Stephen Arthur Frears was born June 20, 1941, in Leicester, England. He began Gresham’s School in Norfolk, in 1954 and finished in 1959. For the next four years, he studied law at Trinity College in Cambridge.
His first job was working at the BBC on such series as Play for Today. He made his directorial debut in 1968 with The Burning and subsequently directed a few television series until 1971 when he directed Gumshoe. The movie starred Albert Finney, and proved that Frears was already making a name for himself in the world of film.
Despite a torrent of films between 1971 and 1985, it was My Beautiful Laundrette, with Saeed Jaffrey and Daniel Day Lewis that really caused a stir. Frears was finally receiving the kind of wide critical acclaim current audiences are so used to hearing associated with his name.
His next success was the 1987 Joe Orton biopic Prick Up Your Ears with leads Gary Oldman, Alfred Molina, Vanessa Redgrave, and Julie Walters. This was followed by the 1988 Oscar darling Dangerous Liaisons, with the all-star cast of Glenn Close, John Malkovich, Michelle Pfeiffer, Swoosie Kurtz, Keanu Reeves, and a very young Uma Thurman.
With this smash success, Frears was free to make any movie he wished. He took two years coming out with his next production, but the wait proved worthwhile. 1990 brought the crime drama The Grifters with John Cusack, Anjelica Huston, and Annette Bening. While Liaisons won three Oscars and was nominated for a handful more, Frears did not even earn a nomination. With the release of Grifters, Frears finally earned his first Oscar nod for Best Director.
Again with total creative freedom, Frears opted to direct the Dustin Hoffman, Geena Davis, and Andy Garcia comedy Hero (sometimes billed as Accidental Hero). He followed with the 1993 comedy The Snapper, with Colm Meaney and featuring a bit part by perennial Harry Potter actor Brendan Gleeson.
Taking three years off, critics and audiences waited in anticipation for Frears’ next work. But when Mary Reilly starring Julia Roberts was released, many were disappointed. Panned by the critics and widely dismissed by the public, Frears needed another hit.
Fortunately, this is exactly what he delivered with the 1996 film The Van and the 1998 film The Hi-Lo Country, starring Billy Crudup, Woody Harrelson, Sam Elliott, Patricia Arquette, and Penelope Cruz.
From 2000 on, Frears’ career has been nothing but smooth sailing. He released the successful adaptation of Nick Hornby’s novel High Fidelity, with Jack Black, Lisa Bonet, Catherine Zeta Jones, Tim Robbins, and Sara Gilbert, as well as the television film Fail Safe, with Richard Dreyfuss, Noah Wyle, Brian Dennehy, Hank Azaria, James Cromwell, Don Cheadle, George Clooney, and Harvey Keitel.
The year 2003 brought another change of pace for Frears, this time directing the suspense/thriller Dirty Pretty Things, with Audrey Tautou and Chiwetel Ejiofor. 2005 brought him back to his comedy roots with Mrs. Henderson Presents, starring Judi Dench, Bob Hoskins, and Christopher Guest. And finally, 2006 brought him back to his Oscar roots with The Queen. He earned his second Oscar nomination for Best Director, and his star, Helen Mirren, won for Best Actress.
He is currently in post-production for the Stephen Dorff and Beverly D Angelo drama Skip Tracer.
Frears has been married twice. His first marriage was to Mary Kay Wilmers with whom he had two children. His second marriage was in 1992 to Anne Rothenstein. They also have two children and are currently still together.
YUDDY
