Steven R. Kutcher

It may be carpenter ants covering Sigourney Weaver in Copycat (1995), a swarm of African locusts in Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), giant mosquitoes in Jurassic Park (1993), a tarantula in a costume in James and the Giant Peach (1996), or stampeding spiders in Arachnophobia (1990), but the man behind the bug is Steve Kutcher. It all began with collecting fireflies in the Catskills of New York state, followed by university studies in biology and entomology. A professor recommended him for insect work in Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977). With that as the start of a specialized reputation, he landed the position of supervising entomologist in Arachnophobia (1990). From then on he has been able to make a living with his creepy-crawlies, with over 200 film, TV, and advertising jobs. Living just north of Los Angeles on the border of the Angeles National Forest, he can find his actors in the wild, only a short distance away.