Toby Froud on growing up in the Labyrinth legacy and working with his parents

Toby Froud, 41, who first appeared as baby Toby in Jim Henson’s Labyrinth, tells People he now works alongside his parents and is carrying forward the family’s artistic legacy. From the moment he was born, Froud was immersed in a world of imagination and craftsmanship: his father Brian, 79, created the distinctive fantasy artwork behind films like The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth, and his mother Wendy, 70, was a sculptor and puppeteer who worked on Yoda for The Empire Strikes Back.

At 18 months he was cast as baby Toby after the filmmaker asked the Frouds, who were already working on the film, if their infant could step into the role. "Making art and creating characters and worlds… it was always meant to be my life," he says, adding "Being an accountant was never a part of what I was going to do." He later worked with his parents on The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance and has spent the past 15 years in stop-motion animation, saying, "I love that medium because you get to literally create the world from the ground up." Froud describes a balance between honoring his parents' legacy and forging his own path — "We work as a family together now… and then I also work in my own right" — and credits them with teaching him to "be brave" and that "it's okay to fail and carry on." As Labyrinth returned to theaters Jan.

8 to Jan.

Key Topics

Culture, Toby Froud, Brian Froud, Wendy Froud, Jim Henson, Labyrinth