- Born
- Birth nameSalvatore Paul Belleci
- Nickname
- Tory
- Height5′ 11½″ (1.82 m)
- Before being cast away on a desert island for Amazon with Richard Hammond, Tory Belleci was best known as the daredevil on 'Mythbusters' who can build just about anything. He's hosted Science Channel's hit shows 'Pumpkin' Chunkin' and 'The Explosion Show,' Netflix's 'White Rabbit Project,' and has also starred on 'Thrill Factor' for Travel Channel. He's appeared many times on 'The Rachel Ray Show,' and 'The Late Show with Craig Ferguson' as a science entertainer. He's also appeared on 'Iron Chef' and 'Hell's Kitchen' as a celebrity judge and can be seen blowing things up on his web series 'Blow It Up!'
Tory started working in the special effects industry in 1994 after graduating from San Francisco State University's film school. For almost a decade, he worked as a model maker, sculptor, and painter at Industrial Light and Magic, building models for major Hollywood movies, including the Star Wars prequels. His models include the pod racers and The Federation battleship. Other movies he has worked on include Starship Troopers, Galaxy Quest, Terminator 3, The Matrix 2 & 3, and Van Helsing.
In 2003, Tory began work behind the scenes on Discovery Channel's 'Mythbusters,' and in the second season was featured as part of the show's build team, getting an on-screen credit by season three. In 2005, Tory convinced fellow Industrial Light and Magic veteran Grant Imahara to join the show. With fellow 'build-team' members Grant Imahara and Kari Byron, Tory became a fixture on the Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman-fronted show. 'Mythbusters' went on to become the most successful and longest-running pop-science show in TV history.
Tory also has written and directed several short films, including his short 'Sand Trooper,' which played at the Slamdance Film Festival and also aired on SyFy Channel.
- IMDb mini biography by: Amazon Studios
- Snake Dance
- Was almost arrested when he was 19 for detonating a pipe bomb at his home. The responding officer spoke with Tory and told him to find a career where could put his fascination with explosives to good use. Belleci credits this officer with setting him straight and speaks highly of him to this day.
- Belleci went on a mercy mission to Haiti following the devastating earthquake there in 2010; he went with a Christian non-profit organization called Life Giving Force. There, he visited orphanages and helped install systems providing clean water to those who were without it.
- Once made a flame thrower out of his parents' paint sprayer and nearly set his house on fire.
- One of a handful of celebrities passing through Los Angeles International Airport (1 November 2013) when a gunman opened fire killing a TSA official.
- He is one week younger than his MythBusters (2003) co-star Grant Imahara.
- When I was in high school I did a report on movie special effects and in a book I saw a picture of the Millennium Falcon in front of a bluescreen at ILM. I thought to myself, 'I want to do that someday.' It wasn't until the Episode I issue of Cinefex came out, and I found a picture of me standing by the Federation battleship in front of a bluescreen, that I remembered that childhood dream.
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