Mike LeighBirth Place: Salford, Greater Manchester, England, UK Date of Birth: February 20, 1943 Heritage: British Famous for: Director of 'Life Is Sweet' (1991) Contact Mike Leigh | 
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MIKE LEIGH NEWS:
- LEIGH BROKE SECRECY RULES FOR VERA DRAKE - 04/04/2008More News...
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Secrets & Lies Background: “Given the choice of Hollywood or poking steel pins in my eyes, I'd prefer steel pins.” Mike Leigh Academy Award nominated British film director and playwright Mike Leigh made his film debut with “Bleak Moments” (1971). He also directed such offbeat films as “High Hopes” (1988), “Life Is Sweet” (1991), “Naked” (1993), “Secrets & Lies” (1996), “Career Girls” (1997), “Topsy-Turvy” (1999), “All or Nothing” (2002) and "Vera Drake" (2004). His latest film, "Happy-Go-Lucky" (2008), a contemporary comedy set in north London and starring Sally Hawkins, received positive reviews from critics. One of Britain's most renowned contemporary directors, Leigh was awarded an OBE in 1993 in his country and an Order des Artes et Lettres in 1996 in France. A RADA graduate, he became an Associate Member of RADA and Chairman of The London Film School. He was made a Fellow of the British Film Institute in recognition of his contribution to film and television culture. “I remain the guy with no script, who is very unforthcoming about what the film will be about and who won't discuss casting, which is the biggest sin of all. I will not talk about a film, even if there is a massive budget, if there are strings attached about casting.” Mike Leigh A prolific playwright, Leigh worked on "The Box Play" (1965), "My Parents Have Gone to Carlisle" (1966), "The Last Crusade of Five Little Nuns" (1966), "Individual Fruit Pies" (1968), "Glum Victoria and the Lad with Specs" (1969) "Bleak Moments" (1970, filmed in 1971), "A Rancid Pong" (1971), "Wholesome Glory" (1973), "The Jaws of Death" (1973), "Dick Whittington and his Cat" (1973), "The Silent Majority" (1974), "Babies Grow Old" (1974), "Abigail's Party" (1977), "Too Much of a Good Thing" (1979 for BBC radio), "Ecstasy" (1979), "Goose-Pimples" (1981), "Smelling a Rat" (1988), "Greek Tragedy" (1989), "It's a Great Big Shame" (1993) and "Two Thousand Years" (2005). On a more personal note, this 5' 7" film director and playwright was married to actress Alison Steadman from 1973 to 2001. They have two sons together. “I've long since stopped worrying about how I'm portrayed in the press because ultimately it's not that important. Everyone who knows me knows I do what I do with the greatest integrity.” Mike Leigh
Childhood and Family: In Salford, Greater Manchester, England, Mike Leigh was born on February 20, 1943. The grandson of a Jewish-Russian immigrant, Leigh was raised in a cultured and committed household. His father, Alfred Abraham Leigh (formerly Alfred Abraham Lieberman), met his mother, Phyllis Pauline Leigh, in 1936 in Manchester through a left-wing Zionist youth organization. Leigh won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in 1960 and studied there until 1962. He then attended the Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts, the Central School of Art and Design, and the London Film School. Leigh would later become an Associate Member of RADA and Chairman of The London Film School. He was made a Fellow of the British Film Institute in recognition of his contribution to film and television and an OBE in 1993. "In many ways my parents, in an unconscious way, wanted to be as English as possible. They went to the theater, to Stratford, to the Halle. My father only ever voted Labour. They were very bourgeois, very neurotic and very insular. When I went to Israel in 1960, we were on a kibbutz and we insisted on having a discussion about whether you could be an artist on a kibbutz. Of course, what we were dealing with was our own, unformed struggle about the whole thing, where our cultural roots were, the truth was we were European and English artists." Mike Leigh While honing in on his directing skills at East 15 Acting School, Leigh met actress Alison Steadman (born on August 26, 1946), who appeared in seven of his films and several of his plays, including “Wholesome Glory” and “Abigail's Party.” They were married on August 15, 1973, and have two sons together, Toby Leigh (born in 1978) and Leo Leigh (born in 1981). Leigh and Steadman divorced in 2001. Leigh now lives in Central London, near the British Museum.
