Peter Lord (animator)
Peter Lord (born 1953) is a British animation director and producer and a co-founder of Aardman AnimationsAardman AnimationsAardman Animations is an animation company based in Bristol, England, founded by Peter Lord and David Sproxton and known for stop-motion works such as Morph, Wallace & Gromit, Chicken Run and Shaun the Sheep. It has won four Academy Awards, and since 2018 an employee ownership trust has held a majority of its shares.Open the full entry. He created the clay character Morph with David SproxtonDavid SproxtonDavid Sproxton (born 1954) is a British producer who co-founded Aardman Animations with Peter Lord and long served as a director and secretary of the company, working on Morph and Chicken Run. In 2018 the two transferred a majority stake to an employee trust, and in 2026 he was knighted.Open the full entry, co-directed Chicken Run with Nick ParkNick ParkNick Park (Nicholas Wulstan Park) is a British stop-motion animation director, a director of Aardman Animations, and the creator of Wallace & Gromit and Shaun the Sheep. He has won four Academy Awards, for Creature Comforts, The Wrong Trousers, A Close Shave and The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.Open the full entry, received three Oscar nominations and was knighted in 2026.
Contents15 sections
Key facts
November 1953Birth
Peter Lord, full name Peter Duncan Fraser Lord, was born in November 1953 and is a British national.[1]
1976–1977Creates Morph
With David Sproxton he made Morph, a clay figure who could change shape; Morph debuted in 1977 on the BBCBBCThe BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) is the United Kingdom’s public broadcaster. Its predecessor was the British Broadcasting Company, formed in 1922, and since 1927 it has been established under a Royal Charter. It provides television, radio, and online services in the UK, is funded mainly by the television licence fee, and broadcasts worldwide in multiple languages through BBC World Service.Open the full entry children’s programme Take Hart.[2]
1991Director of Aardman
By August 31, 1991, he was a director of Aardman Animations Limited, and from December 18 that year also of Aardman Holdings Limited.[1]
1993Oscar Nomination for Adam
He was nominated for Short Film (Animated) at the 65th Academy Awards for Adam; the award went to Mona Lisa Descending a Staircase.[3]
1997Oscar Nomination for Wat’s Pig
He was nominated for Short Film (Animated) at the 69th Academy Awards for Wat’s Pig; the award went to Quest.[4]
2000Co-Directs Chicken Run with Nick Park
He co-directed Chicken Run with Nick Park and was one of its producers with Park and David Sproxton; DreamWorks SKG released it wide in the United States on June 21, 2000, and it grossed about $228 million worldwide.[5]
That December, Chicken Run received a Golden Globe nomination for best musical or comedy.[6]
June 17, 2006Appointed CBE
2012Directs The Pirates! Band of Misfits
He directed The Pirates! Band of Misfits. In an interview he said Aardman’s roughly ten-year partnership with DreamWorks had ended and that new technology made the film “really liberating to make.”[9]
The film did not become a franchise; speaking later about a sequel, he said: “It got close, but not quite close enough.”[10]
2013Oscar Nomination for The Pirates!
He was nominated for Animated Feature Film at the 85th Academy Awards for The Pirates! Band of Misfits; the award went to Brave.[11]
November 5, 2018Shares Pass to an Employee Trust
From April 6, 2016, he was registered as a person with significant control of Aardman Holdings Limited, holding more than 25% but not more than 50% of shares and votes; this ended on November 5, 2018, when Aardman Employee Ownership Trustee Limited became the controlling holder of 75% or more.[12]
January 1, 2024Steps Down as Aardman Director
On January 1, 2024, he resigned as a director of Aardman Animations Limited, Aardman Holdings Limited and several Aardman subsidiaries, remaining a director of Aardman Trustees Limited, Morph Limited and Wallace & Gromit Limited.[1]
June 2026Strikes a Commemorative Coin
In June 2026 he visited The Royal Mint to strike one of the first 50p coins marking Aardman’s 50th anniversary, saying the Mint reminded him of the Aardman studio.[13]
June 13, 2026Knighted
In the 2026 King’s Birthday Honours he was made a Knight Bachelor as co-founder and creative director of Aardman Animations, for services to the animation industry, the creative industries and charity.[14]
Related Organizations, Websites, and Public Accounts
Aardman Animations: Official website: https://www.aardman.com/ (opens in a new window)[15]
Sources
- Peter Duncan Fraser LORD (opens in a new window)
- Morph | Aardman (opens in a new window)
- The 65th Academy Awards | 1993 (opens in a new window)
- The 69th Academy Awards | 1997 (opens in a new window)
- Chicken Run (2000) (opens in a new window)
- Chicken Run Lays A Golden Globe Nom (opens in a new window)
- THE LONDON GAZETTE SATURDAY 17 JUNE 2006 SUPPLEMENT No. 1 (opens in a new window)
- THE LONDON GAZETTE SATURDAY 17 JUNE 2006 SUPPLEMENT No. 1 (opens in a new window)
- EXCL: Lord and Baynham on The Pirates! and Arthur Christmas (opens in a new window)
- Aardman Animations Co-Founders Talk ‘Early Man,’ ‘Shaun the Sheep’ and Their Swashbuckling Near-Miss (Q&A) (opens in a new window)
- The 85th Academy Awards | 2013 (opens in a new window)
- AARDMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED persons with significant control - Find and update company information - GOV.UK (opens in a new window)
- From Clay to Coin: The Royal Mint Celebates 50 Years of Aardman with a 50P (opens in a new window)
- BIRTHDAY HONOURS LIST—UNITED KINGDOM (opens in a new window)
- Home | Aardman (opens in a new window)