Jon Amiel


Jon Amiel is an English director who has worked in film and television in both the UK and the US. After receiving a BAFTA Award nomination for the BBC series The Singing Detective, he went on to direct films, including Sommersby, Copycat, Entrapment and The Core.

Biography

Amiel was born in London. He attended the William Ellis School in Highgate, before studying English literature at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, graduating in 1969. It was while at Cambridge that he became involved with local theatre, and after college he went on to direct for the Royal Shakespeare Company.
After having worked as a story editor for the BBC, he directed the documentary The Silent Twins, and was chosen to direct the Dennis Potter serial The Singing Detective, for which he was BAFTA nominated. He made his feature film debut in 1989 with Queen of Hearts.
His most notable film is 1993's romantic drama Sommersby, starring Jodie Foster and Richard Gere. The film was a critical and commercial success, grossing $140 million worldwide.
Amiel currently lives in Santa Monica with his wife, Tara, and their two sons, Luke and Max. He also has another son, an aspiring screenwriter, called Leo.

Filmography

Film

Director
Producer
TV shows
YearTitleDirectorExecutive
Producer
Notes
1982BBC2 Playhouse2 episodes
1982-1983Play for Today2 episodes
1985Tandoori Nights5 episodes
1986Screen TwoEpisode "The Silent Twins"
1986The Singing DetectiveMini-Series
1988The StorytellerEpisode "The Luck Child"
2005EyesEpisode "Pilot"
2005ReunionEpisode "1986"
2007The Wedding BellsEpisode "For Whom the Bells Toll"
2008The Tudors2 episodes
2012-2013The Borgias4 episodes
2013Twisted Episode "Pilot"
2013-2015Once Upon a Time2 episodes
2014Halt and Catch FireEpisode "Giant"
2015The Astronaut Wives Club2 episdoes
2015Hemlock GroveEpisode "Todos Santos"
2015Wicked CityEpisode "Heat Wave"
2015-2016Aquarius2 episodes
2016Marco Polo2 episodes
2016-2017Outsiders6 episodes
2017IceEpisode "The Cut"
2017Wisdom of the CrowdEpisode "Machine Learning"
2018Seven SecondsMini-series;
Episode "Matters of Life and Death"
2019Proven InnocentEpisode "Shaken"
2019Carnival Row2 episodes
2020Spinning Out2 episodes
2020'Episode "Original Sin"

TV movies'
YearTitleDirectorExecutive
Producer
1977Dear Janet Rosenberg, Dear Mister Kooning
1983Busted
1983Romance/Romance
1985The Last Evensong
2014Deliverance Creek''

Ratings

Film
RATINGTITLECREDITBOX OFFICEYEAR
50%Deliverance CreekDirector2014
46%CreationDirector$0.4M2010
40%The CoreDirector$31.1M2003
38%EntrapmentDirector Screenwriter1999
16%Simply IrresistibleProducer1999
41%The Man Who Knew Too LittleDirector1997
78%CopycatDirector1995
62%SommersbyDirector1993
50%Tune in Tomorrow... Director1990

TV
RATINGTITLECREDITYEAR
57%Carnival RowExecutive Producer2019
76%OutsidersDirector Producer2017
2016
77%AquariusProducer2016
47%The Astronaut Wives ClubDirector2015
18%Wicked CityDirector2015
80%Once Upon a TimeDirector2015
2013
90%Halt and Catch FireDirector2014
85%The BorgiasDirector2013
73%TwistedDirector2013
42%ReunionDirector Producer2005
100%The Singing DetectiveDirector1986
37%The Wedding BellsDirector2007

Awards

1987 BAFTA Nominee for Best Drama Series: The Singing Detective
1996 Audience Award *Winner* at the Cognac Festival du Film Policier: Copycat
1990 Deauville Film Festival *Winner* of Critics Award and Audience Award: Tune in Tomorrow...
1989 Montréal World Film Festival *Winner* of Montréal First Film Prize: Queen of Hearts
1990 Paris Film Festival *Winner* of Grand Prix: Queen of Hearts