Stephen FrearsBirth Place: Leicester, England, UK Date of Birth: June 20, 1941 Heritage: British Famous for: Director of 'Gumshoe' (1972) Contact Stephen Frears | 
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The Queen Background: “I never expected to become a director. It never occurred to me to come to America, to Hollywood. It's all been a wonderful accident. I'm still amazed every time I finish a film. I'm the opposite of Steven Spielberg who's obsessed about making films since he was a child. It's all come as a surprise. I'm finding my way through the dark.” Stephen Frears After working on television, British film director Stephen Frears was launched to international fame in 1985 thanks to the Hanif Kureishi scripted “My Beautiful Laundrette” (1985), which earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay and brought the director an Evening Standard British Film Award. He obtained further acclaim in the U.K. with “Prick Up Your Ears” and “Sammy and Rosie Get Laid” (both 1987) before making an auspicious American debut with the well received drama “Dangerous Liaisons” (1988), from which he nabbed a César Award. Frears took home his first Academy Award nomination for “The Grifters” (1990), starring Anjelica Huston and John Cusack. He won his second Oscar nomination for the highly praised biopic “The Queen” (2006), starring Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II. In addition to his Oscar nomination, Frears has also amassed countless honors, including the FIPRESCI Prize from the Venice Film Festival, a Chicago Film Critics Association Award, a Chicago International Film Festival Award, a London Critics Circle Film Award, a Toronto Film Critics Association Award, a Golden Globe nomination, a César nomination and a Directors Guild of America nomination. In between the films, Frears directed the films “The Snapper” (1993), “The Van” (1996), “The Hi-Lo Country” (1998), “High Fidelity” (2000), “Liam” (2000) and “Dirty Pretty Things” (2005). He shared an Emmy nomination for directing the CBS’ “Fail Safe” (2000) and won a BAFTA TV Award for “The Deal” (2003). Following “Chéri” (2009), Frears was signed on to direct “Tamara Drewe,” which is slated for a 2011 release. Frears has received many awards and was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2003 Palm Springs International Film Festival and the Career Achievement Award at the 2006 Chicago International Film Festival. Frears is the father of four. He has been married to his second wife, Anne Rothenstei, since 1992.
Childhood and Family: Stephen Arthur Frears was born on June 20, 1941, in Leicester, England. His father, Dr. Russell E. Frears, was a general practitioner and accountant. His Jewish mother, Ruth, was a social worker. Stephen attended Gresham's School in Norfolk from 1954 to 1959. He next studied law at the University of Cambridge. However, it was theater that attracted his interest and after a stint at the Royal Court Theatre in London, he began his career in the cinematic industry. Stephen has been married twice. He has two sons, Will Frears and Sam Frears, with first wife Mary-Kay Wilmers, an editor for the London Review of Books. In 1992, Stephen married his second wife Anne Rothenstein. They have one daughter, Lola Frears, and one son named Frankie Frears.
Career: At the beginning of his career, Stephen Frears joined London's Royal Court Theatre and directed “Waiting for Godot” and “Inadmissible Evidence” (both 1964). He moved to feature films in 1966 when he served as an assistant director on Karel Reis' “Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment.” He went on to become a personal assistant director to Albert Finney in Finney's directorial debut “Charlie Bubbles” (1967) and an assistant director to Lindsay Anderson for the drama “If...” (1968), which starred Malcolm McDowell. In 1968, Frears helmed a 30 minute drama for the British Film Institute's Production Board called “The Burning.” He broke into the small screen the following year when he directed episodes of the short lived series “Parkin's Patch.” Frears spent much of his time working on television during the 1970s. He directed four episodes of the British adventure series “Tom Grattan's War” (1970) and made his TV film directing debut with “A Day Out” (1972), which was his first collaboration with playwright Alan Bennett. He continued to direct TV films such as “The Cricket Match” (1973), based on a novel by A.G. Macdonell, “Daft As a Brush” (1975), “Three Men in a Boat” (1975), which was scripted by playwright Tom Stoppard, “Black Christmas” (1977), “Me! I'm Afraid of Virginia Woolf” (1978), from which he earned a BAFTA nomination for Best Single Play, “Doris and Doreen” (1978), “Afternoon Off” (1979, scripted by Bennett) and “One Fine Day” (1979). He also directed several episodes of TV series, including “Follyfoot” (4 episodes, 1971-1973), “BBC2 Playhouse” (1976), “BBC2 Play of the Week” (2 episodes, 1977-1978), “ITV Playhouse” (2 episodes, 1977-1978) and “Play for Today” (3 episodes, 1975-1979). He made his TV film producing debut with “Last Summer” (1976), which he also directed. In 1971, Frears made his feature film directing debut with “Gumshoe,” which was written by Neville Smith. He returned