David O. Russell
Birthdate: Aug 20, 1958
Birthplace: Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
David O. Russell (birthname: David Owen Russell) is the maker of mainly dark-tinged, ensemble comedies that allow his actors to run the gamut from subtle shadings to farce. Although none of Russell’s films comprise large physical productions, he tends to take considerable time as a writer-director-producer making his films, making only ten features in 28 years, starting in 1994 with Spanking the Monkey, an ultra-dark comedy starring Jeremy Davies, Alberta Watson, and Carla Gallo, successfully launching Russell’s career with Sundance’s audience award and the best first screenplay award at the Indie Spirit Awards.
David O. Russell got into the Miramax business with his follow-up feature, the black comedy Flirting with Disaster (1996), with the starry cast of Ben Stiller, Patricia Arquette, Téa Leoni, Alan Alda, Mary Tyler Moore, George Segal, Lily Tomlin, and Richard Jenkins, and premiering out of competition at the Cannes film festival. Taking a major shift from relationship comedies, Russell took on the Iraq War with the caustic and energetic heist comedy-drama, Three Kings (1999), starring George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Ice Cube, Nora Dunn, and Mykelti Williamson, and earning nearly $108 million box office globally.
David O. Russell added producer to his job titles (and partnering with producer Scott Rudin) for his fourth feature, a return to the domestic black comedy vein with I Heart Huckabees (2004), with a characteristically sprawling ensemble including Dustin Hoffman, Isabelle Huppert, Jude Law, Jason Schwartzman, Lily Tomlin, Mark Wahlberg, and Naomi Watts. Although he didn’t write the script, Russell gained an enhanced profile as a director with The Fighter (2010), a charged boxing film starring Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, and Melissa Leo, with Bale and Leo both winning supporting actor Oscars, a rare feat, and two of seven Oscar nominations, including a Best Director nomination for Russell.
Silver Linings Playbook (2012) marked Russell’s first produced screenplay in eight years, a somewhat less-black comedy-drama pairing the winning combination of Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence, surrounded by an ensemble including Robert De Niro, Jacki Weaver, Chris Tucker, and Julia Stiles. A Russell-directed film once again scored at the Oscars, with eight nominations, including another nomination for Russell as well as nominations in all four acting categories—the first movie to pull this off since Warren Beatty’s Reds (1981). The movie added to this triumph with a strong global box office return of $236 million.
Russell worked uncharacteristically quickly to make the delicious ensemble comedy about the FBI’s Abscam investigation in the ‘70s and ‘80s, American Hustle (2013), reuniting Cooper and Lawrence, with an ensemble including Bale, Adams, and Jeremy Renner. For the second consecutive year, a David O. Russell film dazzled the Oscars, with ten nominations (including director and screenplay nods for Russell, and once again, nominations in all four acting categories), but, surprisingly, no wins—one of only five movies to be nominated for ten or more Oscars to go winless.
After the release of a strange and barely noticed rom-com titled Accidental Love (shot mostly in 2008, then completed before its 2015 release)--which David O. Russell began filming until production funding issues stopped production, leading to Russell’s departure—Russell’s next film as director-writer-producer was Joy (2015), a vehicle for Jennifer Lawrence, who was nominated for the best actress Oscar and won the best actress Globe, and co-starring Cooper (marking Lawrence’s and Cooper’s third consecutive movie under Russell’s direction), Robert De Niro, Edgar Ramirez, Diane Ladd, Virginia Madsen, and Isabella Rossellini.
Seven years passed until Russell’s next film, Amsterdam (2022) marking a genre departure (mystery comedy) and a mostly fresh lineup of actors, though led by Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, and John David Robinson, with a large supporting ensemble including Chris Rock, Anya Taylor-Joy, Zoe Saldana, Mike Myers, Michael Shannon, Timothy Olyphant, Andrea Riseborough, Taylor Swift, Matthias Schoenaerts, Alessandro Nivola, Rami Malek, and De Niro.
Personal Details
Russell was married to producer Janet Grillo from 1992 to 2007; the couple had one child. Russell and costume designer Holly Davis have been partners since 2007, and have one adopted child. His height is 5’ 11”. Russell’s net worth is $40 million.
Filmography
actor
Previous (4)
- 2022 |
- 2018 |
- 2015 |
- 2013 | American HustleasDirector
American Hustle
A con man, Irving Rosenfeld, along with his seductive partner Sydney Prosser, is forced to work for a wild F.B.I. Agent, Richie DiMaso, who pushes them into a world of Jersey powerbrokers and the Mafia.
director
Previous (1)
- 2012 | Silver Linings Playbook
Silver Linings Playbook
After a stint in a mental institution, former teacher Pat Solitano moves back in with his parents and tries to reconcile with his ex-wife. Things get more challenging when Pat meets Tiffany, a mysterious girl with problems of her ...
Some Facts About David O. Russell
Causes: David O. Russell has worked to raise funds and support for mental illness treatment and autism research, and serves on the creative council of Represent.Us, a non-profit anti-corruption organization.
Support for the Ghetto: Russell has been a member of the board of Ghetto Film School for two decades, leading sessions teaching filmmaking to young minority students seeking to learn filmmaking. Russell also helped open the Los Angeles branch of Ghetto Film School in 2014.
Troubled Productions: David O. Russell has unfortunately earned a reputation as a mercurial, combative, and even abusive director on the set, launching into confirmed and well-reported fights with major stars including George Clooney, Lily Tomlin, and Amy Adams.
More Troubles: Russell was accused of sexual abuse by his transgender niece, Nicole Peloquin, but charges were dropped after a police report was filed. The case was mentioned in the material released in North Korea’s notorious Sony Pictures hack in 2014.
