Michael Davis (born 1 August 1961) is a Scottish/American film director, screenwriter, producer, theater director and novelist.

Early life

Born in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

and raised in the

Gorbals The Gorbals is an area in the city of Glasgow, Scotland, and former burgh, on the south bank of the River Clyde. By the late 19th century, it had become densely populated; rural migrants and immigrants were attracted by the new industries and e ...

, Davis was bedridden with

asthma Asthma is a common long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wh ...

during his childhood. After outgrowing the condition, he worked as a fitness coach for his childhood football team

Celtic F.C. The Celtic Football Club, commonly known as Celtic (), is a professional Association football, football club in Glasgow, Scotland. The team competes in the Scottish Premiership, the top division of Scottish football league system, Scottish ...

where he befriended the singer

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British singer and songwriter. Known for his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time, having sold ...

, an ardent supporter of Celtic. When Davis moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

to pursue a career in filmmaking, Stewart introduced him to contacts in showbusiness, helping to launch his career.

Career

Davis' first major credit was as screenwriter on '' Love in Paris'' (also known as ''Another 9½ Weeks'', a sequel to ''

9½ Weeks ''9½ Weeks'' is a 1986 American erotic drama film, directed by Adrian Lyne, and starring Kim Basinger and Mickey Rourke. Basinger stars as a New York art gallery employee who has a brief yet intense affair with a mysterious Wall Street bro ...

''). He then wrote a screenplay titled '' Paganini'', about the 18th century virtuoso. The screenplay received significant attention, leading to his signing with Creative Artists Agency (CAA). Actor

Mickey Rourke Philip Andre "Mickey" Rourke Jr. ( ; born September 16, 1952) is an American actor and former professional Boxing, boxer who has appeared primarily as a leading actor, leading man in drama, action, and thriller films. In a Mickey Rourke filmogra ...

hired Davis to work on a script and they developed a close friendship, collaborating on several projects over the next decade, including the sequel to ''

''. During this period, Davis began developing a script about the Italian painter

Amedeo Modigliani Amedeo Clemente Modigliani (; ; 12 July 1884 – 24 January 1920) was an Italian painter and sculptor of the École de Paris who worked mainly in France. He is known for portraits and nudes in a modern art, modern style characterized by a surre ...

with

Al Pacino Alfredo James Pacino ( ; ; born April 25, 1940) is an American actor. Known for his intense performances on stage and screen, Pacino is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. His career spans more than five decades, duri ...

attached to play Modigliani and

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November17, 1942) is an American filmmaker. One of the major figures of the New Hollywood era, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Martin Scorsese, many accolades, including an Academ ...

considering directing, although Davis would eventually write and direct '' Modigliani'' himself in 2004, with

Andy García Andrés Arturo García Menéndez (born April 12, 1956) is an American actor, director, producer, and musician. He first rose to prominence acting in Brian De Palma's '' The Untouchables'' (1987) alongside Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, and ...

in the title role. Davis's first writer-director project was the romantic comedy '' The Match'', produced by

Pierce Brosnan Pierce Brendan Brosnan (born 16 May 1953) is an Irish actor and film producer. He was the fifth actor to play the fictional secret agent Portrayal of James Bond in film, James Bond in the List of James Bond films, James Bond film series, starri ...

's Irish DreamTime, and starring

Tom Sizemore Thomas Edward Sizemore Jr. (; November 29, 1961 – March 3, 2023) was an American actor. Born in Detroit, he started his career with supporting appearances in '' Born on the Fourth of July'' (1989), '' Lock Up'' (1989), and '' Blue Steel'' (19 ...

Richard E. Grant Richard E. Grant (born Richard Grant Esterhuysen; 5 May 1957) is an Eswatini-born English actor and presenter. He made his film debut as Withnail in the comedy '' Withnail and I'' (1987). Grant received critical acclaim for his role as Jack H ...

and

Ian Holm Sir Ian Holm Cuthbert (12 September 1931 – 19 June 2020) was an English actor. After graduating from RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) and beginning his career on the British stage as a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, he became a ...

. His success in film opened opportunities in television, leading to his creation and writing of the American CBS/

Warner Bros Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American film studio, filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and th ...

show ''Eleventh Hour'', produced by Jerry Bruckheimer Productions and starring

Rufus Sewell Rufus Frederik Sewell (; born 29 October 1967) is a British actor. In film, he has appeared in ''Carrington (film), Carrington'' (1995), ''Hamlet (1996 film), Hamlet'' (1996), ''Dangerous Beauty'' (1998), ''Dark City (1998 film), Dark City'' (1 ...

. He also wrote the supernatural film ''The Invisible'', initially for a Swedish film company and later for Spyglass/

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

. In 2013, Davis wrote, produced and directed a short film, ''Haunting Charles Manson'', and the next year, a feature-length version of the same film. He later adapted his original ''Paganini'' screenplay into a stage play, which he directed for the Metropolis Theate in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

. The play was a significant success, running for three years. More recently, Davis directed the comedy ''My Dad’s Christmas Date'', starring Jeremey Piven and

Joely Richardson Joely Kim Richardson (born 9 January 1965) is a British actress. She is notable for her roles as Julia McNamara in the FX drama series '' Nip/Tuck'' (2003–2010) and Katherine Parr in the Showtime series ''The Tudors'' (2010). Her credits in ...

, as well as ''

Father Christmas Is Back ''Father Christmas Is Back'' is a 2021 British Christmas comedy film directed by Philippe Martinez and Mick Davis and starring Elizabeth Hurley, Nathalie Cox, John Cleese, and Kelsey Grammer. It was released on 7 November 2021 by Netflix. A s ...

'', featuring

John Cleese John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, and Television presenter, presenter. Emerging from the Footlights, Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinbur ...

and

Kelsey Grammer Allen Kelsey Grammer (born February 21, 1955) is an American actor and producer. He gained fame for his role as the psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane on the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'' (1984–1993) and its spin-off ''Frasier'' (1993–2004, and again F ...

. His recent work includes the horror film ''Walden'', starring

Emile Hirsch Emile Davenport Hirsch (born March 13, 1985) is an American actor. His portrayal of Chris McCandless in '' Into the Wild'' (2007) earned him acclaim and multiple award nominations. Other notable roles include '' The Girl Next Door'' (2004), '' ...

, which he wrote and directed. He also directed the comedy ''Trust In Love'', which has won awards at multiple film festivals worldwide and was set for release in 2024. Davis credits

for giving him his first break and Irish actor

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 ...

for being his mentor.

References

External links

* 1961 births Living people Scottish screenwriters Scottish film directors People from Gorbals {{Scotland-bio-stub