Biography
Stephen Arthur Frears (born 20 June 1941) is an English director and producer of film and television often depicting real life stories as well as projects that explore social class through sharply drawn characters.
Born in Leicester and educated at Gresham's School and Trinity College, Cambridge, Frears started his career working as an assistant director in theatre and film while directing numerous television plays. In 1971, he directed his first feature film, Gumshoe. After more television work, he won acclaim for the gay romance film, My Beautiful Laundrette (1985), featuring a breakout performance from a young Daniel Day-Lewis. He continued to garner praise with Prick Up Your Ears (1987), a biographical movie about British playwright Joe Orton. He followed with the American films Dangerous Liaisons (1988) and The Grifters (1990), the latter receiving an Academy Award nomination for Best Director.
In 2000, Frears adapted Nick Hornby's novel, High Fidelity, into a feature film with John Cusack, whom he had previously directed in The Grifters. In 2002, he directed the drama Dirty Pretty Things with Audrey Tautou and Chiwetel Ejiofor, which addressed the exploitation of illegal immigrant workers in London. In 2006, Frears directed The Queen, that focused on the reaction to the tragic death of Princess Diana in 1997. The film received its debut at the Venice International Film Festival to critical acclaim, with Helen Mirren eventually winning many awards for playing the title role, and Frears himself received his second Academy Award nomination for Best Director. Frears continued to work with prominent actors such as Judi Dench in the drama Philomena (2013), based on the true story of a woman searching for a child she gave up for adoption in her youth; and Meryl Streep in Florence Foster Jenkins (2016), as a delusional socialite who embarks upon a career as opera singer despite a manifest lack of vocal talent. He also reunited with Dench in Victoria and Abdul (2017), a film about the unlikely friendship between the aging Queen Victoria and her young Indian servant, Abdul Karim.
Frears is also known for his work on various television programs, including the Cold War thriller Fail Safe (2000) starring George Clooney, Richard Dreyfus, and Harvey Keitel. Frears won great acclaim for the television film The Deal (2003), about the pact made by Tony Blair and Gordon Brown revolving around the 1994 Labour Party leadership election. In 2013, Frears directed the HBO film Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight (2013), a drama involving the legal battle over Muhammad Ali's draft-dodging conviction during the Vietnam War starring Frank Langella and Christopher Plummer. He later directed the biographical BBC One/Amazon Prime miniseries A Very English Scandal (2018), in which Hugh Grant played British politician Jeremy Thorpe, and his scandal involving Norman Scott played by Ben Whishaw. His recent work in television includes the comic series State of the Union (2019) starring Rosamund Pike, and Chris O'Dowd, and the second series in 2022 starring Patricia Clarkson and Brendan Gleeson, as well as the miniseries Quiz (2020) starring Matthew Macfadyen, Sian Clifford and Michael Sheen, based on a true story about a man who was accused of cheating on the show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?.
He has received two Academy Award nominations and four Primetime Emmy Award nominations, with one win. He has received thirteen British Academy of Film and Television Arts Award nominations, winning three times. In 2003 he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Palm Springs International Film Festival. He has won numerous prizes at the Venice Film Festival including the Jaeger-LeCoultre Glory to the Filmmaker Award in 2017. In 2008, The Daily Telegraph named Frears among the 100 most influential people in British culture. In 2009 he received the Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.
Filmography
All 101
Movies 90
Director 59
Self 21
TV Shows 11
Producer 11
Narrator 2
Writter 1

Hans Zimmer: Hollywood Rebel (2022)

The Lost King (2022)

Short Cuts: Dangerous Liaisons (2021)

In The Tracks Of - Alexandre Desplat (2020)

Quiz (2020)

Revisiting The Man in the White Suit (2019)

The Loudest Voice (2019)

Memories of Lindsay Anderson (2019)

State of the Union (2019)

Seduction. Betrayal. Murder: The Making of The Grifters (2018)

A Very English Scandal (2018)

Who Killed British Cinema? (2018)

Victoria & Abdul (2017)

She's French (2017)

Judi Dench: All the World's Her Stage (2016)

Florence Foster Jenkins (2016)

Rising Damp Forever (2016)

The Program (2015)

Reflecting on My Beautiful Laundrette: A Conversation between Stephen Frears and Colin MacCabe (2015)

French Cinema Mon Amour (2015)

Night Will Fall (2014)

Henri Langlois vu par... (2014)

Philomena (2013)

Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight (2013)

Lay the Favorite (2012)

My Friend Sam: Living for the Moment (2012)

Hans Zimmer - Der Sound für Hollywood (2011)

Tamara Drewe (2010)

Once Upon a Time... 'Notorious' (2009)

Jean Charles (2009)

Great Directors (2009)

Chéri (2009)

Here’s Looking at You, Boy (2007)

The Queen (2006)

Le court des grands (2005)

Mrs. Henderson Presents (2005)

Cast & Crew: If.... (2004)

The Route V50 (2004)

Lindsay Anderson: Lucky Man? (2004)

The Deal (2003)

Forever Ealing (2002)

Dirty Pretty Things (2002)

Robert Altman in England (2002)

All About Desire: The Passionate Cinema of Pedro Almodovar (2001)

Liam (2001)

Alan Clarke: His Own Man (2000)

Fail Safe (2000)

High Fidelity (2000)

The Hi-Lo Country (1998)

Beyond Fear (1997)

Howard Hawks: American Artist (1997)

The Van (1996)

Mary Reilly (1996)

Typically British: A Personal History of British Cinema (1995)

The Snapper (1993)

Hero (1992)

Director: Alan Clarke (1991)

The Grifters (1990)

Dangerous Liaisons (1988)

Mr Jolly Lives Next Door (1988)

Sammy and Rosie Get Laid (1987)

Prick Up Your Ears (1987)

Hooray For Holyrood (1986)

Song of Experience (1986)

Shooting from the Heart: Chris Menges, Cameraman (1985)

My Beautiful Laundrette (1985)

December Flower (1984)

The Hit (1984)

Saigon: Year Of The Cat (1983)

Walter and June (1983)

The Comic Strip Presents (1982)

Walter (1982)

Going Gently (1981)

Bloody Kids (1980)

Long Distance Information (1979)

All Day on the Sands (1979)

One Fine Day (1979)

Afternoon Off (1979)

The Old Crowd (1979)

Doris and Doreen (1978)

Me! I'm Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1978)

Long Shot (1978)

A Visit from Miss Prothero (1978)

Black Christmas (1977)

Last Summer (1977)

Early Struggles (1976)

Three Men in a Boat (1975)

Sunset Across the Bay (1975)

Match of the Day (1974)

Playhouse (1974)

A Day Out (1972)

Gumshoe (1971)

Follyfoot (1971)

Incident (1971)

Play for Today (1970)

The Burning (1968)

Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment (1966)

Billy Wilder and Me

Saigon—Year of the Cat

The Palace

State of the Union
Ratings
Gallery


Information
Known forDirecting
GenderMale
Birthday1941-06-20 (81 years old)
Place of birthLeicester, United Kingdom
SpouseMary-Kay Wilmers
CitizenshipsUnited Kingdom
Also known as스티븐 프리어즈
AwardsSilver Bear for Best Director, European Film Academy Lifetime Achievement Award, Goya Awards, Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres, Berlinale Camera
This article uses material from Wikipedia.