Much of the success of the Lord of the Rings trilogy can be attributed to the skill of the cast such as Elijah Wood who played  Frodo Baggins and starred alongside actors Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Orlando Bloom, Cate Blanchett, Sean Astin, and many others.

It was The Return of the King, however, that literally stole the Academy Awards show in 2003. Winning eleven Academy Awards, including Best Picture of the Year, it was evident that the viewer’s interest in the films only grew with each new chapter. Peter’s important work on the project was recognized with Academy Awards for Directing and Writing Adapted Screenplay. The trilogy was the highest selling ever, surpassing the success of even Star Wars with its worldwide earnings of nearly three billion dollars. In total, seventeen Academy Awards were also given to the film.

Jackson’s next project after Lord of the Rings was the remake of the 1933 King Kong with Universal Pictures. Boasting an impressive cast containing Naomi Watts, Adrien Brody, and Jack Black, Jackson’s cinematic genius once again resulted in amazing success. The three hour film grossed $550 million worldwide and set records for DVD sales when it was released for purchase. Jackson’s next projects will be the film adaptation of the best-selling novel The Lovely Bones and the remake of the war film The Dam Busters. There are also rumors of The Hobbit, a prequel to Lord of the Rings being released, but nothing has been definitely confirmed. With such runaway successes under his belt, Peter will continue to be one of the most sought after directors of recent years.

Jackson’s long time partner is Fran Walsh, an Academy Award winning screenwriter and producer who worked with Peter on all of his films other than Bad Taste. The pair has been together since 1987 and has two children named Billy and Katie.