Award with "Mythbusters" co-star Jamie Hyneman in 2010
• As a child actor, appeared as a drowning teen in the 1985 Billy Joel music video for "You're Only Human" and a teenage grocery store clerk in a Charmin toilet paper commercial
• Though he pursued an acting career at a young age, Savage decided to leave the business to work in graphic design and animation in New York, moving on to tech work in theaters in San Francisco and then special effects for films
• Quote: "One of the things about the show is that what you see is really pretty much what you get․ The progression of experiments often mirrors the series of discussions that Jamie and I, and our crew, had going in and discussing the story․"
• Employed by director George Lucas' special effects shop, Savage is known for his work as a model maker in "Star Wars: Episode I- The Phantom Menace" and "Star Wars: Episode II- Attack of the Clones․"
• Worked as an animator, graphic designer, carpenter, set designer, special effects artist and model maker in many science fiction films, including "Galaxy Quest," "Bicentennial Man," "The Matrix Reloaded," and "Space Cowboys․"
• Taught advanced model making in the department of Industrial Design at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco
• Claims his passion for building and design came about when he visited the local tire shop to have flat tires fixed and realized how easy it was to assemble and reassemble a bike
• Has a congenital condition and wears a hearing aid in his left ear
• Received an honorary degree from the University of Twente in the Netherlands for his role in the popularization of science and technology