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1-50 of 157
- Director
- Producer
- Actor
Martin Campbell knows how to entertain an audience when he steps behind the camera. When he directed The Mask of Zorro (1998), the movie earned Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations and launched the international careers of Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Next, when he helmed Vertical Limit (2000), the film was well received by the critics and earned over $200 million in worldwide box-office sales. In addition, Campbell is credited with rejuvenating the James Bond franchise when he directed GoldenEye (1995), Pierce Brosnan's first outing as the famed British spy, which went on to gross more than $350 million. He also directed Daniel Craig's debut Bond feature as well, Casino Royale (2006).
Born in New Zealand, Campbell moved to London where he began his career as a cameraman. He went on to produce the controversial British feature Scum (1979), as well as Black Joy (1977), which was selected for competition at the Cannes Film Festival. Campbell made his directorial debut on the British police action series The Professionals (1977) and continued with the popular BBC series Shoestring (1979) and Thames TV's Minder (1979)
Considered one of the U.K.'s top directors by the mid-'80s, he directed the highly praised British telefilm, Reilly: Ace of Spies (1983). For his work on Edge of Darkness (1985), a five-hour BBC miniseries about nuclear contamination in England that depicted murder and high-ranking corruption, he won six BAFTA awards.
Campbell's first Hollywood movie was Criminal Law (1998) and he went on to direct Defenseless (1991) and No Escape (1994). Some of his American credits include directing HBO's Cast a Deadly Spell (1991) and two episodes of NBC's Homicide: Life on the Street (1993), among others. He also directed the epic romance Beyond Borders (2003) starring Angelina Jolie and Clive Owen.- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Ricki Lake was born in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York as a blonde. She has one sister, Jennifer who is one year her junior. Their father Barry is a pharmacist and their mother Jill is a homemaker; the two currently reside in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ricki attended Hastings Elementary, went on to Farragut Middle, then attended Hasting High for two years.
At the end of her sophomore year, Ricki transferred to the Professional Children's School in New York City to focus on perfecting her acting craft. She had also starting singing professionally at age 9, in cabarets and clubs. After finishing high school, Ricki attended Ithaca College for one year; during her final exams, she received a call from her agent, telling her to audition for the lead in a John Waters film. Unsurprisingly, she landed the role as "Tracy Turnblad." Thus, Hairspray (1988) marked Ricki Lake's movie debut. She went on to act in 15 more movies, and she had a recurring role in ABC's China Beach (1988) for one season.
At one point in her life, she hit rock-bottom, then decided to take charge of her life and make a dramatic change. She began to eat right and exercise, and soon she had lost 125 pounds.
In 1993 Ricki was chosen out of 100 people to host her own daytime talk show, and after only three years, Ricki Lake (1992) became rated second in its time frame. Also in 1993, she met the man of her dreams. At a Halloween party, she locked eyes with Rob Sussman, a political illustrator who was to become her husband. It was love at first sight, on both sides. The two married in Las Vegas in March 1994--but divorced in 2004.- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Darren Boyd was born on 30 January 1971 in Hastings, East Sussex, England, UK. He is an actor and writer, known for Imagine Me & You (2005), Four Lions (2010) and Spy (2011). He has been married to Amanda Ashy since 24 January 2004.- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Raffiella Chapman is a British actress who plays the titular role of Vesper in critically acclaimed, multi award winning feature film Vesper (2022) and Judgement in Sweet Brother (2024). Her first movie role was Lucy Hawking in The Theory of Everything (2014) followed by Claire in Tim Burton's Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016) but it as Vesper that Chapman has won critical acclaim.
"A star-making turn from Raffiella Chapman..." The Playlist
"Raffiella Chapman as Vesper is excellent" The New York Sun
"The title character, played with impressive poise by Raffiella Chapman" 4/5 stars The Guardian
"Raffiella Chapman gives a commanding and wonderfully mature performance as Vesper." In Session Film
"impressive up-and-comer Raffiella Chapman's stoic but winningly vulnerable performance keeps proceedings humane and honestly felt" Variety- Born on 5th August 1948 in Hastings, East Sussex, England. She started her television career in 1970 in the TV series A Family at War (1970), cast as Freda Ashton. She became better known following her appearances in The Beiderbecke Affair (1985), The Beiderbecke Tapes (1987) and The Beiderbecke Connection (1988), alongside James Bolam. She has narrated recent documentaries such as: "Frontier House", When Pat Phoenix Met Tony Booth (2002), "50s & 60s in Living Colour" and "What Granny Did in the War". Television series include: Cracker (1993) in which she played Fitz's wife Judith, more recently in Hornblower: Duty (2003) and Hornblower: Loyalty (2003). Recent feature film appearances include: Professor Corner in You're Dead... (1999) and Pauline in The Escort (1999) (aka "The Escort"). Theatre includes: Goneril in "King Lear" National Theatre (1997) and on BBC TV (King Lear (1998)); "The Bullet" in which she played Billie at London's West End Donmar Warehouse Theatre (1998); "An Experiment With An Air Pump" at the Hampstead Theatre (2002), playing two characters, Susannah Fenwick and Ellen.
