Stephen David Daldry CBE (born 2 May 1960) is an English director and producer of film, theatre, and television. He has won three

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

s for his work on Broadway and an Olivier Award for his work in the West End. He has received three Academy Awards nominations for Best Director, for the films ''

Billy Elliot ''Billy Elliot'' is a 2000 British coming-of-age Comedy film, comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Daldry and written by Lee Hall (playwright), Lee Hall. Set in County Durham in North East England during the 1984–1985 miners' strike, the fi ...

'' (2000), '' The Hours'' (2002), and '' The Reader'' (2008). From 2016 to 2020, he produced and directed the Netflix television series ''

The Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

'', for which he received one

Producers Guild Award The Producers Guild of America Awards were originally established in 1990 by the Producers Guild of America (PGA) as the Golden Laurel Awards, created by PGA Treasurer Joel Freeman with the support of Guild President Leonard B. Stern, Leonard St ...

nomination, one Producers Guild Award win, six

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...

nominations, and two Primetime Emmy Awards win for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series and Outstanding Drama Series. Thus Daldry has been recognised for his direction by nominations for theatre, television, and film.

Early years

Daldry was born in

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

, the son of singer Cherry (née Thompson) and bank manager Patrick Daldry. The family moved to

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England. It is a market town and has a Minster (church), minster church. Its population in 2011 was 64,621. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century priory, monastic foundation, owned by the ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, where his father died of cancer when Daldry was aged 14. Daldry joined a youth theatre group in Taunton, Somerset and performed as Sandy Tyrell in ''

Hay Fever Allergic rhinitis, of which the seasonal type is called hay fever, is a type of rhinitis, inflammation in the nose that occurs when the immune system overreacts to allergens in the air. It is classified as a Allergy, type I hypersensitivity re ...

'' for the local amateur society, Taunton Thespians. At age 18, he won a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

scholarship to read English at the

University of Sheffield The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University or TUOS) is a public university, public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its history traces back to the foundation of Sheffield Medical School in 1828, Fir ...

, where he became chairman of the Sheffield University Theatre Group. After graduation, he spent a year travelling through

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, where he became a

clown A clown is a person who performs physical comedy and arts in an Improvisational theatre#Comedy, open-ended fashion, typically while wearing distinct cosmetics, makeup or costume, costuming and reversing social norm, folkway-norms. The art of ...

apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a Tradesman, trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in ...

. He then trained as an actor on the postgraduate course at East 15 Acting School from 1982 to 1983, now part of the

University of Essex The University of Essex is a public university, public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, it is one of the original plate glass university, plate glass universities. The university comprises three camp ...

Career

Daldry began his career as an apprentice at the

Sheffield Crucible The Crucible Theatre, or simply The Crucible, is a theatre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which opened in 1971. Its name refers to Crucible steel#History of production in England, crucible steel, which was developed in Sheffield in 174 ...

from 1985 to 1988, working under artistic director Clare Venables. He also headed productions at the Manchester Library Theatre,

Liverpool Playhouse The Liverpool Playhouse is a theatre in Williamson Square in the city of Liverpool, England. It originated in 1866 as a music hall, and in 1911 developed into a repertory theatre. As such it nurtured the early careers of many actors and actre ...

, Stratford East, Oxford Stage, Brighton and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. He was Artistic Director of the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a West End theatre#London's non-commercial theatres, non-commercial theatre in Sloane Square, London, England, opene ...

from 1992 to 1998, where he headed the £26 million development scheme. He was also Artistic Director of London's

Gate Theatre The Gate Theatre is a theatre on Cavendish Row in Dublin, Ireland. It was founded in 1928. History Beginnings The Gate Theatre was founded in 1928 by Hilton Edwards and Micheál MacLiammóir with Daisy Bannard Cogley and Gearóid Ó Lochla ...

(1989–92) and the Metro Theatre Company (1984–86). He is currently on the Board of the Young and Old Vic Theatres and remains an Associate Director of the Royal Court Theatre. He was the

Cameron Mackintosh Sir Cameron Anthony Mackintosh (born 17 October 1946) is a British theatrical producer and theatre owner notable for his association with many commercially successful musicals. At the height of his success in 1990, he was described as being "t ...

Visiting Professor of Contemporary Theatre for 2002 at

St Catherine's College, Oxford St Catherine's College (colloquially called St Catz or Catz) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford. In 1974, it was also one of the first men's colleges to admit women. It has 528 un ...

. Daldry made his feature film directorial debut with ''

'' (2000), which launched the film career of Jamie Bell. His next film was '' The Hours'', which earned

Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an Australian and American actress and producer. Known for Nicole Kidman on screen and stage, her work in film and television productions across many genres, she has consistently ranked among the world ...

her first Best Actress win at the

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 ...

