Stephen Walker is a British author and filmmaker. He was educated at

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...

and Harvard universities. He has directed or produced around 30 films, and was twice voted in the top 10 directors in the UK in ''

Broadcast Broadcasting is the distribution (business), distribution of sound, audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio ...

'' magazine. His production company is Walker George Films. His author website i
Stephen Walker Beyond

Writing

His first book, ''King of

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The ci ...

: Madness, Mayhem and the Movies'' (1999) was published by

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions. Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest mus ...

and Penguin USA in 2000. Based on his

BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

documentary ''Waiting for Harvey'', it was described by ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'' as “entertaining and hilarious.” ''Shockwave: Countdown to Hiroshima'' (2005) his second book, tells the story of the three months before the dropping of the atomic bomb in August 1945. It was published by

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News C ...

, winning favourable comparisons to

John Hersey John Richard Hersey (June 17, 1914 – March 24, 1993) was an American writer and journalist. He is considered one of the earliest practitioners of the so-called New Journalism, in which storytelling techniques of fiction are adapted to n ...

's classic postwar account '' Hiroshima''. It received starred reviews from ''

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...

'', ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' and '' Kirkus Reviews'' and was described as “electrifying” (''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

''), "a page-turner" (''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cult ...

''), and "stunning…among the most immediate and thrilling works of history I have ever read." (''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'') ''Shockwave'' is currently in development as a TV Series with

Working Title Films Working Title Films is a British film studio that produces motion pictures and television programs and is a subsidiary of Universal Pictures, a division of NBCUniversal, which is itself a division of Comcast. The company was founded by Ti ...

. Screenwriters have included

Tom Stoppard Sir Tom Stoppard (born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and politi ...

and Oscar-nominated

Hossein Amini Hossein Amini ( fa, حسین امینی; born 18 January 1966) is an Iranian-born British screenwriter and film director. Amini has worked as a screenwriter since the early 1990s. He was nominated for numerous awards for the 1997 film '' The Win ...

. The book was republished with an updated introduction by HarperCollins in 2020 for the 75th anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Walker's most recent non-fiction book ''Beyond: The Astonishing Story of the First Human to Leave Our Planet and Journey Into Space'' is set at the heart of the Cold War in the spring of 1961 when the US and the USSR raced to put the first human into space. The book was published in 2021 by HarperCollins in the US and UK to mark the 60th anniversary of

Yuri Gagarin Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin; Gagarin's first name is sometimes transliterated as ''Yuriy'', ''Youri'', or ''Yury''. (9 March 1934 – 27 March 1968) was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut who became the first human to journey into outer space. Tr ...

's successful orbit of the Earth, the first human in history to do so. ''Beyond'' was described by The Sunday Times as "a thrilling piece of storytelling," by The Financial Times as "thrilling, fresh and new," and by The Wall Street Journal as ""vividly told." It was picked by The Daily Telegraph as one of their Books of the Year. ''Beyond'' is also currently in development as a six-part TV series with Working Title Films. The screenwriter is John Collee, who also wrote the Oscar-nominated

Peter Weir Peter Lindsay Weir ( ; born August 21, 1944) is a retired Australian film director. He's known for directing films crossing various genres over forty years with films such as '' Picnic at Hanging Rock'' (1975), '' Gallipoli'' (1981), ''Witnes ...

movie ''

Master and Commander ''Master and Commander'' is a 1969 nautical historical novel by the English author Patrick O'Brian, first published in 1969 in the US and 1970 in the UK. The book proved to be the start of the 20-novel Aubrey–Maturin series, set largely in th ...

'', starring

Russell Crowe Russell Ira Crowe (born 7 April 1964) is an actor. He was born in New Zealand, spent ten years of his childhood in Australia, and moved there permanently at age twenty one. He came to international attention for his role as Roman General Max ...

Film and television

He has won a BAFTA, and was nominated for three further BAFTAs (including Best Documentary and Best Director) for his

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

documentary, ''A Boy Called Alex'', a film about a music prodigy at

Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

, who suffers from the disease

cystic fibrosis Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a rare genetic disorder that affects mostly the lungs, but also the pancreas, liver, kidneys, and intestine. Long-term issues include difficulty breathing and coughing up mucus as a result of frequent lung infections. ...