- It would not be easy for anyone to out-do one of American theater's finest thespians, but somehow actress Sandy Dennis managed to even out-quirk the legendary Geraldine Page when it came to affecting nervous tics and offbeat mannerisms on stage and in film. She and Page had few peers when it came to the neurotic-dispensing department. The two Actor's Studio disciples developed fascinating characterizations that seemed to manifest themselves outwardly to such physical extremes and, like a bad car accident, their overt styling was capable of both drawing in, and repelling audiences. There was no gray area. Either way, both had a searing emotional range and were undeniably transfixing figures who held up Oscar trophies to prove there was a "Method" to their respective madness. Sandy's signature quirks--her stuttering, fluttering, throat gulps, eye twitches, nervous giggles, hysterical flailing--are all a part of what made her so distinctive and unforgettable. Her untimely death of cancer at age 54 robbed the entertainment industry of a remarkable talent.
The Nebraska-born-and-bred actress was born Sandra Dale Dennis in Hastings, on April 27, 1937, the daughter of postal clerk Jack Dennis and his secretary wife Yvonne (née Hudson), who divorced in 1966 after a 38-year marriage. Living in both Kenesaw (1942) and Lincoln (1946) while growing up, she and brother Frank went to Lincoln High School with TV host Dick Cavett. Her passion for acting grew and grew while still at home. A college student at both Nebraska Wesleyan University and the University of Nebraska, she eventually found her career direction after appearing with the Lincoln Community Theater Group.
The toothy actress left Nebraska and towards the Big Apple at age 19 just to try her luck. An intense student of acting guru Uta Hagen, Sandy made her New York stage debut in a Tempo Theatre production of "The Lady from the Sea" in 1956 and that same year won her first TV role as that of Alice Holden in the daytime series Guiding Light (1952). A year later she made it to Broadway as an understudy (and eventual replacement) for the roles of Flirt and Reenie in the William Inge drama "The Dark at the Top of the Stairs," directed by Elia Kazan at the Music Box Theatre. She toured with that production and also found regional work in the plays "Bus Stop" and "Motel" while continuing to shine as a budding New York fixture in "Burning Bright," "Face of a Hero" and "Port Royal".
Along with fellow newcomers Gary Lockwood and Phyllis Diller, Sandy made her movie debut in playwright Inge's Splendor in the Grass (1961), a movie quite welcoming of Sandy's neurotic tendencies. In the minor but instrumental role of Kay, she is an unwitting instigator of friend Deanie's (played by an ambitiously unbalanced Natalie Wood) mental collapse. Despite this worthy little turn, Sandy would not make another film for five years.
Instead, the actress set her sights strongly on the stage and for this she was handsomely rewarded, most notably in comedy. After appearing in a two-month run of the Graham Greene drama "The Complaisant Lover" at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre in 1961, stardom would be hers the very next year with her outstanding social worker role in the lighter-weight "A Thousand Clowns". Winning the Theatre World as well as the coveted Tony Award for her performance, she continue her run of prizes with a second consecutive Tony for her sexy turn in the comedy "Any Wednesday" (1964). Having made only one picture at this juncture, Sandy was not in a good position to transfer her award-winning characters to film and when they did, they went to Barbara Harris and Jane Fonda, respectively.
TV was also a viable medium for Sandy and she appeared sporadically on such programs as The Fugitive (1963), Naked City (1958) and Arrest and Trial (1963). In 1965, she appeared in London as Irina in a heralded Actor's Studio production of Chekhov's "The Three Sisters" with fellow devotees Geraldine Page, Kim Stanley, Shelley Winters, Luther Adler and Kevin McCarthy. The play was subsequently videotaped and directed by Paul Bogart, and is valuable today for the studied "Method" performances of its cast. It, however, received mixed reviews upon its release.
