Stephen Arthur Frears (born 20 June 1941) is an English film director.
Early life
Frears was born in
LeicesterLeicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
, England to Ruth M., a social worker, and Dr Russell E. Frears, a general practitioner and accountant. He did not find out that his mother was Jewish until he was in his late 20s. He was educated at
Gresham's SchoolGresham’s School is an independent coeducational boarding school in Holt in North Norfolk, England, a member of the HMC.The school was founded in 1555 by Sir John Gresham as a free grammar school for forty boys, following King Henry VIII's dissolution of the Augustinian priory at Beeston Regis...
, Norfolk from 1954 to 1959, and later went on to study law at
Trinity College, CambridgeTrinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
from 1960 to 1963.
Career
After graduating from Cambridge, Frears worked as an assistant director on
Morgan!Morgan! is a 1966 comedy film made by the British Lion Films Corporation...
(1966) and
if.... (1968), but most of his early directing career was spent in television mainly for the BBC, but also for the commercial sector. He contributed to several high profile anthology series such as the
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's
Play for TodayPlay for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted...
, and produced a series of
Alan BennettAlan Bennett is a British playwright, screenwriter, actor and author. Born in Leeds, he attended Oxford University where he studied history and performed with The Oxford Revue. He stayed to teach and research mediaeval history at the university for several years...
's plays for
LWTLondon Weekend Television was the name of the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties including south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Warwickshire, east Dorset and...
, taking responsibility for working in the gallery on
The Old Crowd while
Lindsay AndersonLindsay Gordon Anderson was an Indian-born, British feature film, theatre and documentary director, film critic, and leading light of the Free Cinema movement and the British New Wave...
worked with the actors.
In the mid-1980s, Frears came to international attention as an important director of British and American films. His first film was
GumshoeGumshoe is a 1971 film, and was the directorial debut of British director Stephen Frears.Written by local author Neville Smith, the film is set in Liverpool with Albert Finney playing the role of Eddie Ginley. Ginley is a bingo-caller and occasional club comedian who dreams of being a private eye...
(1971), but it was his production of the
Hanif KureishiHanif Kureishi CBE is an English playwright, screenwriter and filmmaker, novelist and short story writer. The themes of his work have touched on topics of race, nationalism, immigration, and sexuality...
screenplay
My Beautiful LaundretteMy Beautiful Laundrette is a 1985 British comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Frears from a screenplay by Hanif Kureishi. The story is set in London during the period when Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, as shown through the complex—and often comical—relationships...
for
Channel 4Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
in 1985 that unexpectedly led to his wider notice. The production, shot on 16 mm film, was released theatrically to great acclaim, and received a nomination for an Academy Award and two nominations for BAFTA Awards. In 1987, he worked with comedian
Adrian EdmondsonAdrian Charles "Ade" Edmondson is an English comedian. He is probably best known for his comedic roles in the television series The Young Ones and Bottom , for which he also wrote together with his long-time collaboration partner Rik Mayall.-Early life:Edmondson, the second of four children, was...
for
Mr Jolly Lives Next DoorMr Jolly Lives Next Door is a 1987 comedy film made for British television as part of The Comic Strip Presents... series and was originally broadcast on Channel 4.-Plot:...
, also starring
Peter CookPeter Edward Cook was an English satirist, writer and comedian. An extremely influential figure in modern British comedy, he is regarded as the leading light of the British satire boom of the 1960s. He has been described by Stephen Fry as "the funniest man who ever drew breath," although Cook's...
for a 45-minute programme from the cult series
The Comic Strip PresentsThe Comic Strip is a group of British comedians, known for their television series The Comic Strip Presents.... The core members are Adrian Edmondson, Dawn French, Rik Mayall, Nigel Planer, Peter Richardson and Jennifer Saunders, with frequent appearances by Keith Allen, Robbie Coltrane and...
. In 1985 he had also directed a Comic Strip parody of
RebeccaRebecca is a novel by Daphne du Maurier. When Rebecca was published in 1938, du Maurier became – to her great surprise – one of the most popular authors of the day. Rebecca is considered to be one of her best works...
with the usual Comic Strip ensemble.
Frears next directed another successful British film, the
Joe OrtonJohn Kingsley Orton was an English playwright.In a short but prolific career lasting from 1964 until his death, he shocked, outraged and amused audiences with his scandalous black comedies...
biopic
Prick Up Your EarsPrick Up Your Ears is a 1987 film, directed by Stephen Frears, about the playwright Joe Orton and his lover Kenneth Halliwell. The screenplay was written by Alan Bennett, based on the book by John Lahr...
