Danny Boyle Biography

Danny Boyle (born 20 October 1956) is an English film director, producer, screenwriter and theatre director, known for his work on films such as Slumdog Millionaire, Shallow Grave, 28 Days Later, 127 Hours and Trainspotting. Boyle won numerous awards for his 2008 film Slumdog Millionaire, including the Academy Award for Best Director. Boyle was presented with the Extraordinary Contribution to Filmmaking Award at the 2008 Austin Film Festival, where he also introduced that year's AFF Audience Award Winner Slumdog Millionaire. In 2012, Boyle was the Artistic Director for Isles of Wonder, the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games. He was subsequently offered a knighthood as part of the New Year Honours List, but declined.

Early life and background

Daniel Boyle was born on 20 October 1956 in Radcliffe, Lancashire, to Irish parents from County Galway. Although he now describes himself as a "spiritual atheist", he was raised in a working-class Irish Catholic environment. Boyle was an altar boy for eight years and his mother had the priesthood in mind for him, but aged 14 he was persuaded by a priest not to transfer from school to a seminary.

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He later studied at Thornleigh Salesian College in Bolton, and studied English and Drama at Bangor University. While at university, Boyle dated the actress Frances Barber.

Boyle is a trustee of the UK-based African arts charity Dramatic Need.

He has three children, Grace, Gabriel and Catilin, with ex-girlfriend Gail Stevens.

In 2010, "The Tablet" named him as one of Britain's most influential Roman Catholics.

Career

Theatre

Upon leaving school he began his career at the Joint Stock Theatre Company, before moving onto the Royal Court Theatre in 1982 where he directed The Genius by Howard Brenton and Saved by Edward Bond. He also directed five productions for the Royal Shakespeare Company. In 2011 he directed Frankenstein for the National Theatre. This production was broadcast to cinemas as a part of National Theatre Live on 17 March 2011.

Boyle was Artistic Director for the 2012 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony in London. Over the years, Olympic Opening Ceremonies have become multi-million pound theatrical shows, which have become known for their extravagance and pageantry to celebrate the start of the largest multi-sport event in the world. The ceremony, entitled Isles of Wonder, charted aspects of British culture, including the Industrial Revolution and British contributions to literature, music, film and technology. Reception to the ceremony was generally positive, both nationally in the United Kingdom and internationally. In December 2012 it was widely reported that Boyle turned down a knighthood in the New Year Honours list. He told BBC Radio 4 "I'm very proud to be an equal citizen and I think that's what the Opening Ceremony was actually about."

Television

In 1982 Boyle started working in television as a producer for BBC Northern Ireland where he produced, amongst other TV films, Alan Clarke's controversial Elephant before becoming a director on shows such as Arise And Go Now, Not Even God Is Wise Enough, For The Greater Good, Scout and two episodes of Inspector Morse. These were Masonic Mysteries, and Cherubim and Seraphim. He was also responsible for the BBC2 series Mr. Wroe's Virgins. Danny Boyle is not to be confused with a different Daniel Boyle, who is not related, who scripted five original teleplays for Inspector Morse at about this time, and who has continued to write and adapt crime stories for television including much of the popular series Hamish Macbeth.

In between the films The Beach and 28 Days Later Boyle directed two TV movies for the BBC in 2001 " Vacuuming Completely Nude In Paradise and Strumpet. He has also appeared on Top Gear and drove the fastest wet lap at that time.

Films

Boyle's love for film began with his first viewing of Apocalypse Now:

It had eviscerated my brain, completely. I was an impressionable twenty-one-year-old guy from the sticks. My brain had not been fed and watered with great culture, you know, as art is meant to do. It had been sandblasted by the power of cinema. And that's why cinema, despite everything we try to do, it remains a young man's medium, really, in terms of audience.

The first movie Boyle directed was Shallow Grave. The film was the most commercially successful British film of 1995 and led to the production of Trainspotting, based on the novel by Irvine Welsh. Working with writer John Hodge and producer Andrew Macdonald, Shallow Grave earned Boyle the Best Newcomer Award from the 1996 London Film Critics Circle. Shallow Grave and Trainspotting caused critics to claim that Boyle had revitalised British cinema in the early 90s.

