Grant Imahara
Grant Imahara is an American television host, electrical engineer, and roboticist. He was born on October 23, 1970 and is probably best known for his work on the popular show Myth Busters. On the show he created numerous robots that the show used to test myths. He has also done numerous other things in the subject of robots in his young life.
Early Life
Originally, Grant Imahara wanted to become a screenwriter, and almost switched to those studies while at the University of Southern California. He decided to stick with his original major, a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering. Perhaps because of his following of screenplays, he ended up with Jennifer Newman, a costume designer for plays. They have since been engaged since December 2016.
Notable Work
Right after graduation, Grant Imahara started as an engineer for THX Lucasfilms. He transitioned to the Light and Magic division of the company, where he specialized in the company’s visual effects division. During his time there, he was a part of numerous popular films, including:
- Star Wars: Episode I
- Star Wars: Episode II
- Star Wars: Episode III
- The Lost World: Jurassic Park
- Terminator 3
- Various Matrix Movies
Of all the movies he assisted in, he was credited for being the model maker. For example, in the Star Wars movies, Grant Imahara was credited for the details of R2-D2.
Perhaps what Grant Imahara is most known for is Myth Busters. Jamie Hyneman invited him on the show and ended up being the third member of the building team, replacing Scottie Chapman. He often would build robots that were needed for the shows testing and operated the electronics needed for certain myth tests.
Other work and appearances
Grant Imahara wasn’t just on Myth Busters. He is also known for his various appearances on BattleBots. The show was a contest between robot builders that tested their robots against each other in an arena environment. Imahara created a robot named Deadblow.
Imahara took on an independent project in 2010, when he created a robot sidekick for Craig Ferguson on The Late Late Show. The robots name was Geoff Peterson, and he was controlled by the comedian Josh Robert Thompson.
Currently, Grant Imahara is an advisor on the USA team that is competing against a Japanese company in a giant robot battle.
Recently, Grant Imahara made an appearance in the notorious 2015 TV movie, Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!