(1987), another collaboration with Alan Bennett, which was followed by a second film from a
Hanif KureishiHanif Kureishi CBE is an English playwright, screenwriter and filmmaker, novelist and short story writer. The themes of his work have touched on topics of race, nationalism, immigration, and sexuality...
screenplay,
Sammy and Rosie Get LaidSammy and Rosie Get Laid is a film directed by Stephen Frears, with a screenplay by Hanif Kureishi; features Fine Young Cannibals singer Roland Gift in one of his earliest screen appearances.-Plot synopsis:...
(also 1987). The following year he made his Hollywood debut with
Dangerous LiaisonsDangerous Liaisons is a 1988 drama film based upon Christopher Hampton's play, Les liaisons dangereuses, which in turn was a theatrical adaptation of the 18th-century French novel Les Liaisons dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos....
. The film was quite successful at the box office. It received numerous nominations for Academy Awards and BAFTA Awards, and Frears himself was nominated for the
BAFTA Award for Best DirectionWinners of the BAFTA Award for Best Direction presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.-2010s:* 2010 - David Fincher – The Social Network** Tom Hooper – The King's Speech** Danny Boyle – 127 Hours...
. Frears had another critical success with
The GriftersThe Grifters is a 1990 neo-noir film directed by Stephen Frears and produced by Martin Scorsese. It stars John Cusack, Anjelica Huston and Annette Bening and is based upon The Grifters, a pulp novel by Jim Thompson.-Plot:...
(1990), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director. His film
HeroHero is a comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Frears and starring Dustin Hoffman, Geena Davis, Andy García, Chevy Chase, and Joan Cusack. It was released in the United States on October 20, 1992.-Plot:...
(1992), starring
Dustin HoffmanDustin Lee Hoffman is an American actor with a career in film, television, and theatre since 1960. He has been known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and vulnerable characters....
, was a major box office disappointment. He was also nominated for a
Razzie AwardThe 17th Golden Raspberry Awards were held on March 23, 1997 at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel to recognise the worst the movie industry had to offer in 1996...
for his direction of
Mary ReillyMary Reilly is a 1996 film directed by Stephen Frears. The movie was written by Christopher Hampton based on the novel Mary Reilly by Valerie Martin...
(1996).
Frears has since directed a number of successful films in both Britain and America, including
The Hi-Lo CountryThe Hi-Lo Country is a 1998 American Western/drama film directed by Stephen Frears, starring Billy Crudup, Woody Harrelson, Cole Hauser, Sam Elliott, Patricia Arquette, Penelope Cruz, Enrique Castillo, and Katy Jurado...
(1998),
High FidelityHigh Fidelity is a 2000 American comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Frears and starring John Cusack and the Danish actress Iben Hjejle. The film is based on the 1995 British novel of the same name by Nick Hornby, with the setting moved from London to Chicago and the name of the lead character...
(2000),
Dirty Pretty ThingsDirty Pretty Things is a 2002 film directed by Stephen Frears and written by Steven Knight, a drama about two illegal immigrants in London...
(2003) and
Mrs Henderson Presents starring
Judi DenchDame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English film, stage and television actress.Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of William Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo...
and
Bob HoskinsRobert William "Bob" Hoskins, Jr. is an English actor known for playing Cockney rough diamonds, psychopaths and gangsters, in films such as The Long Good Friday , and Mona Lisa , and lighter roles in family films such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Hook .- Early life :Hoskins was born in Bury St...
. In recent years he has also occasionally returned to directing for television, perhaps most notably
The Deal, a dramatised account of the alleged deal between
Tony BlairAnthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
and
Gordon BrownJames Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
to decide which of them should become leader of the
Labour PartyThe Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
in 1994, for
Channel 4Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
in 2003. His film,
The QueenThe Queen is a 2006 British drama film directed by Stephen Frears, written by Peter Morgan, and starring Helen Mirren as the title role, HM Queen Elizabeth II...
(2006), was nominated for the
Academy Award for Best PictureThe Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
. It achieved immense critical acclaim, box office success and awards. He received his second Academy Award nomination for his direction of the film, and
Helen MirrenDame Helen Mirren, DBE is an English actor. She has won an Academy Award for Best Actress, four SAG Awards, four BAFTAs, three Golden Globes, four Emmy Awards, and two Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Awards.-Early life and family:...
won the
Academy Award for Best ActressPerformance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
.
Frears has also directed two films based on stories by
Roddy DoyleRoddy Doyle is an Irish novelist, dramatist and screenwriter. Several of his books have been made into successful films, beginning with The Commitments in 1991. He won the Booker Prize in 1993....
,
The SnapperThe Snapper is a 1993 Irish television film which was directed by Stephen Frears and starred Tina Kellegher, Colm Meaney and Brendan Gleeson. The film is based on the novel by Irish writer Roddy Doyle, about the Rabbitte family and their domestic adventures.- Plot :Young Sharon Curley becomes...
and
The VanThe Van is a 1996 film, based on the novel by Roddy Doyle. Like The Snapper, it was directed by Stephen Frears. It was entered into the 1996 Cannes Film Festival.- Plot :...