. He went on to direct a stage musical adaptation of ''Billy Elliot'', and in 2009 his work earned him a Tony Award for Best Director of a Musical. He has also made a film version of '' The Reader'' (2008), based on the book of the same name and starring

Kate Winslet Kate Elizabeth Winslet (; born 5 October 1975) is an English actress. Primarily known for her roles as headstrong and complicated women in independent films, particularly period dramas, she has received numerous accolades, including an Ac ...

, David Kross and

Ralph Fiennes Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes (; born 22 December 1962) is an English actor, film producer, and director. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Ralph Fiennes, various accolades, including a British Academy Film ...

. The film won Best Actress at the Academy Awards for Kate Winslet. Daldry's fourth film was '' Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close'', an adaptation of the book of the same name written by

Jonathan Safran Foer Jonathan Safran Foer (; born February 21, 1977) is an American novelist. He is known for his novels '' Everything Is Illuminated'' (2002), '' Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close'' (2005), '' Here I Am'' (2016), and for his non-fiction works '' Eat ...

, starring

Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...

Sandra Bullock Sandra Annette Bullock (; born July 26, 1964) is an American actress and film producer. The List of highest-paid film actors, highest-paid actress of 2010 and 2014, Sandra Bullock filmography, Bullock's filmography spans both comedy and drama, ...

, and

Max von Sydow Max von Sydow (; born Carl Adolf von Sydow; 10 April 1929 – 8 March 2020) was a Swedish and French actor. He had a 70-year career in European and American cinema, television, and theatre, appearing in more than 150 films and several television ...

. The screenplay was written by Eric Roth. The film received a nomination for Best Picture at the 84th Academy Awards and a nomination for von Sydow for Best Supporting Actor. Daldry was initially slated to direct a Star Wars spin off film about the iconic ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...

'' character

Obi-Wan Kenobi Obi-Wan "Ben" Kenobi () is a character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. In the original film trilogy, he is a Jedi Master who trains Luke Skywalker in the ways of the Force. In the prequel trilogy, he mentors Luke's father, Anakin Skywalke ...

but the film was later scrapped due to the commercial failure of '' Solo: A Star Wars Story'' with Daldry saying the cancellation of the film crushed him and Hossein Amini. However, ideas from Daldry's originally planned film were repurposed for the ''Obi-Wan Kenobi'' Disney + limited series directed by Deborah Chow and released in 2022 for which Daldry received credit as a consulting producer. In July 2022, it was revealed that Daldry would work with Sonia Friedman to develop a play based on the hit

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 ...

television show ''

Stranger Things ''Stranger Things'' is an American television series created by the Duffer brothers, Duffer Brothers for Netflix. Produced by Monkey Massacre Productions and 21 Laps Entertainment, the Stranger Things season 1, first season was released on N ...

''. The play entitled '' Stranger Things: The First Shadow'' premiered in December 2023 at the Phoenix Theatre in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

's West End.

Personal life

Daldry was in a relationship with set designer Ian MacNeil for 13 years. They met at an outdoor production of ''Alice in Wonderland'' in Lancaster in 1988 and, after settling in

Camberwell Camberwell ( ) is an List of areas of London, area of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles' Church, Camberwell, St Giles ...

, began collaborating on theatrical productions. Greatly impacted by the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

in the United States, Daldry decided he wanted to start a family and married American performance artist and magazine editor Lucy Sexton, with whom he has a daughter. Despite this, he continues to refer to himself as gay because the public " oesn'tlike confusion" although he has also suggested that they married so he could get health insurance.

Works

Film

Television

Theatre

Broadway London *'' The Audience'' with

Helen Mirren Dame Helen Mirren (; born Ilyena Lydia Vasilievna Mironov; 26 July 1945) is an English actor. With a career spanning over six decades of Helen Mirren on screen and stage, screen and stage, List of awards and nominations received by Helen Mirre ...

, Gielgud Theatre (2013) **'' The Audience'' with Kristin Scott Thomas, Apollo Theatre (2015) * '' The Inheritance'',

Noël Coward Theatre The Noël Coward Theatre, formerly known as the Albery Theatre, is a West End theatre in St. Martin's Lane in the City of Westminster, London. It opened on 12 March 1903 as the New Theatre and was built by Sir Charles Wyndham behind Wyndham's ...

