Tony Gardner

His first professional job was for Rick Baker on Michael Jackson's music video for the song "Thriller". Gardner appeared in the video as the first zombie to crawl out of a grave as well as the hobbling zombie whose arm falls off. His daughter Brianna Gardner appeared in Shallow Hal (2001) as Cadence, the seven-year-old burn ward patient.

He was investigated by Arizona State Police and Missing Persons Bureau for the makeup effects work designed and created for the feature film Three Kings (1999).

His work on the 2010 Danny Boyle film 127 Hours received notoriety for the amputation sequences designed, engineered, and built to recreate the actual event in extreme closeup detail. The film's pre-release screenings at several film festivals have resulted in audience members requiring medical assistance. Gardner stresses though that the desired result was accuracy and an immersion in a recreation of the experience so that the audience experiences things through Aron Ralston's eyes.