to the big screen eight years later when he directed “Bloody Kids” (1979), a drama starring Derrick O'Connor. In between the film projects, in 1978 the Leicester native had his first taste in front of the film cameras when he was cast in Maurice Hatton's “Long Shot,” opposite William Forsythe. In 1981, Frears gained notice for his directing job on the “BBC2 Playhouse” episode “Going Gently.” The production won four BAFTA TV Awards, including Best Single Play for Frears. The following year, he picked up a BAFTA TV nomination for Best Single Drama for his work on the TV film “Walter” (1982), a drama adapted from the 1978 novel of the same name by David Cook and starring Ian McKellen. Frears was reunited with McKellen for the TV film sequel “Walter and June” (1983), based on David Cook's novel “Winter Doves.” After the television movie “The Last Company Car” (1983), he directed Judi Dench and Frederic Forrest in the TV movie “Saigon: Year of the Cat” (1983) and picked up an additional BAFTA TV nomination in the category of Best Single Drama. He then directed Mona Washbourne, Jean Simmons and Pat Heywood in the TV movie “December Flower” (1984). Frears next cast John Hurt, Tim Roth and Terence Stamp in his thriller “The Hit” (1984). The film brought Hurt an Evening Standard British Film for Best Actor and the three actors the Best Actor Award at the 1984 Mystfest, where Frears also earned a nomination for Best Film. Frears, however, did not enjoy international success until he directed “My Beautiful Laundrette” (1985). Starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Gordon Warnecke, Saeed Jaffrey and Roshan Seth, the British movie received an Oscar nomination for Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen, among other awards and nominations. Frears took home a 1986 Evening Standard British Film for Best Film for his work on the film. After his breakthrough film, Frears was reunited with Alan Bennett for the movie “Prick Up Your Ears” (1987). An adaptation of John Lahr's 1978 book of the same title, the film earned primarily positive reviews from critics and won Best Artistic Contribution at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival, where Frears also received a Golden Palm nomination. It also picked up an Evening Standard British Film for Best Screenplay, a London Critics Circle Film's ALFS Award for Best Screenwriter of the Year and an Independent Spirit nomination for Best Foreign Film, among other nominations. The movie starred Gary Oldman, Alfred Molina, Wallace Shawn and Vanessa Redgrave. Also in 1987, Frears rejoined screenwriter Hanif Kureishi for the drama “Sammy and Rosie Get Laid.” Following his victory in Britain, Frears broke into Hollywood cinema with “Dangerous Liaisons” (1988), a drama film based on 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. Starring Glenn Close, John Malkovich, Michelle Pfeiffer, Swoosie Kurtz, Keanu Reeves, Mildred Natwick and Uma Thurman, the film received generally positive reviews from critics and did well at the box office. It was nominated for seven Oscars and won Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Costume Design and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium. Frears netted a César for Best Foreign Film, a Bodil for Best Non-European Film, a Fotogramas de Plata for Best Foreign Film, a Guild Film Award - Gold for Foreign Film, the Audience Award for Best Foreign Film and the Best Foreign Film Award at the 1990 Sant Jordi Awards. He also received a BAFTA nomination for Best Direction for his work on the film. The same year, Frears returned to British TV when he directed “Mr Jolly Lives Next Door” (1988), a comedy that was part of “The Comic Strip Presents...” series. It was his third contribution to the series after “The Bullshitters: Roll out the Gunbarrel” (1984) and “Consuela, or, the New Mrs. Saunders” (1986). Frears' reputation gained another boost in the early 1990s when he directed “The Grifters” (1990), adapted from Jim Thompson's pulp novel of the same name. Produced by Martin Scorsese, the film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival on September 14, 1990, and went on to enjoy critical success. It received Academy Award nominations for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Anjelica Huston), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Annette Bening), Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium (Donald E. Westlake) and Best Director (Frears). The film grossed over $13 million at the box office. The director resurfaced two years with his third Hollywood film, “Hero” (1992), starring Dustin Hoffman, Geena Davis and Andy Garcia. The movie, however, was a major failure at the box office. Back to U.K. after the disappointment, Frears helmed the small budget film “The Snapper” (1993), adapted by Irish writer Roddy Doyle from his 1990 novel of the same title. The film was shown at the Toronto Film Festival on September 11, 1993, where he won a People's Choice Award. It was released theatrically in the U.S. on December 3, 1993. Three years later, he was reunited with Doyle for “The Van” (1996), based on Doyle's third novel of “The Barrytown Trilogy.” It was entered into the 1996 Cannes Film Festival and earned Frears a Golden Palm nomination. Also in 1996, Frears rejoined screenwriter Christopher Hampton and actor John Malkovich for the U.S. thriller “Mary Reilly,” which starred Julia Roberts. The film received negative reviews and was a box office dud. Frears and Roberts earned Razzie nominations for Worst Director and Worst Actress, respectively. The film also earned Frears a Golden Berlin Bear nomination at the 1996 Berlin International Film Festival. 