ROGER MICHELL
Date of Birth: June 5, 1956
Born in Pretoria, South Africa, Michell moved to England to attend Cambridge University. After completing his studies in 1977 where he was awarded the Royal Shakespeare Company Goodbody Award for best student director, Roger spent two years at the Royal Court Theatre. He started to direct plays in London, Southampton, Sheffield and Florence and his play, Private Dick, in which he also co-wrote received acclaim at the Edinburgh Festival.
In 1985, Michell was hired by the Royal Shakespeare Company where he remained as Resident Director for six years. During his stay he worked on such productions as Hamlet, The Merchant of Venice, Temptation and Some Americans Abroad.
By the 1990's he decided to take on a new genre of entertainment and took a BBC Drama Directors Course. Following the quick education, he was signed up to direct the three-part drama Downtown Lagos, followed by the four-part mini-series The Buddha of Suburbia (which he also co-wrote).
In 1995 he released his debut feature film, Jane Austen's Persuasion. The film earned five BAFTA awards including one for Michell for Best Drama. He followed up that success with the multi-award winning film version of his theatre production, My Night With Reg.
By the end of the millennium, he had completed the Hollywood hit film, Notting Hill starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant. The film not only fared well at the box office but earned a BAFTA Audience Award. Subsequent films have not been as commercially oriented, including the offbeat Enduring Love (2004), starring a pre-Bond Daniel Craig as a man tormented to the point of ruining every aspect of his life after he fails to save a man's life. Peter O'Toole starred in his next film, Venus, and Michell followed that up with the Amercan comedy Morning Glory, starring Rachel McAdams and Harrison Ford.
Michell is divorced from his wife, actress Kate Buffery, with whom he has two young children. In 2009, his new girlfriend gave birth to a daughter.