Tory Belleci is a filmmaker and model maker. Born Salvatore Paul Belleci on October 30, 1970 in Monterey, California, he took an interest in working with fire and explosives from an early age. He worked his way to creating a device that he could use without getting arresting due to causing fire at home and in the neighbourhood.

Belleci graduated from San Francisco State University film school in 1994. Right after, he began working with Jamie Hyneman as a stage manager, running errands and cleaning the shop but soon climbed up the ranks. After a few years, he worked at Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) as a model builder, sculptor, and painter, lasting there for eight years. His works in building models can be seen in Star Wars: Episode 1 -The Phantom Menace and Star Wars: Episode 2 - Attack of the Clones, and his special effects work in in Starship Troopers, Sphere, Galaxy Quest, Bicentennial Man, Terminator 3, The Matrix, The Matrix Reloaded and Van Helsing.

Belleci is also a writer and director of his own short films, including the 1999 short Sandtropper. It was played at the Slamdance Film Festival and was also aired on the Sci-Fi Channel.

In 2003, Belleci started working for MythBusters on Discovery Channel. He was doing behind the scenes for the show and was featured as a part of the build team on its second season. He received an on-screen credit during the third season of the show. He was persuaded by fellow ILM veteran Grant Imahara in 2005 to join the show after the departure of original cast member Scottie Chapman.