. He holds the "David Lean Chair in Fiction Direction" from the
National Film and Television SchoolThe National Film and Television School was established in 1971 and is based at Beaconsfield Studios in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, and it is located close to Pinewood Studios.-History:...
in Beaconsfield, England where he teaches frequently.
Personal life
Frears currently lives in London with his wife, the painter Anne Rothenstein, and his two younger children Frankie and Lola. He also has two children, Sam and Will (a stage and film director), from his previous marriage to
Mary-Kay WilmersMary-Kay Wilmers is an editor and journalist who has been the editor of the London Review of Books since 1992.-Family and education:...
.
Early in his career he made a programme featuring the band
The ScaffoldThe Scaffold were a comedy, poetry and music trio from Liverpool, England, consisting of Mike McGear , Roger McGough and John Gorman.-Career:...
and is name checked in their hit song, "
Lily the Pink"Lily the Pink" is a modification of the older folk song "The Ballad of Lydia Pinkham", and the modifications were not extensively due to The Scaffold - for example a similar version was the unofficial regimental song of the Royal Tank Corps, at the end of World War II."Lily the Pink" was a...
".
Awards
- 1982: Won BAFTA TV Award
The British Academy Television Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts . They have been awarded annually since 1954, and are analogous to the Emmy Awards in the United States.-Background:...
for best Single Play BBC2 Playhouse: Going Gently (#7.27)
- 1989: Won César Award for Best Foreign Film
This is the list of winners and nominees of the César Award for Best Foreign Film .-1970s:-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:...
for Dangerous LiaisonsDangerous Liaisons is a 1988 drama film based upon Christopher Hampton's play, Les liaisons dangereuses, which in turn was a theatrical adaptation of the 18th-century French novel Les Liaisons dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos....
- 1990: Nominated for Academy Award for Best Director for The Grifters
The Grifters is a 1990 neo-noir film directed by Stephen Frears and produced by Martin Scorsese. It stars John Cusack, Anjelica Huston and Annette Bening and is based upon The Grifters, a pulp novel by Jim Thompson.-Plot:...
- 1995: Won Goya Award for Best European Film
The Goya Award for Best European Film is one of the Goya Awards, Spain's principal national film awards.-1990s:-2000s:-Awards by nation:-External links:**...
for The SnapperThe Snapper is a 1993 Irish television film which was directed by Stephen Frears and starred Tina Kellegher, Colm Meaney and Brendan Gleeson. The film is based on the novel by Irish writer Roddy Doyle, about the Rabbitte family and their domestic adventures.- Plot :Young Sharon Curley becomes...
- 1996: Nominated for Razzie Award for Worst Director
The Razzie Award for Worst Director is an award presented at the annual Golden Raspberry Awards to the worst director of the previous year. The following is a list of nominees and recipients of that award, along with the film for which they were nominated....
for Mary ReillyMary Reilly is a 1996 film directed by Stephen Frears. The movie was written by Christopher Hampton based on the novel Mary Reilly by Valerie Martin...
- 2003: Won BAFTA TV Awards
The 2004 British Academy Television Awards were held on Sunday 18 April at the Grosvenor House Hotel in Park Lane, London. The ceremony was broadcast on the ITV Network, and hosted by television presenter Davina McCall.-Winners:*Best Actor...
for Best Single Drama for The Deal
- 2006: Nominated for Academy Award for Best Director for The Queen
The Queen is a 2006 British drama film directed by Stephen Frears, written by Peter Morgan, and starring Helen Mirren as the title role, HM Queen Elizabeth II...
- 2007: Won Goya Award for Best European Film
The Goya Award for Best European Film is one of the Goya Awards, Spain's principal national film awards.-1990s:-2000s:-Awards by nation:-External links:**...
for The Queen
- 2009: Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
The Ordre des Arts et des Lettres is an Order of France, established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture, and confirmed as part of the Ordre national du Mérite by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963...
Feature Films
- Gumshoe
Gumshoe is a 1971 film, and was the directorial debut of British director Stephen Frears.Written by local author Neville Smith, the film is set in Liverpool with Albert Finney playing the role of Eddie Ginley. Ginley is a bingo-caller and occasional club comedian who dreams of being a private eye...
(1971)
- Bloody Kids
Bloody Kids is a British television film written by Stephen Poliakoff and directed by Stephen Frears, made by Black Lion Films for ATV, and first shown on ITV on 22 March 1980.-Cast:...
(1979)
- A Change of Seasons
A Change of Seasons is a 1980 American dramedy film directed by Stephen Frears. It stars Anthony Hopkins, Shirley MacLaine and Bo Derek.-Plot:...