He then moved to Hollywood and sought a production deal with a major US studio. He declined an offer to direct the fourth film of the Alien franchise, instead making A Life Less Ordinary using British finance.

Boyle's next project was an adaptation of the cult novel The Beach. Filmed in Thailand with Leonardo DiCaprio in a starring role, casting of the film led to a feud with Ewan McGregor, star of his first three films. He then collaborated with author Alex Garland on the post-apocalyptic horror film 28 Days Later.

He also directed a short film Alien Love Triangle (starring Kenneth Branagh), and was intended to be one of three shorts within a feature film. However the project was cancelled after the two other shorts were made into feature films: Mimic starring Mira Sorvino and Impostor starring Gary Sinise.

In 2004 Boyle directed Millions, scripted by Frank Cottrell Boyce. His next collaboration with Alex Garland was the science-fiction film Sunshine, featuring 28 Days Later star Cillian Murphy, and was released in 2007.

In 2008 he directed Slumdog Millionaire, the story of an impoverished child (Dev Patel) on the streets of Mumbai, India who competes on India's version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, for which Boyle won an Academy Award. The film won eight Academy Awards in total. "To be a film-maker...you have to lead. You have to be psychotic in your desire to do something. People always like the easy route. You have to push very hard to get something unusual, something different." Andrew Macdonald, producer of Trainspotting, said "Boyle takes a subject that you've often seen portrayed realistically, in a politically correct way, whether it's junkies or slum orphans, and he has managed to make it realistic but also incredibly uplifting and joyful."

In 2010, Boyle directed the film 127 Hours, starring James Franco and featuring Amber Tamblyn and Kate Mara. It was based on Aron Ralston's autobiography Between a Rock and a Hard Place, which detailed his struggle of being trapped under a boulder while canyoneering alone in Blue John Canyon, southeastern Utah, and resorting to desperate measures in order to survive. The film was released on 5 November 2010 to critical acclaim. The film got six nominations at the 83rd Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay for Boyle and Best Actor for Franco.

Boyle's next film was Trance, while another installment of the 28 Days Later franchise is in the development stages. Boyle has stated previously that in theory the third installment of the series would be titled 28 Months Later, but alluded to a film taking place somewhere else in the world he created in 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later. He is also stated to be producing the upcoming film Paani.

Boyle told an interviewer about the eclectic range of his films, "There's a theme running through all of them—and I just realized this. They're all about someone facing impossible odds and overcoming them."

In a webchat interview with Empire Magazine, Boyle stated on more than one occasion his enthusiasm to work again with Ewan McGregor on his next feature film.

Recurring collaborators

• columns ordered in ascending chronological by year
• rows ordered first by number of collaborations and then by earliest collaboration

Cast/Crew	Shallow Grave [1994]	Trainspotting [1996]	A Life Less Ordinary [1997]	The Beach [2000]	Strumpet [2001]	Vacuuming Completely Nude in Paradise [2001]	28 Days Later [2002]	Millions [2004]	28 Weeks Later [2007]	Sunshine [2007]	Slumdog Millionaire [2008]	127 Hours [2010]	Frankenstein (Play) [2011]	2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony [2012]	Trance [2013]
Andrew Macdonald
Underworld (Rick Smith, Karl Hyde &/or Darren Price)
Suttirat Anne Larlarb
Anthony Dod Mantle
Mark Tildesley
John Murphy
Chris Gill
John Hodge
Ewan McGregor
Christopher Eccleston
Robert Carlyle
Jonny Lee Miller
Alex Garland
A. R. Rahman
Keith Allen
Peter Mullan
Jukka Hiltunen
Cillian Murphy
Naomie Harris
Rose Byrne
Simon Beaufoy
Emeli Sandé

Awards

Shallow Grave

• 1995 Angers European First Film Festival
  • Audience Award, feature film.
  • Best Screenplay, feature film.
  • Liberation Advertisement Award.
• 1995 BAFTA " Alexander Korda Award for best British film (shared with Andrew Macdonald).
• 1995 Cognac Festival du Film Policier
  • Audience Award.
  • Grand Prix.
• 1994 Dinard British Film Festival
  • Golden Hitchcock.
• 1996 Empire Award
  • Best Director.
• 1996 Evening Standard British Film Award
  • Most Promising Newcomer.
• 1995 Fantasporto (Portugal)
  • International Fantasy Film Award, Best Film.
• 1994 San Sebastian International Film Festival
  • Silver Seashell, Best Director.

