Michael Caton-Jones

MICHAEL CATON-JONES

Date of Birth: 1958

Michael Caton-Jones grew up in the Scottish mining town of Broxburn. Moving to London at age 17 to pursue a writing career, Caton-Jones paid the rent by working as a stagehand at London's West End. He decided to attend Britain's National Film School, where he quickly gained attention when his first project, entitled Leibe Mutter, won the Best Film at the European Student Awards. After he completed his second student film, The Riveter, the BBC took no time in purchasing it.

By the time he had completed two years of film school, Caton-Jones was offered a job directing the three-part mini-series Brond. By the late 80s, he had decided to direct his first feature length film. He helmed the drama Scandal (1989), a compelling look at Britain's Profumo-Keeler sex scandal of the early 1960s. Not unlike his earlier films, Scandal became a critical and popular international hit resulting in numerous awards and nominations, including the Camera D'Or at Cannes, the European Oscars and the Golden Globes.

The exposure led to a demand for his talents in Hollywood; so he crossed the pond to direct features like Memphis Bell (1990), Doc Hollywood (1991) and This Boy's Life (1993) based on Tobias Wolff's poignant autobiographical novel. He returned to his roots in the mid-90s to film the story of one of his country's most heroic patriots - Rob Roy (1995). The film starring Liam Neeson, Jessica Lang, Tim Roth and John Hurt, earned critical acclaim and won Roth an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

He continued to work with Hollywood's finest, directing the thriller The Jackal (1997) before taking a break from feature films to direct the short-lived television series Trinity.

Filmography:

Basic Instinct 2 (2006)
Shooting Dogs (2005)
City by the Sea (2002)
The Jackal (1997)
Rob Roy (1995)
This Boy's Life (1993)
Doc Hollywood (1991)
Memphis Belle (1990)
Scandal (1989)