Rupert Wainwright Biography

Date of Birth: c. 1962

Born in England, Rupert Wainwright developed an interest in the arts at an early age. He dabbled in experimental theater before settling down to earn a degree in literature at Oxford University. During his final year there, he was cast in his first feature, Another Country (1984), starring Colin Firth and Rupert Everett. A role in the award-winning film Dreamchild (1985) starring Ian Holm followed, before Wainwright realized he was most interested in a career behind the camera. He was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship in 1986 to study film at UCLA's Masters Degree program. After graduating, he founded a video production company called Fragile Films and began directing music videos. His 1990 collaboration with rap artist M.C. Hammer - Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em - won a Grammy Award.

In 1989, Wainwright made his television directing debut with the ABC TV movie Dillinger, starring Mark Harmon and Patricia Arquette. Wainwright then began directing award-winning commercials, including one for Reebok shoes which won an Effie in 1992.

He made his feature film directing debut with Walt Disney's Blank Check (1994), followed by the romantic comedy The Sadness of Sex (1995) starring Peta Wilson and Stigmata (1999), starring Patricia Arquette and Gabriel Byrne. Returning to television in 2001, he directed the new horror series Wolf Lake, starring Lou Diamond Phillips and Graham Greene. Despite good reviews, the show folded after less than a season, and Wainwright concentrated on the big screen with The Fog (2005), starring Tom Welling and Selma Blair. He has also directed HIStory (1995), a video biography of Michael Jackson.

Wainwright lives in Los Angeles with his wife and their two children.

Filmography:

The Fog (2005)
Stigmata (1999)
The Sadness of Sex (1995)
Blank Check (1994)