MIKE LEIGH
Mike Leigh
- © Sara Krulwich/The New York Times
- (Mike Leigh, 1996)
Biography
BIO
Mike Leigh was born in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England, in 1943, and raised in Salford, Greater Manchester, England. His father was a doctor.
Leigh received a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, but found the experience restrictive and unsatisfying. He later trained as a director at a drama school in Essex.
As an actor, Leigh made his feature film debut in 1963, at the age of 20, but later turned to the regional stage to develop his writing and directing skills.
In 1971, Leigh released his first feature film using an improvisational style he would hone throughout his career. Beginning months before shooting, he and his actors work through character development, improvising and refining dialogue. Improvisations are meticulously rehearsed until final shooting.
For the next 15 years, Leigh wrote and directed for BBC television. It was not until 1986 that he teamed up with the producer Simon Channing Williams to fund and release his second film in 1988. Since then the duo, under the masthead Thin Man Films, have produced and released all of Leigh’s subsequent films (Williams passed away in 2009).
He has received 7 Academy Award nominations for writing and directing and won 5 BAFTA Awards, among many other citations, since in 1988.
Leigh married the actress Alison Steadman (b. 1946) in 1973. The couple raised two children and divorced in 2001. One of their sons is the director/cinematographer Leo Leigh (b. 1981).
Additional English stage history is available at: 
Additional biographical information is available at: 
