Andrew Davis Biography

Date of Birth: 1947

Andrew Davis’ parents were actors who met while working with a repertory theater company in Chicago. Davis received his degree in journalism from the University of Illinois, then went to work as an assistant cameraman to acclaimed cinematographer/writer/director Haskell Wexler on the feature Medium Cool (1969). The veteran filmmaker had a great influence on his young assistant, who then went on to work as a cinematographer on several features. He also became director of photography on numerous award-winning television commercials, documentaries and features.

Davis made his directorial debut with the independent musical, Stony Island (1978), which he also co-wrote and produced. He followed that up with the thriller The Final Terror (1983), starring then-newcomers Darryl Hannah and Rachel Ward. He took time off from directing to co-write the screenplay for the musical Beat Street, produced by Harry Belafonte. With the action flick Code of Silence (1984), starring Chuck Norris, Davis moved into the director’s chair fulltime.

Davis directed, co-produced and co-wrote Above the Law (1988), Steven Seagal’s feature film debut. Davis next directed The Package (1989), starring Gene Hackman and Tommy Lee Jones. He joined up again with Steven Seagal and Tommy Lee Jones for Under Siege (1992), in what would turn out to be the top-grossing picture of the fall 1992 season.

The Fugitive (1994), starring Harrison Ford as the wrongly-convicted Dr. Kimble, would prove to be Davis’ most successful picture, grossing over $350 million at the box office worldwide. Tommy Lee Jones won an Oscar® for his performance as Lieutenant Gerard in the film, while Davis received a Best Director nomination from the Golden Globes.

Since then, Davis has also directed Keanu Reeves and Morgan Freeman in Chain Reaction (1996); Michael Douglas and Gwyneth Paltrow in A Perfect Murder (1998); Arnold Schwarzenegger in Collateral Damage (2002) and Sigourney Weaver and Jon Voight in Holes (2003).

Loyal to his hometown, Chicago, and his father, actor Nathan Davis, Davis has cast both in several of his movies. His production company, Chicago Pacific Entertainment, is based out of Santa Barbara.

Filmography:

Holes (2003)
Collateral Damage (2002)
A Perfect Murder (1998)
Chain Reaction (1996)
Steal Big, Steal Little (1995)
The Fugitive (1993)
Under Siege (1992)
The Package (1989)
Above the Law (1988)
Code of Silence (1985)
The Final Terror (1983)
Stony Island (1978)