(2019) * '' Stranger Things: The First Shadow'', Phoenix Theatre (2023) * '' A Number'',

* '' Far Away'' (also

Albery Theatre Albery is a name. It may refer to: Given name * Albery Allson Whitman (1851−1901), African American poet, minister and orator Surname * A. S. Albery, British politician * Bronson Albery (1881−1971), English theatre director and impresario * Do ...

and New York Theatre Workshop) * '' Via Dolorosa'' (also the Duchess Theatre) * '' Rat in the Skull'', RCT * ''Body Talk'', RCT * '' The Kitchen'', RCT * ''The Editing Process'', RCT * ''

Search And Destroy Seek and destroy (also known as search and destroy, or S&D) is a military strategy which consists of inserting infantry forces into hostile territory and directing them to search and then attack enemy targets before immediately withdrawing. Fi ...

'', RCT * '' An Inspector Calls'',

Royal National Theatre The National Theatre (NT), officially the Royal National Theatre and sometimes referred to in international contexts as the National Theatre of Great Britain, is a performing arts venue and associated theatre company located in London, England, ...

* '' Machinal'', Royal National Theatre * '' Billy Elliot: The Musical'', Victoria Palace Theatre (2005) * ''

Skylight A skylight (sometimes called a rooflight) is a light-permitting structure or window, usually made of transparent or translucent glass, that forms all or part of the roof space of a building for daylighting and ventilation purposes. History O ...

'', Wyndham's Theatre * ''Kyoto'', @sohoplace (2025) Detailed theatreography * ''

The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists ''The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists'' is a 1914 semi-autobiographical novel by Ireland, Irish house painter and sign writer Robert Noonan, who wrote the book in his spare time under the pen name Robert Tressell. Published after Tressell's de ...

'', Liverpool Playhouse, Liverpool, England, then Theatre Royale, Stratford, England, 1988 * '' An Inspector Calls'', York Theatre Royal, 1988 * ''Judgement Day'', Old Red Lion Theatre, London, 1989 * ''Figaro Gets Divorced'', Gate Theatre, London, 1990 * ''Cutting Room'', Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, London, 1990 * ''Our Man in Marzibah'' and ''Rousseau's Tale'' (double-bill), Gate Theatre, 1991 * ''Damned for Despair'', Gate Theatre, 1991 * '' Jerker'', Gate Theatre, 1991 * (With Annie Castledine) '' Pioneers in Ingolstadt'', Gate Theatre, 1991 * (With Annie Castledine) ''Purgatory in Ingolstadt'', Gate Theatre, 1991 * '' Manon Lescaut'', Dublin Grand Opera, 1992 * '' An Inspector Calls'', National Theatre Company, Lyttelton Theatre, London, 1992, then Royale Theatre, New York City, 1994–1995, *later Garrick Theatre, London, 1995, finally Playhouse Theatre, London, 2016–17 * ''Search and Destroy'', Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, 1993 * '' Machinal'', National Theatre Company, Lyttelton Theatre, 1993 * ''The Europeans'', 1993 * ''The Kitchen'', Royal Court Theatre, 1994 * ''The Editing Process'', Royal Court Theatre, 1994 * ''Rat in the Skull'', Duke of York's Theatre, London, 1995 * ''The Libertine'', Royal Court Theatre, 1995 * '' The Man of Mode'', Royal Court Theatre, 1995 * ''Body Talk'', Royal Court Theatre, 1996 * ''This Is a Chair'', in London International Festival of Theatre, London, 1997 * ''Via Dolorosa'' (solo show), Royal Court Theatre, 1998, then Booth Theatre, New York City, 1999 * ''Far Away'', Royal Court Theatre, 2000, then New York Theatre Workshop, New York City, 2002–2003 * '' A Number'', Jerwood Theatre Downstairs, Royal Court Theatre, 2002, then New York Theatre Workshop, 2002–2003 * ''

The Jungle ''The Jungle'' is a novel by American author and muckraking-journalist Upton Sinclair, known for his efforts to expose corruption in government and business in the early 20th century. In 1904, Sinclair spent seven weeks gathering information ...

'', Young Vic, 2017–2018, then St. Ann's Warehouse, 2018 * ''Kyoto'', Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon (2024)

Awards and honours

Directed Academy Award performances
Under Daldry's direction, these actors have received

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 and wins for their performances in their respective roles.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Daldry, Stephen 1960 births Living people Alumni of East 15 Acting School Alumni of the University of Sheffield BAFTA winners (people) Bisexual male artists Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Drama Desk Award winners English film directors English film producers English theatre directors Fellows of St Catherine's College, Oxford Helpmann Award winners Laurence Olivier Award winners British LGBTQ film directors LGBTQ television directors LGBTQ theatre directors English bisexual men English bisexual artists People from Dorset People from Taunton Tony Award winners English-language film directors Primetime Emmy Award winners 20th-century English LGBTQ people 21st-century English LGBTQ people