Trainspotting

• 1997 BAFTA Scotland Awards
  • Best Feature Film
• 1997 Bodil Award (Denmark)
  • Best Non-American Film (Bedste ikke-amerikanske film)
• 1997 Czech Lions
  • Best Foreign Language Film (Nejlep?í zahrani?ní film)
• 1997 Empire Award
  • Best Director
• 1996 Seattle International Film Festival
  • Golden Space Needle Award, Best Director
• 1996 Warsaw International Film Festival
  • Audience Award
• 1997 Academy Awards
  • Nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay

28 Days Later

• 2003 Fantasporto (Portugal)
  • Grand Prize of European Fantasy Film in Silver.
  • International Fantasy Film Award, Best Director.
• 2003 Neuchâtel International Fantasy Film Festival
  • Best International Film.

Slumdog Millionaire

• 2009 Academy Awards
  • Best Director
• 2008 Austin Film Festival
  • Audience Award, out of competition feature.
• 2009 BAFTA
  • Best Director
• 2008 British Independent Film Awards
  • Best Director
• 2009 Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards
  • Best Director
• 2008 Chicago Film Critics Association Awards
  • Best Director
• 2008 Chicago International Film Festival
  • Audience Choice Award
• 2009 Golden Globes
  • Best Director " Motion Picture
• 2008 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards
  • Best Director
• 2008 Satellite Awards
  • Best Director
• 2008 Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards
  • Best Director
• 2008 St. Louis International Film Festival
  • Audience Choice Award " Best International Feature
• 2008 Toronto International Film Festival
  • Audience Choice Award

Career awards

• Mayor's Career Achievement Award: Presented by Starz Denver Film Festival

Filmography

Released Films

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1989	Elephant	Producer
1994	Shallow Grave	Director	BAFTA Award for Best British Film
1996	Trainspotting	Director	Nominated - BAFTA Award for Best British Film
1997	Twin Town	Executive Producer
	A Life Less Ordinary	Director
2000	The Beach	Director
2001	Vacuuming Completely Nude in Paradise	Director	TV Film
2001	Strumpet	Director	TV Film
2002	28 Days Later	Director
2004	Millions	Director
2007	Sunshine	Director
2007	28 Weeks Later	Executive Producer
2008	Alien Love Triangle	Director	Short Film
2008	Slumdog Millionaire	Director	Academy Award for Best Director BAFTA Award for Best Direction British Independent Film Award for Best Director Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Director Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Director Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Director Detroit Film Critics Society Award for Best Director Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing in a Feature Film European Film Awards " Audience Award Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director Golden Globe Award for Best Director Houston Film Critics Society Award for Best Director London Film Critics' Circle Award for Best British Director of the Year Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Director New York Film Critics Online Award for Best Director Oklahoma Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Director San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Director Satellite Award for Best Director Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Director St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Award for Best Director Toronto International Film Festival People's Choice Award Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Director
2010	127 Hours	Director Writer Producer	Nominated "? Academy Award for Best Picture Nominated "? Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated "? BAFTA Award for Best Direction Nominated "? BAFTA Award for Best British Film Nominated "? BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated "? Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay Nominated "? Independent Spirit Award for Best Director Nominated "? Independent Spirit Award for Best Film
2013	Trance	Director Producer

Planned films

• 28 Months Later (TBA)
• Ponte Tower (TBA)
• Trainspotting 2 (TBA)
• Paani (producer)

Due to his interest in music, Boyle has mentioned in interviews that he has considered a musical film with original compositions. Boyle has also expressed interest in an animated movie.

Filmography by awards

As Director

Year	Film	Academy Award Nominations	Academy Award Wins	Golden Globe Nominations	Golden Globe Wins	BAFTA Nominations	BAFTA Wins
1994	Shallow Grave					1	1
1996	Trainspotting	1				3	1
1997	A Life Less Ordinary
2000	The Beach
2002	28 Days Later
2004	Millions
2007	Sunshine
2008	Slumdog Millionaire	10	8	4	4	11	7
2010	127 Hours	6		3		8
2013	Trance
Total		17	8	7	4	23	9

Further reading