Ben Wheatley


Ben Wheatley is an English filmmaker and screenwriter. Beginning his career in advertising, Wheatley first gained recognition and acclaim for his commercials and short films, before transitioning into feature films and television programmes. He is best known for his work in the thriller and horror genres, with his films frequently incorporating heavy elements of black comedy and satire. His best-known works include the psychological horror films Kill List and A Field in England, the J. G. Ballard adaptation High-Rise, and the action comedy Free Fire.
Wheatley has received numerous accolades for his work, including an Evening Standard British Film Award, five British Independent Film Award nominations, and numerous awards and honours from film festivals including South by Southwest, Karlovy Vary International, Mar del Plata International, Raindance, Toronto International, and Cannes Film Festival.

Early life

Wheatley was born in Billericay, Essex. He went to Haverstock School in North London and it was here during the sixth form that he met Amy Jump, who is now his wife and co-founder of the "Mr and Mrs Wheatley" blog. The couple have a son and live in Brighton.

Career

Initially a short film maker and animator, Wheatley moved his work to the internet. His clip "cunning stunt" which shows his friend Rob Hill jumping over a car has had over 10 million views. The hundred or so short animations and games found on the "Mr and Mrs Wheatley" site were noticed by large media companies and Wheatley's work expanded into mainstream media.
In 2006 Wheatley won a "Lion" award at Cannes advertising festival for directing the AMBX viral, with The Viral Factory. In July 2006 he directed live-action sections of the TV series Modern Toss,, which was aired on Channel 4. Wheatley has also written and created clips for BBC Two's Time Trumpet and has appeared in and directed sketches for BBC Three's Comedy Shuffle. Between 2007 and 2009 Wheatley directed series 2 of Modern Toss and Ideal series 5 and 6. In 2008, Wheatley co-created and directed the sketch series The Wrong Door for BBC Three.
In May 2009 he directed the feature film Down Terrace in eight days; it won the Next Wave prize at Fantastic Fest in Austin and Best UK Feature at Raindance in London. In 2010 Wheatley completed his second feature, Kill List for Warp X. The film received critical acclaim and won Michael Smiley a British Independent Film Award for Best Supporting Actor. The movie holds a 76% rating on Rotten Tomatoes with a critic consensus describing the film as "an expertly executed slow-burn crime thriller that thrives on tension before morphing into visceral horror."
Wheatley's third film was the black comedy Sightseers, released in the UK in November 2012. It was written by its stars, Alice Lowe and Steve Oram, with additional material by Amy Jump, and was chosen for the Directors' Fortnight section of the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. Wheatley's fourth film, A Field in England was financed through the Film4 talent and ideas hub, Film4.0. It was followed in 2016 by High Rise, an adaptation of the J.G. Ballard novel of the same name.
He has also directed advertisements for Blink Productions and Moxie.
A sci-fi TV series, Silk Road, written and directed by Wheatley, has been announced. It is said to be "in the vein of the Patrick McGoohan TV series The Prisoner," and will be screened on HBO. In 2014, Wheatley directed the first two episodes of the eighth series of Doctor Who, a show he has been a fan of since childhood.
Wheatley wrote and directed Free Fire starring an ensemble cast including Cillian Murphy, Brie Larson, Armie Hammer and Sharlto Copley. His film Happy New Year, Colin Burstead was made for the BBC 2018 Christmas schedule but will be available on the Iplayer for the entirety of 2019.
In November 2018, Wheatley was announced as the director of a new adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's gothic romance novel Rebecca, a Working Title Films production to be released on Netflix. The film will star Lily James, Armie Hammer, and Kristin Scott Thomas.

Filmography

Film

Executive Producer

Music videos


ActorDown TerraceKill ListSightseersThe ABCs of DeathA Field in EnglandHigh-RiseFree FireHappy New Year, Colin BursteadRebecca Total
Alice Lowe2
Armie Hammer2
Eileen Davies2
Enzo Cilenti2
Gareth Tunley2
Gemma Lise Thornton2
Julia Deakin2
Kali Peacock2
Keeley Hawes2
Kenneth Hadley2
Mark Kempner2
Michael Smiley5
Neil Maskell3
Peter Ferdinando3
Reece Shearsmith2
Richard Glover3
Robert Hill2
Robin Hill2
Sam Riley3
Sara Dee6
Simon Smith2
Steve Oram2
Tony Way2


Peter Ferdinando and Tony Way also appeared in the Wheatley directed episode of Doctor Who entitled "Deep Breath", with Michael Smiley appearing in the following Wheatley directed episode "Into the Dalek".

CrewDown TerraceKill ListSightseersA Field in EnglandHigh-RiseFree FireHappy New Year, Colin BursteadRebecca Total
Amy Jump5
Andrew Starke6
Claire Jones3
Jim Williams4
Laurie Rose8
Robin Hill3
Martin Pavey7