Career: After completing his studies at RADA, Mike Leigh played tiny roles in several British films in the early 60's, including the 1963 films “West 11” and “Two Left Feet.” He also spent one year as an assistant stage manager and bit part actor in episodes of the TV series based on Simenon's books, "Maigret" (1963), starring Rupert Davies in the title role as a police detective. In 1965, Leigh served as associate director for the Midlands Arts Centre Theatre, where the first play he wrote and directed, "The Box Play," was produced. The following year, he acted at the Victora Theater and formed the Dramagraph production company with author David Halliwell to produce Halliwell's play, "Little Malcolm and His Struggle Against the Eunuchs," which he also directed. The production company went bankrupt and Leigh wrote and directed his first feature film, "Bleak Moments" (1971; aka. "Loving Moments"), an independent dramatic comedy starring Anne Raitt. The film won Leigh his first award, a Golden Leopard, at the Locarno International Film Festival. Leigh subsequently retreated to television and directed the short TV movies "The Five Minute Films" (1975), "The Permissive Society" (1975; he also wrote) and "Knock for Knock" (1976; aka "Second City Firsts: Knock for Knock"). He also wrote and directed several episodes of the TV series "Second City Firsts" and BBC’s anthology drama series "Play for Today." Additionally, he wrote and directed the radio play "Too Much of a Good Thing" (1979). During the 1980s, Leigh became the subject of the TV film "Mike Leigh Making Plays" (1982) and continued his directing work in the made-for-television movies "Meantime" (1984; starring Tim Roth, Alfred Molina, and Gary Oldman), which he also wrote, "Four Days in July" (1985), an Irish civil war comedy featuring Stephen Rea, and "The Short & Curlies" (1987), a BAFTA-nominated comedy which he also wrote and starred his wife Alison Steadman. He also wrote and directed the film "High Hopes" (1988). It won a Peter Sellers Award for Best Comedy from the Evening Standard British Film and a FIPRESCI Prize at the Venice Film Festival. Entering the new decade, Leigh was commissioned by the London Film Festival to make a new promotional trailer for the event "Moving Pictures." He also wrote and directed the ensemble film "Life Is Sweet" (1991). The film, starring Jim Broadbent, Alison Steadman, Claire Skinner, Jane Horrocks, and Timothy Spall, became Leigh's most commercially successful title at the time of its original release and received favorable reviews. It was nominated for Best Foreign Film at the Independent Spirit Awards and won Best European Film at the Bodil Awards, British Film of the Year at the London Critics Circle Film Awards and Best Film at the National Society of Film Critics Awards. In 1992, Leigh directed the segment "A Sense of History" of the documentary "Two Mikes Don't Make a Wright.” The next year, he wrote and directed "Naked" (1993; aka. "Mike Leigh's Naked"). The film won Best International Film at the Cinéfest, Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival, and the Metro Media Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. Leigh had a hit in the U.S. in 1996 with "Secrets & Lies," a dramatic comedy about a successful African-American woman (played by Marianne Jean-Baptiste) who discovers that her birth mother is a lower-class white woman (played by Brenda Blethyn). Although Leigh is credited with writing the screenplay, most of the performances were actually improvised. The film was a critical success and was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Actress in a Leading Role (for Brenda Blethyn), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (for Marianne Jean-Baptiste), Best Director, Best Picture and Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen. It also won the 1996 Palme d'Or and Best Actress (for Brenda Blethyn) awards at the Cannes Film Festival, and Golden Globe and BAFTA Best Actress awards. Leigh then helmed "Career Girls" (1997). The film won a Silver Spike at that year's Valladolid International Film Festival. Two years later, Leigh directed "Topsy-Turvy" (1999). Although the film was not released widely, it received favorable reviews, a number of film festival awards and two design Academy Awards. While considered an artistic success, the singing performances in the film were faulted by some critics as Leigh cast actors who did their own singing. The film was named Best Picture of 1999 by both the New York Film Critics Circle and the National Society of Film Critics. In 2002, Leigh wrote and directed "All or Nothing," a contemporary drama starring Timothy Spall and Lesley Manville. Typical of Leigh's work, the film was set in present-day London, and revolves around three working-class families and the depiction of their everyday lives. It was well-received by critics and audiences alike and won the London Film Critics Circle Award for Best British Film of the Year. Leigh was also nominated for Best Director at the European Film Awards. “My tragedy as a filmmaker now is that there is a very limited ceiling on the amount of money anyone will give me to make a film because they don't know what it's going to be about and because I won't use stars and because there isn't a script. And I really passionately want to have the resources to paint on a much bigger canvas.” Mike Leigh Leigh then joined several other British directors to work on the collection of "Cinema16: British Short Films" (2003; V). Afterward, he directed Imelda Staunton in "Vera Drake" (2004). The film was nominated for three Academy Awards (one for Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay) and won multiple BAFTAs (for Best Director, Best Actress in a Leading Role and Costume Design). On April 18, 2008, Leigh released "Happy-Go-Lucky," a contemporary comedy set in north London and starring Sally Hawkins. It received positive reviews from critics and won the Norwegian International Film Festival Most Enjoyable Film (Theatre Owners) - Bringer of Joy Award and the Pula Film Festival's Golden Arena for Best Director – Foreign. It was also nominated for a Golden Berlin Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival. The film opened nationally on October 10, 2008. A prolific playwright, Leigh's work includes "My Parents Have Gone to Carlisle" (1966), "The Last Crusade of Five Little Nuns" (1966), "Individual Fruit Pies" (1968), "Glum Victoria and the Lad with Specs" (1969) "Bleak Moments" (1970, filmed in 1971), "A Rancid Pong" (1971), "Wholesome Glory" (1973), "The Jaws of Death" (1973), "Dick Whittington and his Cat" (1973), "The Silent Majority" (1974), "Babies Grow Old" (1974), "Abigail's Party" (1977), "Too Much of a Good Thing" (1979), "Ecstasy" (1979), "Goose-Pimples" (1981), "Smelling a Rat" (1988), "Greek Tragedy" (1989), "It's a Great Big Shame" (1993), and "Two Thousand Years" (2005). “In terms of the way I do it and the things I try to say, there is absolutely no distinction between film and theater. There was a long period in the 1970s when I alternated between plays and films. But the real point is that I am much happier making films. Theater is fine when you do it, but film is my natural habitat.” Mike Leigh
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