# Jon Amiel

Jon Amiel (born 20 May 1948) 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 (1986), he went on to direct films, including Sommersby (1993), Copycat (1995), Entrapment (1999), The Core (2003) and Creation (2009).

## Biography

Amiel was born in London, to parents who grew up in the East End of London. Amiel's grandparents were immigrants Isaac and Mary Amiel – Polish and Russian Jews. He attended 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.
One of his most notable films is 1993's romantic drama Sommersby, starring Jodie Foster and Richard Gere. The film was a critical and commercial success, grossing $140 million worldwide.

## Filmography
### Film

Director
* Queen of Hearts (1989)
* Tune in Tomorrow (1990)
* Sommersby (1993)
* Copycat (1995)
* The Man Who Knew Too Little (1997)
* Entrapment (1999)
* The Core (2003)
* Creation (2009)
Producer
* Simply Irresistible (1999)

### Television

TV movies
* Dear Janet Rosenberg, Dear Mister Kooning (1977)
* Busted (1983)
* Romance/Romance (1983)
* The Last Evensong (1985)
* Deliverance Creek (2014) (Also executive producer)
TV series
| Year | Title | Director | Executive producer | Notes |
| 1982 | BBC2 Playhouse | Yes | No | 2 episodes |
| 1982–1983 | Play for Today | Yes | No | 2 episodes |
| 1985 | Tandoori Nights | Yes | No | 5 episodes |
| 1986 | Screen Two | Yes | No | Episode "The Silent Twins" |
| 1986 | The Singing Detective | Yes | No | Miniseries |
| 1988 | The Storyteller | Yes | No | Episode "The Luck Child" |
| 2005 | Eyes | Yes | No | Episode "Pilot" |
| 2005 | Reunion | Yes | Yes | Episode "1986" |
| 2007 | The Wedding Bells | Yes | Yes | Episode "For Whom the Bells Toll" |
| 2008 | The Tudors | Yes | No | 2 episodes |
| 2012–2013 | The Borgias | Yes | No | 4 episodes |
| 2013 | Twisted | Yes | No | Episode "Pilot" |
| 2013–2015 | Once Upon a Time | Yes | No | 2 episodes |
| 2014 | Halt and Catch Fire | Yes | No | Episode "Giant" |
| 2015 | The Astronaut Wives Club | Yes | No | 2 episodes |
| 2015 | Hemlock Grove | Yes | No | Episode "Todos Santos" (Credited as "Jonathan Amiel") |
| 2015 | Wicked City | Yes | No | Episode "Heat Wave" |
| 2015–2016 | Aquarius | Yes | No | 2 episodes |
| 2016 | Marco Polo | Yes | No | 2 episodes |
| 2016–2017 | Outsiders | Yes | Yes | 6 episodes |
| 2017 | Ice | Yes | No | Episode "The Cut" |
| 2017 | Wisdom of the Crowd | Yes | No | Episode "Machine Learning" |
| 2018 | Seven Seconds | Yes | No | Episode "Matters of Life and Death" |
| 2019 | Proven Innocent | Yes | No | Episode "Shaken" |
| 2019 | Carnival Row | Yes | No | 2 episodes |
| 2020 | Spinning Out | Yes | No | 2 episodes |
| 2020 | Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector | Yes | No | Episode "Original Sin" |
| 2021 | American Gods | Yes | No | Episode "A Winter's Tale" |
| 2022 | The Cleaning Lady | Yes | No | Episode "The Lion's Den" |
| 2022 | The Walking Dead | Yes | No | 2 episodes |

## Awards

* 1987 BAFTA (British Academy Television Award) Nominee for Best Drama Series: The Singing Detective (1986)
* 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
* 1990 Deauville Film Festival *Winner* of Critics Award and Audience Award: Tune in Tomorrow
* 1996 Audience Award *Winner* at the Cognac Festival du Film Policier: Copycat