Gareth Huw Evans (born April 6, 1980) is a Welsh film director, screenwriter, editor, and action choreographer. He is best known for the Indonesian action crime films '' Merantau'' (2009), '' The Raid'' (2011), and '' The Raid 2'' (2014), and for bringing the Indonesian martial art of

pencak silat Pencak silat (; in Western writings sometimes spelled "pentjak silat" or phonetically as "penchak silat") is a class of related Indonesian martial arts. In neighbouring countries, the term usually refers to professional competitive silat. It ...

into

world cinema World cinema is a term in film theory in the United States that refers to films made outside of the American motion picture industry, particularly those in opposition to the aesthetics and values of commercial American cinema.Nagib, Lúcia. ...

through these films. He is also known for co-creating, co-writing, co-directing, and executive producing the

Sky Atlantic Sky Atlantic is a British pay television channel owned by Sky Group, Sky Group Limited that launched in 2011 and broadcasts in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The channel airs original British-produced dramas like ''Fortitude (TV series), F ...

AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** ...

action Action may refer to: * Action (philosophy), something which is done by a person * Action principles the heart of fundamental physics * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video gam ...

crime drama Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...

television series '' Gangs of London'' (2020–present), alongside Matt Flannery, based on the 2006 video game of the same name.

Early life

Evans was born and raised in

Hirwaun Hirwaun (, ; ) is a village and Community (Wales), community at the north end of the Cynon Valley in the County Borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales. It is NW of the town of Aberdare, and comes under the Aberdare post town. At the United Ki ...

Cynon Valley Cynon Valley () is a former coal mining valley in Wales. It lies between Rhondda and the Merthyr Valley and takes its name from the River Cynon. Aberdare is located in the north of the valley and Mountain Ash in the south. From 1974 to 19 ...

. He graduated from the

University of Glamorgan The University of Glamorgan () was a public university based in South Wales, that merged with University of Wales, Newport to form the University of South Wales in April 2013. The university was based in Pontypridd, in Rhondda Cynon Taf, with ...

(now the

University of South Wales The University of South Wales (USW) () is a public university in Wales, with campuses in Cardiff, Newport and Pontypridd. It was formed on 11 April 2013 from the merger of the University of Glamorgan and the University of Wales, Newport. The ...

) with an MA in screenwriting.

Career

After directing a small-budget film called ''Footsteps'', Evans was hired as a freelance director for a documentary about the Indonesian martial art

. He became fascinated with it, and discovered Indonesian martial artist

Iko Uwais Uwais Qorny (), known professionally as Iko Uwais, (born 12 February 1983) is an Indonesian actor, stuntman, fight choreographer, and martial artist. He is best known for acting in the action films '' Merantau'' (2009), '' The Raid'' (2011), '' ...

, who was working as a deliveryman for a phone company. Evans cast Uwais in his 2009 film '' Merantau''. He planned to produce a larger action film, but scaled the production budget down and created an action film called '' The Raid'' (2011). After the success of ''The Raid'', the larger action film eventually became the basis for its sequel, '' The Raid 2: Berandal'' (2014). In late 2016, Evans started working on his next film, ''

Apostle An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary. The word is derived from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", itself derived from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to se ...

'', which stars

Dan Stevens Daniel Jonathan Stevens (born 10 October 1982) is an English actor. He first drew international attention for his role as Matthew Crawley in the ITV period drama series ''Downton Abbey'' (2010–2012). He also starred as David in the thriller ...

. The film was released by

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

on 12 October 2018. In October 2017, ''

TheWrap ''TheWrap'' is an American online news organization that covers the business of entertainment and media. It was founded by journalist Sharon Waxman in 2009 and is based in Los Angeles. The site features original reporting, analysis, and editor ...

'' reported that Evans had pitched his idea for a ''

Deathstroke Deathstroke is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez, the character first appeared in ''The New Teen Titans'' #2 (December 1980) as Deathstroke the Terminator. In his co ...

'' solo film and is in early talks to write and direct. Evans also passed on directing a ''

Justice League Dark Justice League Dark, or JLD, is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team made their debut in ''Justice League Dark'' #1 (September 2011). The team features some of the more supernatural characters in t ...

'' film. However, in April 2020, Evans said that the film had been delayed and that he was no longer actively involved with the project. In February 2021, it was reported that Evans signed an exclusive deal to produce and direct films for Netflix. His first film under that deal was '' Havoc'', starring Tom Hardy &

Forest Whitaker Forest Steven Whitaker (born July 15, 1961) is an American actor, filmmaker, and activist. His accolades include an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a British Academy Film Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and the Best Actor Award at the ...

, which was filmed in 2021. After numerous delays due to scheduling reshoots and the SAG-AFTRA strike, the film was eventually given a release date of April 25, 2025.

Personal life

Evans lived in

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

with his wife, Maya Barack-Evans, and their daughter, until the family moved back to Wales in 2015.

Filmography

Short film Feature film Television

Awards

In November 2011, '' The Raid'' won the Midnight Madness Award at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...

in 2011.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Gareth 1980 births Living people Alumni of the University of Glamorgan Maya Award winners People from Hirwaun British emigrants to Indonesia Welsh emigrants to Indonesia Welsh film directors Welsh film editors 21st-century Welsh screenwriters Action film directors Indonesian people of Welsh descent