1997 found Frears serving as an executive producer on the British TV film “Beyond Fear” and co-writing and co-directing the documentary “A Personal History of British Cinema by Stephen Frears.” He revisited Hollywood films to direct Billy Crudup, Woody Harrelson, Cole Hauser, Sam Elliott, Patricia Arquette, Penelope Cruz and Enrique Castill in the movie “The Hi-Lo Country” (1998) and won a Silver Berlin Bear for Best Director and a Golden Berlin Bear nomination at the 1999 Berlin International Film Festival for the film. Entering the new millennium, Frears scored a Hollywood hit with the drama “High Fidelity” (2000), for which he was reunited with “The Grifters” star John Cusack. Loosely based on the 1995 British novel of the same name by Nick Hornby, the film received positive reviews from critics. He had another victory on his hands with the British low scale drama “Liam” (2000), written by novelist/screenwriter Jimmy McGovern. The film brought the director the OCIC Award and Golden Lion nomination at the 2000 Venice Film Festival and a Golden Spike nomination at the 2000 Valladolid International Film Festival. The same year, Frears also helmed “Fail Safe” (CBS), a televised play adapted from the Cold War novel of the same title by Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler. For his work on the film, he netted an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special and a Directors Guild of America nomination for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television. In 2002, Frears directed the British movie “Dirty Pretty Things,” which was about two illegal immigrants in London. The film starred Audrey Tautou and Chiwetel Ejiofor and was nominated for an Oscar for Best Writing, Original Screenplay (Steven Knight). It won Frears a British Independent Film for Best Director, an Evening Standard British Film for Best Film, the Sergio Trasatti Award at the Venice Film Festival and a nomination at the 2003 BAFTA Awards for the Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film. After directing the TV film “The Deal” (2003), for which he picked up a BAFTA TV Award for Best Single Drama and a Directors Guild of Great Britain for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Television Movie/Serial, Frears directed the comedy movie “Mrs Henderson Presents” (2005), where he was reunited with Judi Dench. Starring Dench as affluent British widow Laura Henderson, the film received generally positive reviews and brought the star a nomination at the 2006 Academy Awards for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role. The film earned another nomination for Best Achievement in Costume Design at the noted awards ceremony and was nominated for three Golden Globes, including Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy and Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy (Dench). For his efforts, Frears received a Hollywood World Award, a London Critics Circle Film's ALFS Award nomination for British Director of the Year, a British Independent Film nomination for Best Director, a David nomination for Best European Film and a Golden Kinnaree nomination for Best Film at the 2006 Bangkok Film Festival. In 2006, Frears gained attention for the British historical drama “The Queen.” Written by Peter Morgan and starring Helen Mirren, the film earned rave reviews from critics and brought Frears his second Oscar nomination for Best Director. He also received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Director - Motion Picture, a César nomination for Best Foreign Film, a Directors Guild of America nomination for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures, the FIPRESCI Prize-Competition and Golden Lion nomination at the 2006 Venice Film Festival, a Chicago Film Critics Association for Best Director, an Audience Choice Award at the 2006 Chicago International Film Festival, an ALFS Award for British Director of the Year, Mature Audiences, a Toronto Film Critics Association for Best Director, a Alexander Korda nomination for Best British Film at the 2007 BAFTA Awards, and many other nominations. Under his direction, Mirren picked up an Oscar for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role. At the box office, “The Queen” was a huge success. After a brief return to TV with the 2008 TV series pilot “Skip Tracer,” Frears directed Michelle Pfeiffer, Rupert Friend and Kathy Bates in the movie “Chéri,” which was released in the U.S. on June 26, 2009. Frears received a Golden Berlin Bear nomination at the 2009 Berlin International Film Festival. Frears' upcoming film, “Tamara Drewe,” will be released in 2011. The British comedy, scripted by Moira Buffini and based on a graphic novel by Posy Simmonds, will star Gemma Arterton.
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