Samuel Alexander "Sam" Mendes CBE (born 1 August 1965) is an English stage and film director who also directs commercials at Ridley Scott Associates (RSA US). He is known for his 1998 production of Cabaret, starring Alan Cumming, and his debut film, American Beauty, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Director.
Early years
Mendes was born in Reading, Berkshire, England to Jameson Peter Mendes, a university professor, and Valerie Helene Barnett, an author of children's books. His father is from Trinidad's ethnic Portuguese community, and his mother an English Jew. His grandfather is the Trinidad writer Alfred Mendes. He attended Magdalen College School in Oxford and graduated from Peterhouse, the oldest college of the University of Cambridge, with a B.A. in 1987.
Mendes first attracted attention for his production of Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard in the West End which starred Judi Dench before he was twenty-five years old. Soon he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company where his productions, many of them featuring Simon Russell Beale, included Troilus and Cressida, Richard III and The Tempest.
He has also worked at the Royal National Theatre, directing Edward Bond's The Sea, Jim Cartwright's The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, Harold Pinter's The Birthday Party, and Othello with Simon Russell Beale as Iago.
Career
Stage
In 1992 Mendes was appointed artistic director of the Donmar Warehouse, an intimate studio space in London's Covent Garden which he quickly transformed into one of the most exciting venues in the city. His opening production was Stephen Sondheim's Assassins which reveled in the show's dark, comic brilliance and rescued it from the critical opprobrium it had suffered on its American opening. He followed this with a series of excellent classic revivals, many of which attracted some of the finest actors and biggest stars of the decade. Among Mendes's best productions were Lionel Bart's Oliver! in 1994 at the London Palladium, in which new dialogue and music was added by the original composer himself. This production starred Jonathan Pryce and Sally Dexter, and is the longest running musical to play at the Palladium, having closed in 1998/99. John Kander and Fred Ebb's Cabaret, Tennessee Williams's The Glass Menagerie, Stephen Sondheim's Company, Alan Bennett's Habeas Corpus and his farewell duo of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya and Twelfth Night, which transferred to the Brooklyn Academy of Music. As artistic director Mendes also gave some of the country's finest younger directors the opportunity to do some of their best work: Matthew Warchus's production of Sam Shepard's True West, Katie Mitchell's of Beckett's Endgame, David Leveaux's of Sophocles's Elektra and Tom Stoppard's The Real Thing were amongst the most critically acclaimed of the decade. The Donmar's present artistic director, Michael Grandage, directed some of the key productions of the later part of Mendes's tenure, including Peter Nichols's Passion and Privates on Parade and Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along. Mendes also directed Bernadette Peters in a Broadway revival of Gypsy. This production didn't run for long, due to Peters' short illness throughout. A recording is available however, and it is considered one of the best to this day.
Film
Mendes made his directorial debut with the critically acclaimed and box-office success American Beauty, starring Kevin Spacey. The film grossed US$356.3 million worldwide and had a 2373% ROI. The film won the Golden Globe Award, the BAFTA Award and the Academy Award for Best Picture. Mendes won a Directors Guild of America Award, a Golden Globe Award, and the Academy Award for directing American Beauty.
Mendes's second film, in 2002, was Road to Perdition, which grossed US$181 million. The aggregate review score on Rotten Tomatoes was 82%; critics praised Paul Newman for his performance. The film was nominated for 6 Academy Awards, including Best Supporting Actor, and won one for Best Cinematography.
In 2005, Mendes directed the war film Jarhead. The film received mixed reviews, receiving a Rotten Tomatoes aggregate of 60%, and a gross revenue of US$96.9 million worldwide. The film focused on the boredom and other psychological challenges of wartime, instead of being a traditional combat-action film.
In 2008, Mendes directed Revolutionary Road, starring his wife, Academy Award-winner Kate Winslet, along with Leonardo DiCaprio and Kathy Bates. In a January 2009 interview, Mendes opened up about directing his wife for the first time:
"
I would open my eyes in the morning and there Kate would be, going, 'Great! You're awake! Now let's talk about the second scene.'
"
Mendes most recently completed work on a comedy-drama called Away We Go, which opened the 2009 Edinburgh International Film Festival. The film follows a couple searching across North America for the perfect community in which to settle down and start a family. The film stars John Krasinski, Maya Rudolph, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Catherine O'Hara, and Melanie Lynskey. Mendes is also starting pre-production on a film adaptation of the acclaimed 1971 Tony-winning Broadway musical Follies and has announced his intentions to film an adaptation of the novel Middlemarch in the near future.
According to ComingSoon.net, Columbia Pictures has purchased the rights to the Preacher graphic novel series and have hired Sam Mendes to direct it. He will also be an executive producer for the American movie remake of the British mini series Lost in Austen.
On January 5, 2010, news broke that Mendes is currently in negotiations to direct the sequel to the 2008 James Bond film Quantum of Solace; the 23rd installment of the James Bond franchise. Plans for the production are underway and filming could begin as early as June, with an eye toward a 2011 release. Previous Bond writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade are set to pen the screenplay, along with Frost/Nixon scribe Peter Morgan. Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli are producing, and Daniel Craig will continue his run as 007.
Personal life
Mendes married British actress Kate Winslet on 24 May 2003 in Anguilla in the Caribbean. The pair met in 2001, when Mendes approached his future wife about appearing in a play at the Donmar Warehouse Theater, where he was then artistic director. Their first child, Joe Alfie Mendes, was born on 22 December 2003. Mendes also has a stepdaughter, Mia Honey Threapleton (b. 12 October 2000), from Winslet's first marriage to assistant director Jim Threapleton. The family now lives in New York City and Church Westcote Manor, Church Westcote, Gloucestershire, England. He previously dated Jane Horrocks, Rachel Weisz and Calista Flockhart. Mendes was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2000.
