Jim Sheridan (born 6 February 1949) is an Irish

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

and filmmaker. Between 1989 and 1993, Sheridan directed three critically acclaimed films set in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, ''

My Left Foot ''My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown'' is a 1989 Biographical film, biographical Comedy drama, comedy-drama film directed by Jim Sheridan (in his director debut) adapted by Sheridan and Shane Connaughton from My Left Foot (book), the 195 ...

'' (1989), '' The Field'' (1990), and ''

In the Name of the Father ''In the Name of the Father'' is a 1993 biographical crime drama film co-written and directed by Jim Sheridan. It is based on the true story of the Guildford Four, four people falsely convicted of the 1974 Guildford pub bombings that killed fo ...

'' (1993), and later directed the films ''

The Boxer "The Boxer" is a song written by Paul Simon and recorded by the American music duo Simon & Garfunkel from their fifth and final studio album, '' Bridge over Troubled Water'' (1970). Produced by the duo and Roy Halee, it was released as a stan ...

'' (1997), '' In America'' (2003), and ''

Brothers A brother (: brothers or brethren) is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingl ...

'' (2009). Sheridan has received six

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

nominations for his work.Ebert, Roger
"Coach Carter"
, RogerEbert.com, 14 January 2005. Retrieved on 20 August 2006.

Life and career

Jim Sheridan was born in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

on 6 February 1949. He is the brother of playwright Peter Sheridan. The family ran a lodging house, while Anna Sheridan worked at a hotel and Peter Sheridan Snr was a railway clerk with CIÉ. Sheridan's early education was at a Christian Brothers school. In 1969 he attended

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

to study English and History. In 1972, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. He became involved in student theatre there, where he met

Neil Jordan Neil Patrick Jordan (born 25 February 1950) is an Irish filmmaker and writer. He first achieved recognition for his short story collection, ''Night in Tunisia (short story collection), Night in Tunisia,'' which won the Guardian Fiction Prize in ...

, who also was later to become an important Irish film director. After graduating from UCD in 1972, Sheridan and his brother began writing and staging plays, and in the late 1970s began working with the Project Theatre Company. In 1981, Sheridan emigrated to Canada, but eventually settled in the

Hell's Kitchen Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton, or Midtown West on real estate listings, is a neighborhood on the West Side of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York. It is considered to be bordered by 34th Street (or 41st Street) to the south, ...

section of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in the United States. He enrolled in the

New York University Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic, and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, as the School of the Arts at New York University, Tisch ...

and became the artistic director of the Irish Arts Center. Sheridan returned to Ireland in the late 1980s. In 1989, he directed ''

'' (with

Daniel Day-Lewis Sir Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis (born 29 April 1957) is an English actor. Often described as one of the greatest actors in the history of cinema, he is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Daniel Day-Lewis, numerous a ...

and Brenda Fricker), which became a critical and commercial success and won Day-Lewis and Fricker Academy Awards. He followed that with '' The Field'' (with

Richard Harris Richard St John Francis Harris (1 October 1930 – 25 October 2002) was an Irish actor and singer. Having studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, he rose to prominence as an icon of the British New Wave. He received numerous a ...

) in 1990; then with ''

'' in 1993, a fictionalised re-telling of the case of the

Guildford Four The Guildford Four and Maguire Seven were two groups of people, mostly Northern Irish, who were wrongly convicted in English courts in 1975 and 1976 of the Guildford pub bombings of 5 October 1974 and the Woolwich pub bombing of 7 November 1974 ...

. The film won the

Golden Bear The Golden Bear () is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival and is, along with the Palme d'Or and the Golden Lion, the most important international film festival award. The bear is the heraldic an ...

at the 44th Berlin International Film Festival. In 1996 he co-wrote '' Some Mother's Son'' with Terry George. ''

'' was nominated for a

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...

for best film drama in 1997. The film was Sheridan's third collaboration with Day-Lewis after ''My Left Foot'' and ''In the Name of the Father'', making him the only director to work with Day-Lewis on three films. In 2003, he released the semi-autobiographical '' In America'', which tells the story of a family of Irish immigrants trying to succeed in New York. The film received positive reviews and earned

Samantha Morton Samantha Jane Morton (born 13 May 1977) is an English actress. She is known for her work in independent film with dark and tragic themes, particularly in period dramas. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including the BAFTA Fellowship ...

and

Djimon Hounsou Djimon Gaston Hounsou ( ; ; born April 24, 1964) is a Beninese-American actor. He began his career appearing in music videos and made his film debut in '' Without You I'm Nothing'' (1990). He then earned widespread recognition for his role as C ...

Academy Award nominations. In 2005 he released ''

Get Rich or Die Tryin' ''Get Rich or Die Tryin'' is the debut studio album by American rapper 50 Cent. It was released on February 6, 2003, by Interscope Records, Eminem's Shady Records, Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment, and 50 Cent's G-Unit Records. After si ...

