Greg Nicotero
Nicotero atGalaxyCon New Orleans in 2025
Born	Gregory Nicotero (1963-03-15)March 15, 1963 (age 62) Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania, U.S.
Occupations	Director SFX Artist Producer
Years active	1985–present[1]
Known for	The Walking Dead
Relatives	Frank Nicotero (cousin)

Gregory Nicotero (born March 15, 1963) is an Americanspecial make-up effects creator, television producer, and director. His first major job in special effects makeup was on theGeorge A. Romero filmDay of the Dead (1985), under the tutelage of Romero and make-up effects veteranTom Savini.

In 1988, along withRobert Kurtzman andHoward Berger, he formedKNB EFX Group, a special make-up effects studio which has gone on to work on over 400 film and television projects. KNB has won numerous awards, including anEmmy Award in 2001 for their work on the 2000Sci Fi ChannelminiseriesFrank Herbert's Dune^[2] and anAcademy Award in 2006 for achievement in makeup forThe Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.^[3]

He served as an senior producer/executive producer, special make-up effects supervisor, and primary director on theAMC TV seriesThe Walking Dead^[4] andFear the Walking Dead.^[5] Nicotero has directed 37 episodes ofThe Walking Dead and is the creator of thewebseriesThe Walking Dead: Webisodes.^[6]

Nicotero claims he began taking an interest in special effects after viewing the filmJaws. He explains: "I kept thinking 'How the hell did they do that?! How'd they build a big giant shark that could eat people?!' So, between that movie,The Exorcist,Planet of the Apes, and of course all of theUniversal horror movies [...] I thinkJaws and then laterDawn of the Dead were pretty much the two movies that did it for me."^[7] Nicotero began his career working inPittsburgh,Pennsylvania, learning the trade ofspecial make-up effects, also known as prosthetic makeup, fromTom Savini, an award-winningspecial effects andmakeup artist,^[8] and helping on films by directorGeorge A. Romero.

While working on the 1985 Romero filmDay of the Dead, he metHoward Berger, who would become one of his partners at KNB EFX Group. Nicotero relocated toHollywood^[9] and moved in with Berger andRobert Kurtzman.^[10]

He later worked as FX artist on the 2010 filmPredators^[11] and created a classic predator figure for the film.^[12]

Nicotero worked as special make-up effects supervisor, co-executive producer and occasional director for the TV seriesThe Walking Dead, as well as acting in a few uncredited cameos.^[13] He was atSan Diego Comic-Con for the show.^[14] He was a guest onTalking Dead on March 24, 2013,^[15] October 12, 2014, February 8, 2015, and February 14, 2016. He also supervises the make-up effects forFear the Walking Dead.^[16]

In 2011, Nicotero was interviewed for the 2012 zombie special effects book "Blood Splatter: A Guide to Cinematic Zombie Violence, Gore and Special Effects" by authorCraig W. Chenery.^[17]

He was a guest on theMythBusters Zombie Special on October 17, 2013.^[18]

He designed a Leatherface skin for the 2023 game -The Texas Chain Saw Massacre that bears his name, known as "Nicotero Leatherface". It was released October 24, 2023.

In 2025, Nicotero developed and hosted the reality television showGuts & Glory onShudder.^[19]

• The Walking Dead
  • 1.3 "Tell It to the Frogs" (uncredited) as Walker Eating Deer
  • 1.4 "Vatos" (uncredited) as Walker bitingAmy
  • 3.9 "The Suicide King" (uncredited) as Walker in Woodbury
  • 6.3 "Thank You" (uncredited) as Walker in herd
  • 11.24 "Rest in Peace" (uncredited) as Walker in final scene before epilogue
• Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th (2013) (Documentary film) as Himself
• The Grey (2011) as Duke Chavis
• Piranha 3D (2010) as Boat Captain
• His Name Was Jason: 30 Years of Friday the 13th (2009) (Documentary film) as Himself
• Inglourious Basterds (2009) (uncredited) as Gestapo Major
• Gingerdead Man 2: Passion of the Crust (2008) as Makeup Effects Guy #3
• Diary of the Dead (2008) as Zombie Surgeon
• Cemetery Gates (2006) as Stoner Dude Michael
• The Hills Have Eyes (2006) as Cyst
• Land of the Dead (2005) as Bridgekeeper Zombie
• Cursed (2005) (uncredited) as Man pushing Dracula's coffin
• House on Haunted Hill (1999) (uncredited) as Rollercoaster technician
• From Dusk till Dawn (1996) as Sex Machine's Buddy
• The Demolitionist (1995) as Elevator Punk
• Body Bags (1993) (TV) as Man with Dog
• Intruder (1989) as Townie in Car
• Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988) (uncredited) as Guy in Gas Station
• Night of the Creeps (1986) (uncredited) as Extra
• Day of the Dead (1985) as Johnson

• The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon (2024)
  • 2.01 "La Gentillesse des Étrangers"
• The Walking Dead (2011–2022) (37 episodes)
  • 2.11 "Judge, Jury, Executioner"
  • 3.05 "Say the Word"
  • 3.11 "I Ain't a Judas"
  • 3.15 "This Sorrowful Life"
  • 4.01 "30 Days Without an Accident"
  • 4.09 "After"
  • 4.15 "Us"
  • 5.01 "No Sanctuary"
  • 5.09 "What Happened and What's Going On"
  • 5.12 "Remember"
  • 5.16 "Conquer"
  • 6.01 "First Time Again"
  • 6.09 "No Way Out"
  • 6.12 "Not Tomorrow Yet"
  • 6.16 "Last Day on Earth"
  • 7.01 "The Day Will Come When You Won't Be"
  • 7.02 "The Well"
  • 7.09 "Rock in the Road"
  • 7.12 "Say Yes"
  • 7.16 "The First Day of the Rest of Your Life"
  • 8.01 "Mercy"
  • 8.03 "Monsters"
  • 8.09 "Honor"
  • 8.12 "The Key"
  • 8.16 "Wrath"
  • 9.01 "A New Beginning"
  • 9.05 "What Comes After"
  • 9.09 "Adaptation"
  • 9.16 "The Storm"
  • 10.01 "Lines We Cross"
  • 10.02 "We Are the End of the World"
  • 10.12 "Walk with Us"
  • 10.16 "A Certain Doom"
  • 11.05 "Out of the Ashes"
  • 11.06 "On the Inside"
  • 11.17 "Lockdown"
  • 11.24 "Rest in Peace"
• The Walking Dead: The Oath (2013) (3 webisodes)
• The Walking Dead: Cold Storage (2012) (4 webisodes)
• The Walking Dead: Torn Apart (2011) (6 webisodes)
• The United Monster Talent Agency (2010) (short film)

Wikimedia Commons has media related toGreg Nicotero.

• Greg Nicotero atIMDb
• Interview with Nicotero
• FanGirl Magazine Interview Pt 1^{[permanent dead link]}
• FanGirl Magazine Interview Pt 2
• HorrorHound Convention Report
• Greg Nicotero at FEARnet

• 1963 births
• Living people
• American male film actors
• American television directors
• American make-up artists
• Animatronic engineers
• Best Makeup BAFTA Award winners
• Primetime Emmy Award winners
• Male actors from Pittsburgh
• Sewickley Academy alumni
• American special effects people
• Writers Guild of America Award winners

• Webarchive template wayback links
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Articles with hCards
• Commons category link from Wikidata
• All articles with dead external links
• Articles with dead external links from October 2017
• Articles with permanently dead external links