(1980)
- The Hit (1984)
- My Beautiful Laundrette
My Beautiful Laundrette is a 1985 British comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Frears from a screenplay by Hanif Kureishi. The story is set in London during the period when Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, as shown through the complex—and often comical—relationships...
(1985)
- Prick Up Your Ears
Prick Up Your Ears is a 1987 film, directed by Stephen Frears, about the playwright Joe Orton and his lover Kenneth Halliwell. The screenplay was written by Alan Bennett, based on the book by John Lahr...
(1987)
- Mr Jolly Lives Next Door
Mr Jolly Lives Next Door is a 1987 comedy film made for British television as part of The Comic Strip Presents... series and was originally broadcast on Channel 4.-Plot:...
(1987)
- Sammy and Rosie Get Laid
Sammy and Rosie Get Laid is a film directed by Stephen Frears, with a screenplay by Hanif Kureishi; features Fine Young Cannibals singer Roland Gift in one of his earliest screen appearances.-Plot synopsis:...
(1987)
- Dangerous Liaisons
Dangerous Liaisons is a 1988 drama film based upon Christopher Hampton's play, Les liaisons dangereuses, which in turn was a theatrical adaptation of the 18th-century French novel Les Liaisons dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos....
(1988)
- The Grifters
The Grifters is a 1990 neo-noir film directed by Stephen Frears and produced by Martin Scorsese. It stars John Cusack, Anjelica Huston and Annette Bening and is based upon The Grifters, a pulp novel by Jim Thompson.-Plot:...
(1990)
- Hero
Hero is a comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Frears and starring Dustin Hoffman, Geena Davis, Andy García, Chevy Chase, and Joan Cusack. It was released in the United States on October 20, 1992.-Plot:...
(1992)
- Mary Reilly
Mary Reilly is a 1996 film directed by Stephen Frears. The movie was written by Christopher Hampton based on the novel Mary Reilly by Valerie Martin...
(1996)
- The Van
The Van is a 1996 film, based on the novel by Roddy Doyle. Like The Snapper, it was directed by Stephen Frears. It was entered into the 1996 Cannes Film Festival.- Plot :...
(1996)
- The Hi-Lo Country
The Hi-Lo Country is a 1998 American Western/drama film directed by Stephen Frears, starring Billy Crudup, Woody Harrelson, Cole Hauser, Sam Elliott, Patricia Arquette, Penelope Cruz, Enrique Castillo, and Katy Jurado...
(1998)
- High Fidelity
High Fidelity is a 2000 American comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Frears and starring John Cusack and the Danish actress Iben Hjejle. The film is based on the 1995 British novel of the same name by Nick Hornby, with the setting moved from London to Chicago and the name of the lead character...
(2000)
- Liam (2000)
- Dirty Pretty Things
Dirty Pretty Things is a 2002 film directed by Stephen Frears and written by Steven Knight, a drama about two illegal immigrants in London...
(2002)
- Mrs Henderson Presents (2005)
- The Queen
The Queen is a 2006 British drama film directed by Stephen Frears, written by Peter Morgan, and starring Helen Mirren as the title role, HM Queen Elizabeth II...
(2006)
- Cheri (2009)
- Tamara Drewe
Tamara Drewe is a 2010 comedy film directed by Stephen Frears.The screenplay was written by Moira Buffini, based on the newspaper comic strip of the same name written by Posy Simmonds...
(2010)
- Lay the Favorite
Lay the Favorite is an upcoming crime-comedy film. Based on Beth Raymer's memoir of the same title, the film follows a young, free-spirited woman as she journeys through the legal and illegal world of sports gambling.-Cast:...
(2012)
Television
- Three Men in a Boat (1975)
- Afternoon Off
Afternoon Off is a 1979 television play by Alan Bennett. Broadcast under the umbrella title Six Plays by Alan Bennett it was produced for London Weekend Television and directed by Stephen Frears...
(1979)
- One Fine Day (1979)
- Walter and June (1983)
- Saigon: Year of the Cat (1983)
- December Flower
December Flower is a British single drama first broadcast at Christmas 1984. It featured the first acting appearance for 17 years by Bryan Forbes.-Plot synopsis:Newly widowed Etta Marsh goes to visit her elderly Aunt, Mary Grey, whom she has never met...
(1984)
- The Snapper
The Snapper is a 1993 Irish television film which was directed by Stephen Frears and starred Tina Kellegher, Colm Meaney and Brendan Gleeson. The film is based on the novel by Irish writer Roddy Doyle, about the Rabbitte family and their domestic adventures.- Plot :Young Sharon Curley becomes...
(1993)
- Fail Safe (2000)
- The Deal (2003)
External links