# James Marsh (director)

James Marsh (born 30 April 1963) is a British film and documentary director best known for his work on Man on Wire, which won the 2008 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, and The Theory of Everything, the multi-award-winning biopic of physicist Stephen Hawking released in 2014.

## Early life

Marsh was born in Truro, Cornwall and raised in Sennen, a Cornish village, and Woolwich, a district in southeast London. In Woolwich, he lived in a "miserable council flat" with his family.
Marsh won a scholarship to the University of Oxford. As an undergraduate, he studied at St Catherine's College, Oxford and graduated with a degree in English.

## Career

Marsh began his early career in directing with several documentaries made for the BBC. His first TV documentary was the 90-minute Troubleman – The Last Years of Marvin Gaye, and was followed by the 26-minute 1990 documentary The Animator of Prague starring Jan Švankmajer and his works. Later came The Burger and the King: The Life and Cuisine of Elvis Presley, which was made in 1995 and released in 1996, and the Welsh musician John Cale, which was made in 1998 and released in 1999. His relationship continued with the BBC as a director and producer for three Arena series episodes, including the celebrated film Wisconsin Death Trip (1999).
In 2005 he directed the film The King which was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival.
In 2008 he made the documentary Man on Wire, about Philippe Petit's walk between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York. Marsh based Man on Wire, in part, on Philippe Petit’s memoir To Reach the Clouds. Man on Wire won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 81st annual Oscars, the BAFTA Award for Best British film, the Independent Spirit Award, and many others. The film, called "exhilarating", has had a hugely positive audience response and was among the Top Ten Films of 2008 on many critics' lists.
In 2009, he directed the "1980" episode of Red Riding, which aired on Channel 4 in the UK.
He also directed Project Nim in 2010, which is based on the book Nim Chimpsky: The Chimp Who Would Be Human by Elizabeth Hess. It is a documentary about the landmark study conducted by Herbert S. Terrace on the subject of great ape language acquisition and the subject of the study is a chimpanzee named Nim Chimpsky. Marsh watched different films to gain inspiration before making Project Nim. He watched E.T., Frederick Wiseman's Primate, and the Bresson film Au hasard Balthazar. He gained the most information from Au hasard Balthazar, a fictional account of a donkey as it passes through various human owners. The structure of Project Nim reflects a lot from this film as we see the drama of the human world through the eyes of the chimpanzee.
In 2012, he directed Shadow Dancer, a joint Irish/UK production about the Irish republican movement, which was filmed in Dublin and London. The film features Clive Owen, Andrea Riseborough, Gillian Anderson, Domhnall Gleeson and Aidan Gillen.
Marsh directed The Theory of Everything released in 2014, a biopic on Stephen Hawking starring Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones. Marsh received a nomination for the BAFTA for Best Director and the film was nominated for five Academy Awards including Best Picture.

## Personal life

Marsh currently lives in Copenhagen with his two daughters and his wife.

## Filmography

Film
| Year | Title | Director | Writer |
| 2005 | The Team | No | Yes |
| 2005 | The King | Yes | Yes |
| 2012 | Shadow Dancer | Yes | No |
| 2014 | The Theory of Everything | Yes | No |
| 2017 | The Mercy | Yes | No |
| 2018 | King of Thieves | Yes | No |
| 2023 | Dance First | Yes | No |
Miniseries
| Year | Title | Notes |
| 2009 | Red Riding | Segment "1980" |
| 2016 | The Night Of | Episode "The Art of War" |
Documentary film
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer |
| 1999 | Wisconsin Death Trip | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2008 | Man on Wire | Yes | No | No |
| 2011 | Project Nim | Yes | No | No |

## Accolades

List of awards and nominations :
| Year | Award / film Festival | Category | Work | Result |
| 2000 | San Sebastian Film Festival | San Sebastián International Film Festival FIPRESCI Prize – Special Mention | Wisconsin Death Trip | Won |
| 2000 | Stockholm Film Festival | Stockholm Film Festival Bronze Horse | Wisconsin Death Trip | Nominated |
| 2001 | BAFTA Award | BAFTA TV Award for Specialised Programme or Series | Wisconsin Death Trip | Nominated |
| 2006 | Gotham Awards | Breakthrough Director | The King | Nominated |
| 2006 | Philadelphia Film Festival | Philadelphia Film Festival American Independents Award | The King | Won |
| 2008 | Alliance of Women Film Journalists | Best Documentary | Man on Wire | Won |
| 2008 | Directors Guild of America | Best Director - Documentary | Man on Wire | Nominated |
| 2008 | European Film Awards | Best Documentary | Man on Wire | Nominated |
| 2008 | Gotham Independent Film Awards 2008 | Best Documentary | Man on Wire | Nominated |
| 2009 | Academy Awards | Best Documentary | Man on Wire | Won |
| 2009 | BAFTA Award | Best British Film | Man on Wire | Won |
| 2009 | Cinema Eye Honors | Best Film-Making | Man on Wire | Won |
| 2009 | Cinema Eye Honors | Best Director | Man on Wire | Nominated |
| 2009 | Cinema Eye Honors | Audience Choice Prize | Man on Wire | Nominated |
| 2009 | Independent Spirit Awards | Best Documentary | Man on Wire | Won |
| 2011 | Alliance of Women Film Journalists | Best Documentary | Project Nim | Nominated |
| 2011 | Boston Society of Film Critics Awards 2011 | Best Documentary | Project Nim | Won |
| 2011 | Directors Guild of America | Best Director - Documentary | Project Nim | Won |
| 2012 | BAFTA Award | Best Documentary | Project Nim | Nominated |
| 2012 | Cinema Eye Honors | Best Film-Making | Project Nim | Nominated |
| 2012 | Cinema Eye Honors | Audience Choice Prize | Project Nim | Nominated |
| 2012 | Evening Standard British Film Awards | Best Documentary | Project Nim | Nominated |
| 2012 | Dinard British Film Festival | Golden Hitchcock Award | Shadow Dancer | Won |
| 2012 | Dinard British Film Festival | Audience Award | Shadow Dancer | Won |
| 2012 | Edinburgh International Film Festival | Best Feature Film | Shadow Dancer | Nominated |
| 2012 | Film by the Sea International Film Festival | Film Award | Shadow Dancer | Nominated |
| 2013 | Humanitas Prize | Best Documentary | Man on Wire | Nominated |
| 2015 | BAFTA Award | Best British Film | The Theory of Everything | Won |
| 2015 | BAFTA Award | Best Director | The Theory of Everything | Nominated |
| 2016 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special | The Night Of | Nominated |