Stephen Herek (born November 10, 1958) is an American

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

. Born in

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, he studied film at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

. He is best known for directing the 1989 film ''

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure ''Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure'' is a 1989 American science fiction comedy film directed by Stephen Herek and written by Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon. The first installment of the ''Bill & Ted'' franchise, it stars Keanu Reeves, Alex Win ...

''.

Career

His career as a film director took off in 1986 with the cult horror classic '' Critters'' followed by the hit comedy ''

Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

'' in 1989. He then directed ''

Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead ''Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead'' is a 1991 American coming-of-age dark comedy film directed by Stephen Herek, written by Neil Landau and Tara Ison, and starring Christina Applegate, Joanna Cassidy, Keith Coogan, John Getz, and Josh Ch ...

'' in 1991 and became a regular director for

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...

throughout the decade, helming '' The Mighty Ducks'' in 1992, ''

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' () is a French historical adventure novel written and published in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is the first of the author's three d'Artagnan Romances. As with some of his other works, he wrote it in col ...

'' in 1993, the highly successful live-action 1996 remake of ''

101 Dalmatians 101 Dalmatians may refer to: * '' The Hundred and One Dalmatians'', a 1956 novel written by Dodie Smith * 101 Dalmatians (franchise), a Disney film franchise based on the novel ** '' One Hundred and One Dalmatians'', a 1961 animated film based on ...

'' starring

Glenn Close Glenda Veronica Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress. In a career spanning over five decades on Glenn Close on screen and stage, screen and stage, she has received List of awards and nominations received by Glenn Close, numerous ac ...

, and the

Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, and singer. He had his breakthrough as a standup comic before gaining stardom for his film roles; he is widely recognized as one of the greatest comedians of all time. H ...

comedy ''

Holy Man ''Holy Man'' is a 1998 American satirical comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Herek, written by Tom Schulman, and starring Eddie Murphy, Jeff Goldblum, Kelly Preston, Robert Loggia and Jon Cryer. The film was a commercial failure and re ...

'' in 1998. He also directed the critically acclaimed drama ''

Mr. Holland's Opus ''Mr. Holland's Opus'' is a 1995 American drama film directed by Stephen Herek, produced by Ted Field, Robert W. Cort, and Michael Nolin, and written by Patrick Sheane Duncan. The film stars Richard Dreyfuss in the title role of Glenn Hollan ...

'' in 1995. In the 2000s, Herek directed the 2001 movie '' Rock Star'', a film about a rockstar wannabe and his favorite rock group, Steel Dragon, starring

Mark Wahlberg Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg (born June 5, 1971), formerly known by his stage name Marky Mark, is an American actor, producer, and former rapper. Mark Wahlberg filmography, His work as a leading actor, leading man spans the Comedy film, come ...

and

Jennifer Aniston Jennifer Joanna Aniston (born February 11, 1969) is an American actress. She rose to international fame for her role as Rachel Green on the television sitcom ''Friends'' from 1994 to 2004, which earned her Primetime Emmy, Golden Globe, and Scr ...

. After the underwhelming performances of '' Life or Something Like It'' in 2002 and '' Man of the House'' in 2005, Herek has stayed mainly in the television and

direct-to-DVD Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, television series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strateg ...

market, directing films like '' Picture This'', '' Into the Blue 2: The Reef'', and '' The Chaperone'', as well as two

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily as a country music, country musician. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton's debut album ...

TV specials.

Filmography

Film

Director Executive producer * '' Reverse Runner'' (2012)

Television

TV movies * '' The Gifted One'' (1989) * ''Young MacGyver'' (2003) * '' The Cutting Edge: Fire and Ice'' (2010) * '' Jinxed'' (2013) * ''

Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors ''Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors'' is a 2015 American television film, made-for-television drama (film and television), drama film based on the life of Dolly Parton, written by Pamela K. Long and directed by Stephen Herek. The film premiered ...

'' (2015) * '' Dolly Parton's Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love'' (2016) * ''Same Time, Next Christmas'' (2019) TV series

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Herek, Stephen 1958 births Living people Mass media people from San Antonio University of Texas at Austin alumni Film directors from Texas American television directors American comedy film directors