NEED TO KNOW
Toby Froud is best known for a role he doesn’t perfectly remember – but one the film world has never forgotten.
As the infant Toby in the Jim Henson classic Labyrinth, Froud played the baby carried through goblin-filled corridors while David Bowie’s Jareth sang and danced around him.
Born into a family of legendary fantasy creators, Froud entered the world of entertainment just as he was learning to walk and decades later, the 41-year-old has become a living connection between generations of Labyrinth fans.
Speaking with PEOPLE ahead of the film’s 40th anniversary, Froud reflects on what it means to be part of Labyrinth, what vaguely he remembers, and what he’s learned from decades of stories told back to him.
The Jim Henson Company
For Froud, being recognized as “the baby from Labyrinth” has been a lifelong experience.
“People will come up to me and go, are you baby Toby?” he tells PEOPLE exclusively. “Or they find out who I am, and then they’re amazed at the fact that I’m now older.”
While the recognition might surprise some, Froud sees it as a testament to the film’s longevity. “It’s a wonderful thing,” he shares. “Because it shows that [Labyrinth] stood the test of time.”
Although Froud doesn’t have real memories of filming, he describes a different kind of familiarity – one rooted in how he was raised.
“I have grown up with the knowledge that I was in that movie and that I was a part of something since I can remember,” Froud explains.
While he’s often asked if he remembers being on set, his answer is more nuanced. “The truth is, no, not necessarily, but I do have visions of goblins surrounding me and being a part of my life.”
Growing up with Brian and Wendy Froud as parents meant fantasy creatures were the norm. “I grew up with goblins and fairies surrounding me my whole life,” he recalls. “Labyrinth feels normal to me. The rest of the world is weird.”
The Jim Henson Company
That normalcy, he believes, is why he appeared so calm onscreen as a baby. “I was born and I grew up in the workshop,” Froud shares. “I grew up around the creatives and puppets…so I was very at ease with them.”
For Froud, being surrounded by goblins wasn’t overwhelming – it was home. Far from being frightened, he embraced the creatures around him. “I loved the puppets, I squished their noses,” he recalls. “It was very natural.”
On set, however, managing scenes that required baby Toby to cry was a delicate process – one made possible by actress Shari Weiser, who controlled the goblin Hoggle from inside a suit.
According to the film’s puppet captain, Brian Henson – who is also the son of the Muppets creator, Jim Henson – Weiser was the ultimate “Toby whisperer.”
“When I was put in the crib and I’m crying… it’s because it wasn’t my nap time,” Froud explains. During the “Dance Magic” sequence, the sudden volume startled him.
“It was loud and it made me cry,” he says. Nevertheless, Weiser was the only presence that could calm baby Toby between takes.
Still, much of the time Froud was content, wandering the set after just learning to walk, unfazed by the elaborate production around him.
The Jim Henson Company
Today, the father of one lives in Portland, Oregon, where he has been happily working in stop-motion animation for the past 15 years, a medium he says he truly loves.
“I am currently Puppet Art Director at Shadowmachine working on several projects in development at this time,” Froud tells PEOPLE.
After training technically and exploring the wider industry, he ultimately found himself drawn back to the creature-filled, fairy-touched aesthetic he grew up with, explaining, “I came back to the Froudian style that my parents sort of created and maintain, and then I felt at home in that style.”
For him, stop motion offers a rare magic, because “you get to literally create the world from the ground up and bring characters to life that you couldn’t otherwise bring that way.”
Froud’s recent work includes major projects like The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance and Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio.
Now, with Labyrinth returning to theaters for a limited time on January 8-11, Froud believes audiences have a rare opportunity to reconnect with the film as it was meant to be experienced.
“When you get to see this film on the big screen, you get the grandeur of the world,” he says, emphasizing the tangible magic of its practical effects. “They’re not CG… one of those characters could reach through the screen and touch you.”
As for whether Froud will be attending one of the Labyrinth rereleases presented by The Jim Henson Company and Fathom Entertainment, he says, “absolutely.”
“I love every chance I get to see Labyrinth,” Froud tells PEOPLE.
