Don Austen

Donald Austen is an English puppeteer who worked in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace

Austen began working for the Jim Henson creature shop in 1986, in movies like Labyrinth and Little Shop of Horrors, where he was one of the main puppeteers, like David Alan Barclay, Sue Dacre and David Greenaway.

He became a valuable puppeteer for other blockbuster movies in the following years, such as "Santa Claus The Movie" (1985) Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) Roal Dahl's The Witches (1990) and "The Bear (L'ours)"

Austen's British TV puppeteering debut was in the irreverent cult ITV Series "Spitting Image"

He was then to join the exclusive Muppet club on the Henson factory. He would be a puppeteer for two Muppet movies: The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) and The Muppet Treasure Island (1996). His character or characters in the second one are unknown, but it is known that, in the first one, he performed both the Ghost of Christmas Present and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come.

Austen also voiced & puppeteered DJ Kat with 2000 plus "DJ KAT Show's" for SKY ONE, 200 Breakfast Shows as Earl E Bird on Channel 4's "Early Bird." He was Leprechaun Mr Sage writing & puppeteering year round for 5 years on BBC1's LIVE children's flagship Live and Kicking." And, remarkably, writing & performing Bro & Bro: The Wolves on rival ITV show What's Up Doc?

On 1999, he was hand-picked by master puppeteer Frank Oz to help him portray Yoda in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. For this complex puppet, Oz would need three helpers, including Austen, David Greenaway and Kathy Smee.

After doing this, he would then star in Jim Henson's BAFTA winning pre-school TV series The Hoobs, acting as the character Iver. He would be nominated to the Gemini Award for three consecutive years.

Since 2005, Austen could be seen year round in the LIVE weekly ITV series, Ministry of Mayhem voicing and puppeteering SCRATCH the Hyena. Again the same character for the LIVE "Holly & Stephen's Saturday Showdown. He has notched up 5 Series as puppeteer on the BBC's "Basil Brush Show" as both evil Cousin Mortimer & naughty Nephew Bingo.

Austen plays Wooly The Sheep In The Woolworths TV/radio commercials.

2006: The Hyena's gain their own GAME SHOW commission for Granada TV.