, was described by

as "glorious." He has also won an Emmy and two

Rose d'Or The Rose d'Or ('Golden Rose') is an international awards festival in entertainment broadcasting and programming. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) first acquired the Rose d’Or in 1961, when it was created by Swiss Television in the lakesi ...

s, Europe's most prestigious television prize. His film ''

Young@Heart Young@Heart, also Young@Heart Chorus, is an entertainment group created by and for the elderly, comprised at present of people at least 70 years of age. Some have prior professional theater or music experience, others have performed at amateur lev ...

'', the tale of a chorus of American seniors who sing rock music, won the Audience Award at the

Los Angeles Film Festival The LA Film Festival was an annual film festival that was held in Los Angeles, California, and usually took place in June. It showcased independent, international, feature, documentary and short films, as well as web series, music videos, episod ...

in 2007 and went on to win a further 23 film festival audience awards worldwide, including in Paris, Sydney, Warsaw, Nashville, and Atlanta. ''Young@Heart'' was released in 250 theatres by

Fox Searchlight Searchlight Pictures, Inc. is an American film production company and a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is part of the Walt Disney Company. Founded in 1994 as Fox Searchlight Pictures, Inc. for 20th Century Fox (later 20th Century Stu ...

in the US in 2008. A key scene from the movie where the late octogenarian Fred Knittle sings

Coldplay Coldplay are a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey (manager), Phil H ...

's "

Fix You "Fix You" is a song by British rock band Coldplay. It was written by all four members of the band for their third studio album, '' X&Y'' (2005). It was released on 5 September 2005 as the second single from ''X&Y'' and reached number 4 on the ...

" has had 2.8 million hits on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

Education and personal life

Stephen Walker was educated at

St Paul's School, London St Paul's School is a Selective school, selective Independent school (United Kingdom), independent Day school, day and boarding school for boys aged 13–18, founded in 1509 by John Colet and located on a 43-acre site by River Thames, the Thames i ...

, and

Worcester College Worcester College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The college was founded in 1714 by the benefaction of Sir Thomas Cookes, 2nd Baronet (1648–1701) of Norgrove, Worcestershire, whose coat of arm ...

, where he gained a BA in modern history. He subsequently won a

John Lounsbery John Mitchell Lounsbery (March 9, 1911 – February 13, 1976) was an American animator and director who worked for Walt Disney Productions. He is best known as one of Disney's Nine Old Men, of which he was the shortest lived as well as the fir ...

Fellowship to study as a postgraduate at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

, receiving a master's degree in philosophy and history of science, before joining the

. His former partner is the television producer and director Sally George. He lives in London and has one daughter. In his spare time, he flies a tiny plane for recreation.

Filmography

*''Prisoners in Time'' (1995) *''Jewish Wedding'' (1996) *''Waiting for Harvey'' (1999) *''Hardcore'' (2001) *''Faking It: Punk Rocker to Orchestra Conductor'' (2002)Faking It: Punk Rocker to Orchestra Conductor (2002) at Channel Four
/ref> *''Hiroshima – A Day That Shook The World'' (2005) (drama-documentary) *''A Boy Called Alex'' (2007) *''

'' (2007) * ''Silver Surfers'' (2007) * ''George Melly’s Last Stand'' (2008) * ''Operation Mincemeat'' (2010) Presented by

Ben Macintyre Benedict Richard Pierce Macintyre (born 25 December 1963) is a British author, reviewer and columnist for ''The Times'' newspaper. His columns range from current affairs to historical controversies. Early life Macintyre is the elder son of Ang ...

* ''The Real Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines (Propellerheads)'' (2011) * ''DOUBLE AGENT: The Eddie Chapman Story'' (2011) Presented by

* ''The Day I Got My Sight Back'' (2013)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Stephen Living people Year of birth missing (living people) British writers British film directors British television directors Alumni of the University of Oxford Harvard University alumni