Doug Liman Biography

DOUG LIMAN

Date of Birth: 1965

American director Doug Liman was born and raised in New York where he stumbled into film after his father's friend presented the family with a movie camera. While still in junior high school, Liman began making short films. He decided to pursue his hobby by studying at NYC's International Center of Photography while attending Brown University. During his time at Brown, he co-founded the student-run cable television station and served as its first station manager. After receiving a BA from Brown University in 1988 he went on to graduate studies in film at USC.

His second feature, Swingers (1996), was a critical and financial hit. The film about a group of Rat Pack-worshipping friends looking for a little love was made with a budget of US $250,000 and garnered Liman MTV's Movie Award for Best New Filmmaker.

Following his debut feature film success, Liman went on to direct commercials. The experience he gained by creating adverts for Levi's,VW, Dockers, Sony, Mercedes, Budweiser, Fox Television, and Nike engrained useful tools to help him film his next feature, Go (1999). The film, which followed three interconnecting stories and featured an ensemble cast of young hot stars, did well in theaters, making more than triple the cost.

After a short return to commercial work during which he earned awards for his Nike ad featuring Tiger Woods bouncing a golf ball on his club, Liman directed and executive-produced the action film The Bourne Identity (2002) based on a series of novels by Robert Ludlum. He then directed the critically-acclaimed pilot for Fox's hit series The O.C., for which he is also the executive producer. Impressed by the work of young actor Adam Brody in The O.C., Liman cast him in a supporting role when he helmed the major motion picture Mr. and Mrs. Smith (2005), starring Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt.

Since then, Liman has helmed other films such as Jumper(2008), Fair Game (2010), Edge of Tomorrow (2014), Mena (2017) and American Made (2017). Most recently, he directed Locked Downand Chaos Walkingin 2021.

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