David Mackenzie
Birthdate: May 10, 1966
Birthplace: Corbridge, Northumberland, England, UK
David Mackenzie (birthname: David Hugh Mackenzie) is an acclaimed British filmmaker whose work is distinguished by strong storylines, exceptional acting and staging, and a wide range of genres, starting (after making four short films) as director/co-writer of the British thriller, The Last Great Wilderness (2002), starring his brother Alastair Mackenzie (who also co-wrote), Victoria Smurfit, David Hayman and Martin Bell, and also co-written by Michael Tait and Gillian Berrie.
Mackenzie made his director/writer breakthrough with his second feature, the exceptional Scottish erotic drama Young Adam (2003), based on Alexander Trocchi’s 1954 novel, starring Ewan McGregor, Tilda Swinton, Peter Mullan and Emily Mortimer, and released by Sony Pictures Classics (in North America)/Warner Bros. (U.K.)/Vision International (France) after premiering in the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival’s Official Selection, and receiving an NC-17 rating from the MPAA.
Mackenzie then directed his third feature, Asylum (2005), adapted by Patrick Marber and Chrysanthy Balis from Patrick McGrath’s 1996 novel, starring Natasha Richardson, Marton Czokas, Ian McKellan and Hugh Bonneville, and which premiered in the Berlin Film Festival and was released by Momentum Pictures. Mackenzie was director/co-writer/executive producer of another page-to-screen adaptation, Hallam Foe (2007), based on Peter Jinks’s novel, starring Jamie Bell, Sophia Myles, Claire Forlani and Ciaran Hinds, competing in the main selection of the Berlin Film Festival and released by Buena Vista International.
David Mackenzie directed his first U.S.-set movie, Spread (2009), with producer and lead Ashton Kutcher, Anne Heche, Margarita Levieva, and Sebastian Stan, co-produced by Jason Goldberg and Peter Morgan, and released by Anchor Bay Films and grossing $12 million after launching at the Sundance Film Festival. Mackenzie reunited with star Ewan McGregor, taking the director’s chair as well as an executive producer credit for the romantic sci-fi drama, Perfect Sense (2011), co-starring Eva Green, Ewen Bremner, Stephen Dillane, and Connie Nielsen, co-produced by BBC Films, Scottish Screen, the Danish Film Institute and other entities in the U.K., Denmark, Swede,n and Ireland, and premiering at the Sundance Film Festival.
Mackenzie directed the Scottish rock n’ roll comedy, You Instead (2011), co-starring Luke Treadaway, Natalia Tena and Sophie Wu, and released by Icon Film Distribution, and then Mackenzie followed as director of the British prison drama, Starred Up (2013), based on screenwriter Jonathan Asser’s experiences, and co-starring Jack O’Connell, Ben Mendelsohn and Rupert Friend, and grossing $3 million for Fox Searchlight Pictures after premiering at the Telluride Film Festival.
Mackenzie directed his biggest-grossing movie and the first to earn Oscar nominations with the neo-Western, Hell or High Water (2016), written by Taylor Sheridan, and starring Jeff Bridges, Chris Pine, Ben Foster, Katy Moon, Gil Birmingham, Marin Ireland and Dale Dickey, launching in the Official Selection of the Cannes Film Festival and grossing $38 million for Lionsgate/CBS Films.
David Mackenzie was director/co-writer/producer of his most expensive movie to date, the historical drama depicting the 14th century war for Scottish independence, Outlaw King (2018), starring Chris Pine, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Florence Pugh, Tony Curran and Stephen Dillane, and after premiering at the Toronto Film Festival had a release (largely on streaming) by Netflix. Mackenzie shifted to modern times as director/producer of the American corporate thriller, Relay (2024), with Riz Ahmed, Lily James, Sam Worthington, Willa Fitzgerald, and Victor Garber, premiering in 2024 at the Toronto Film Festival and releasing in 2025 by distributor Bleeker Street.
Mackenzie, as director, only then took on the British-backed, London-set thriller, Fuze (date to be announced), written by Ben Hopkins, starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Theo James, Sam Worthington, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and Saffron Hocking, and released via StudioCanal by Sky Cinema.
David Mackenzie Photos and Videos
Personal life
David Mackenzie was born and raised in the Northumberland village of Corbridge, England, by his late parents, John (Royal Navy Rear Admiral) and Ursula. Mackenzie’s younger brother is actor Alastair Mackenzie, and his sister-in-law is actor Susan Vidler. Mackenzie graduated from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design at the University of Dundee in Dundee, Scotland. Mackenzie and his life partner, Hazel Mall, have three children, Ferosa, Luke, and Arthur.
Known For
David Mackenzie Movies
director
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Hell or High Water
Toby is a divorced father who's trying to make a better life. His brother is an ex-con with a short temper and a loose trigger finger. Together, they plan a series of heists against the bank that's about to foreclose on their family ranch.
actor
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Facts About David Mackenzie
On Franchise Fantasy: David Mackenzie has commented that “I pretty much hate the big franchise fantasy movies. I have no connection to any of them, so I don’t see them. I guess I’m interested in ‘grown-up’ cinema rather than cinema for kids.”
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