Work
Stage productions
- 1990: Began directing for the Royal Shakespeare Company.
- 1992: became artistic director of the Donmar Warehouse theatre
- 1992: directed Assassins at the Donmar
- 1994: directed revival of Oliver! (with score specially revised and added to by the original composer and lyricist, Lionel Bart) at the London Palladium; the show ran for four years, becoming, on 8 July 1997, the longest-running show at that venue.
- 1994: directed revival of Cabaret
- 1995: directed Company
- 1997: directed The Fix in the West End
- 1998: alongside Rob Marshall, directed Broadway revival of Cabaret, closely based on his previous production
- 1998: directed David Hare's The Blue Room, starring Nicole Kidman (and Iain Glen).
- 1999: directed Wise Guys in New York
- 2002: directed Uncle Vanya and Twelfth Night.
- 2003: directed a Broadway revival of Gypsy, starring Bernadette Peters.
- 2003: started film and theatre production company, Neal Street Productions, with Pippa Harris and Caro Newling.
- 2006: directed The Vertical Hours on Broadway, with Julianne Moore and Bill Nighy
- 2008: directing The Winter's Tale and The Cherry Orchard for BAM, with Rebecca Hall, Ethan Hawke, Sinéad Cusack and Simon Russell Beale.
Filmography
Director
Year
Film
Oscar nominations
Oscar wins
1999
American Beauty
8
5
2002
Road to Perdition
6
1
2005
Jarhead
2008
Revolutionary Road
3
0
2009
Away We Go
Producer
Year
Film
Notes
2002
Road to Perdition
2006
Starter for 10
(executive producer)
2007
The Kite Runner
(executive producer)
Things We Lost in the Fire
2008
Revolutionary Road
2009
Away We Go
Awards
List of Awards and nominations
Year
Award
Film or Stage Play
Result
1989
Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Most Promising Newcomer
The Cherry Orchard
Won
1995
Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Director
The Glass Menagerie
Won
1995
Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director
Won
1996
Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director
Company
Won
1998
Tony Award for Best Musical Revival
Cabaret
Won
1999
Academy Award for Best Director
American Beauty
Won
Golden Globe Award for Best Director - Motion Picture
American Beauty
Won
2002
Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Director
Uncle Vanya and Twelfth Night
Won
2003
Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director
Won
Society of London Theatre Special Award
N/A
Won
2008
Golden Globe Award for Best Director - Motion Picture
Revolutionary Road
Nominated
References
^ Dutta, Kunal (2007-11-30), "", Campaign,
^ "". filmreference. 2008. . Retrieved 2009-01-22.
^
^ Diane Solway (January 2009), , W magazine, , retrieved 2009-02-19
External links
- at the Internet Broadway Database
- at the Internet Movie Database
-
v • d •
Academy Award for Best Director
Warren Beatty (1981) · Richard Attenborough (1982) · James L. Brooks (1983) · Milo¨ Forman (1984) · Sydney Pollack (1985) · Oliver Stone (1986) · Bernardo Bertolucci (1987) · Barry Levinson (1988) · Oliver Stone (1989) · Kevin Costner (1990) · Jonathan Demme (1991) · Clint Eastwood (1992) · Steven Spielberg (1993) · Robert Zemeckis (1994) · Mel Gibson (1995) · Anthony Minghella (1996) · James Cameron (1997) · Steven Spielberg (1998) · Sam Mendes (1999) · Steven Soderbergh (2000)
Complete List · (1927-1940) · (1941-1960) · (1961-1980) · (1981-2000) · (2001-present)
v • d •
Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director
Jonathan Miller (1976) · Clifford Williams (1977) · Terry Hands (1978) · Michael Bogdanov (1979) · Trevor Nunn / John Caird (1980) · Peter Wood (1981) · Richard Eyre (1982) · Terry Hands (1983) · Christopher Morahan (1984) · Bill Bryden (1985) · Bill Alexander (1986) · Declan Donnellan (1987) · Deborah Warner (1988) · Michael Bogdanov (1989) · Michael Bogdanov (1990) · Trevor Nunn (1995) · Sam Mendes (1996) · Des McAnuff (1997) · Richard Eyre (1998) · Howard Davies (1999) · Trevor Nunn (2000) · Howard Davies (2001) · Michael Boyd (2002) · Sam Mendes (2003) · Michael Grandage (2004) · Nicholas Hytner (2005) · Richard Eyre (2006) · Dominic Cooke (2007) · Rupert Goold (2008)
Director · Director of a Play · Director of a Musical
v • d •
Society of London Theatre Special Award
Laurence Olivier (1979) · Ralph Richardson (1980) · Charles Wintour (1982) · Joan Littlewood (1983) · John Gielgud (1985) · Alec Guinness (1988) · Peggy Ashcroft (1991) · Ninette de Valois (1992) · Kenneth MacMillan (1993) · Sam Wanamaker (1994) · Harold Pinter (1996) · Margaret Harris (1997) · Ed Mirvish / David Mirvish (1998) · Peter Hall (1999) · Rupert Rhymes (2002) · Sam Mendes (2003) · Judi Dench (2004) · Alan Bennett (2005) · Ian McKellen (2006) · John Tomlinson (2007) · Andrew Lloyd Webber (2008) · Alan Ayckbourn (2009)
v • d •
Films directed by Sam Mendes
American Beauty (1999) · Road to Perdition (2002) · Jarhead (2005) · Revolutionary Road (2008) · Away We Go (2009)
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