Etty Stanley’s ‘Wicked’ career moves

Now working for Mark Coulier at Coulier Creatures FX after being scouted to work for Disney, we chatted to BA Film graduate Etty Stanley about her impressive resume working on Doctor Who, Snow White, The Little Mermaid, Captain Marvel, Wicked and Rings of Power, and the joy of working with her mum.  

So Etty, tell us what you’ve been up to since graduating. 

It’s been a real whirlwind since graduating. I graduated in Summer 2019 and spent the autumn saving to go travelling, which I’m so glad I did, as I was able to get a couple of months in before Covid shut down the world, and I had to make a rush back to the UK.  

After that, I managed to get a Production Assistant role on Doctor Who Series 13 and after a month was promoted to Covid Secretary. By 6 months I was running my own department as Covid Coordinator.  

This led me to be scouted by Disney, who hired me in-house as a Health and Safety Supervisor where I worked primarily on Snow White, with a couple of days on The Little Mermaid and Captain Marvel. Although this job ended up not being for me, I am still proud that after a year in the industry I was working as one of the youngest Disney supervisors in Europe. 

As I left this job in July 2022, I was keen to move away from the Covid/H&S now that the pandemic was easing and move across to Production. However, while I was searching for my next production role, the prosthetics company my partner worked for offered me a job as Prosthetics Coordinator. So, from August until November, I was Co-ordinator at BGFX on Season 2 of Rings of Power.  

While doing this, I was keeping an eye out for a production-based role, and in November 2022 I was offered a Production Secretary role on Wicked Part One and Two which I wrapped on in February 2024. This was by far the biggest job I have worked on and I was in awe of the beauty produced – even more so since they have started releasing promos.  

Although my time on Wicked was very rewarding for several reasons, it helped me realise that maybe the jobs I had always thought I wanted (in the production department) wasn’t the route I wanted to go down and instead I thrive best, when managing people and working with creatives. Which has led me to my current job…. 

That is certainly a whirlwind so what are you up to now? 

I am currently working for prosthetics designer Mark Coulier at Coulier Creatures FX as his Workshop Coordinator. I started in February, which was in the height of award season and it felt very surreal to have a new BAFTA and Oscar landing on my desk – (he won both for his work on Yorgos Lanthimos’s Poor Things). We have several projects on the go at the moment – but sadly it’s too early for me to be able to talk about them. You’ll have to ask me again in a couple of months!  

I have met some of my greatest friends through work, it’s tough but rewarding – you really do become like a family.