Mike Figgis Biography

Date of Birth: February 28, 1948

Mike Figgis was raised in Nairobi from infancy to age eight, when his family moved back home to England. Before getting involved in films, he studied music in London and performed in a band featuring Bryan Ferry as the lead singer. Figgis was turned down by the National Film School so instead, he funded his directorial and screenwriting debut -- a 60-minute TV movie called The House (1984). Figgis made his feature film directorial debut with a screenplay he’d written himself called Stormy Monday (1988). Starring Tommy Lee Jones and Melanie Griffith, the film won a Special Mention at the Mystfest Film Festival. It also earned favorable reviews in several major U.S. papers such as the New York Times and Los Angeles Times, and on the basis of that, Figgis was launched into a different league. He moved to Los Angeles to direct International Affairs (1990) starring Hollywood A-listers such as Richard Gere and Andy Garcia. He teamed up with Gere again for Mr. Jones (1993), The Browning Version (1994) starring Albert Finney and Matthew Modine, and he earned a Golden Palm nomination at the Cannes Film Festival, but it wasn’t until Figgis directed Leaving Las Vegas (1995) starring Nicolas Cage that he had a bona fide hit on his hands. The film, about an alcoholic writer who drinks himself to death, earned four Oscar® nominations, including Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Director for Figgis. Several low budget films followed before Figgis created some fresh buzz in the film industry with Time Code (2000). The revolutionary film had four different scenes — one in each corner of the screen — that told four different, but related stories. He again returned to Europe to make several low budget films, none of which gained wide release. In 2003, he directed as well as composed the score for the big budget, wide release Cold Creek Manor, starring Dennis Quaid and Sharon Stone, filmed in various locations in Ontario, Canada.

Filmography:

Cold Creek Manor (2003)
Ten Minutes Older: The Cello (2002)
The Battle of Orgreave (2001)
Hotel (2001)
Time Code (2000)
Miss Julie (1999)
The Loss of Sexual Innocence (1999)
Flamenco Women (1997)
One Night Stand (1997)
Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
The Browning Version (1994)
Mr. Jones (1993)
Liebestraum (1991)
Internal Affairs (1990)
Stormy Monday (1988)