'', a film starring rap star

50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and television producer. Born in Queens, a borough of New York City, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 1996. In 1999–2000, ...

. Sheridan directed the 2009 film ''

'', starring

Tobey Maguire Tobias Vincent Maguire (born 27 June 1975) is an American actor and film producer. He is best known for starring as Peter Parker (2002 film series character), Spider-Man in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man in film#Sam Raimi's trilogy, ''Spider-Man'' tr ...

, Jake Gyllenhaal, and

Natalie Portman Natalie Hershlag{{efn, Some Hebrew sources claim that her birth name was "Neta-Lee Hershleg" ({{langx, he, נטע-לי הרשלג) and later, her first name was Americanized to "Natalie". {{Cite news , last=Shamir , first=Oron , date=August ...

, which was shot in

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

. He also directed the thriller '' Dream House'', which starred Daniel Craig, Naomi Watts, and

Rachel Weisz Rachel Hannah Weisz (; born 7 March 1970) is an English actress. Known for her roles in independent films and blockbusters, she has received List of awards and nominations received by Rachel Weisz, several awards, including an Academy Award, ...

Filmography

Films

Executive producer * '' Borstal Boy'' (2000) * '' On the Edge'' (2001) * '' Bloody Sunday'' (2002) * ''Where's Daddy!'' (2006) (Short film) * ''Dollhouse'' (2012) * ''Omar Sharif's Tribute'' (2015) (Documentary) * ''Shelter Me: Apollo House'' (2018) (Documentary) * ''First Disco'' (2019) (Short film) Acting credits

Television series

Music video

* " You Made Me the Thief of Your Heart" by

Sinéad O'Connor Shuhada' Sadaqat (born Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor; , ; 8 December 1966 – 26 July 2023) was an Irish singer, songwriter, record producer and activist. Her debut studio album, ''The Lion and the Cobra'', was released in 1987 and achieve ...

(1994)

Awards and nominations

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

* Best Adapted Screenplay – ''

'' (1990), nomination (as co-writer) * Best Director – ''My Left Foot'' (1990), nomination (as director) * Best Adapted Screenplay – ''

'' (1994), nomination (as co-writer) * Best Director – ''In the Name of the Father'' (1994), nomination (as director) * Best Picture – ''In the Name of the Father'' (1994), nomination (as producer) * Best Original Screenplay – '' In America'' (2004), nomination (as co-writer)

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

– ''In the Name of the Father'', winner *

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, Golden Bear – ''

'', nomination

British Academy Film Awards The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs or BAFTA Awards, is an annual film award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to f ...

* Best Adapted Screenplay – ''My Left Foot'' (1990), nomination (as co-writer) * Best Adapted Screenplay – ''In the Name of the Father'' (1993), nomination (as co-writer)

European Film Awards The European Film Awards (or European Film Academy Awards) have been presented annually since 1988 by the European Film Academy to recognize excellence in European cinematic achievements. The awards are given in 19 categories, of which the mos ...

* European Director of the Year – ''My Left Foot'' (1989), nomination

Golden Globe Awards The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual Awards ceremony, award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally ...

*Best Director – ''The Boxer'' (1997), nomination *Best Screenplay – ''In America'' (2002), nomination (as co-writer) Gregory Peck Award * Lifetime Achievement - Dingle International Film Festival (2009)

Independent Spirit Awards The Independent Spirit Awards, originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards, and later as the Film Independent Spirit Awards, are awards presented annually in Santa Monica, California, to independent filmmakers. Founded in ...

* Best Director – ''In America'' (2002), nomination * Best Director - ''

'' (2009), winner * Lifetime Achievement Award - (2015), Winner * Best Director - '' The Secret Scripture'' (2016), nomination

National Board of Review The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures is a non-profit organization of New York City area film enthusiasts. Its awards, which are announced in early December, are considered the first major harbinger of the film awards season that ...

* Best Original Screenplay – ''In America'' (2002), winner (as co-writer)

Writers Guild of America The Writers Guild of America (WGA) is the name of two American labor unions representing writers in film, television, radio, and online media: * The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) is headquartered in New York City and is affiliated wit ...

* Best Original Screenplay – ''In America'' (2002), nomination (as co-writer) Awards and nominations received by Sheridan's features

Directed Academy Award Performances

Under Sheridan's direction, these actors have received Academy Award nominations and wins for their performances in these respective roles.

References

External links

Jim Sheridan's official website

Jim Sheridan's official website - Hell's Kitchen Limited
* *

(via UC Berkeley) {{DEFAULTSORT:Sheridan, Jim 1949 births Living people 20th-century Irish people 21st-century Irish people Alumni of University College Dublin Irish film directors Irish film producers Irish male dramatists and playwrights Irish male screenwriters Irish racehorse owners and breeders Film people from Dublin (city) Tisch School of the Arts alumni Directors of Golden Bear winners