Returning to film in 1966, Sandy seemed to embellish every physical and emotional peculiarity she could muster for the role of the mousy wife Honey in the four-character powerhouse play Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) by Edward Albee. It is a mouth-dropping, emotionally shattering performance, and both she and a more even-keeled George Segal as the drop over guests of the skewering cutthroat couple George and Martha (Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton) more than held their own. While the distaff cast won Oscars for this (Taylor for "Best Actress" and Dennis for "Best Supporting Actress"), this ferocious landmark film blew open the "Production Code" doors once and for all and a wave of counterculture filming tackling formerly taboo subjects came to be.
Firmly established now with her Oscar win, Sandy found highly affecting lead showcases for herself. She starred as a young, naive English teacher challenged by a New York "Blackboard Jungle"-like school system in Up the Down Staircase (1967). She also stirred up some controversy along with Anne Heywood playing brittle lesbian lovers whose relationship is threatened by a sexy male visitor (Keir Dullea) in another ground-breaking film The Fox (1967). Sandy remained intriguingly off-kilter in the odd-couple romantic story Sweet November (1968) opposite Anthony Newley, the bizarre Robert Altman thriller That Cold Day in the Park (1969), and the gloomy British melodrama A Touch of Love (1969) [aka Thank You All Very Much].
Off-camera, Sandy lived for over a decade with jazz musician and saxophonist Gerry Mulligan, which began in 1965 following his devoted relationship with actress Judy Holliday who had died of cancer earlier in the year. They eventually parted ways in 1976. Rumors that they had married at some point were eventually negated by Sandy herself. Sandy also went on to have a May-December relationship with the equally quirky actor Eric Roberts from 1980 to 1985. She had no children.
At the peak of her film popularity, Sandy began the 1970s in more mainstream fashion. She and Jack Lemmon were another odd-couple hit in Neil Simon's The Out of Towners (1970) as married George and Gwen Kellerman visiting an unmerciful Big Apple. Sandy is at her whiny, plain-Jane best ("Oh, my God...I think we're being kidnapped!") as disaster upon disaster befalls the miserable twosome. Both she and Lemmon were nominated for Golden Globes. Following this, however, Sandy again refocused on the stage with an avalanche of fine performances in "How the Other Half Loves," "And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little," "A Streetcar Named Desire" (as Blanche), "Born Yesterday" (as Billie Dawn), "Absurd Person Singular," "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" (as Maggie the Cat), "Same Time, Next Year," "The Little Foxes," "Eccentricities of a Nightingale," "The Supporting Cast" and even the title role in "Peter Pan".
A few TV and movie roles came Sandy's way in unspectacular fashion but it wasn't until the next decade that she again stole some thunder. After a moving support turn as a cast-off wife in the finely-tuned ensemble drama The Four Seasons (1981), Sandy proved terrific as a James Dean extremist in another ensemble film Come Back to the 5 & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982), which she played first to fine acclaim on Broadway. Reunited with director Robert Altman as well as her stage compatriots Cher, Karen Black, Kathy Bates, Sudie Bond and Marta Heflin, the film version was equally praised. Her last films included Another Woman (1988), 976-EVIL (1988) and Parents (1989).
Seen less and less in later years, she gave in to her eccentric tendencies as time went on. A notorious cat lover (at one point there was a count of 33 residing in her Westport, Connecticut home), close friends included actresses Brenda Vaccaro and Jessica Walter. Her father Jack died in 1990 and around that same time Sandy was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Undergoing chemotherapy at the time she filmed the part of a beaten-down mother in Sean Penn's The Indian Runner (1991), the role proved to be her last.
Sandy died in Westport on March 2, 1992. Her ashes were placed at the Lincoln Memorial Park in Lincoln, Nebraska. A foundation in her home state was set up to "memorialize the accomplishments of Sandy Dennis, to perpetuate her commitment to education and the performing arts, to promote cultural activities, and to encourage theatrical education, performance, and professionals". A book, "Sandy Dennis: A Personal Memoir," was published posthumously in 1997. - Writer
- Director
- Producer
Mark Steven Johnson is an American film director, screenwriter and producer. He is known for writing and directing the hit Marvel films "Daredevil" and "Ghost Rider" as well as writing "Grumpy Old Men" and its successful sequel "Grumpier Old Men." Johnson recently wrote, directed and produced "Love in the Villa" for Netflix.- Jules's performing career started at the tender age of seven when he sang as a chorister with the Winchester Cathedral Choir. For the next six years he toured the world, performing in prestigious venues such as Sydney's Opera House, The Royal Festival Hall in London, and St Thomas's Cathedral in New York, and had appeared as a soloist on the 7 critically acclaimed albums the choir made before he turned thirteen. Jules moved on to Eastbourne College on a choral scholarship. At Eastbourne he focused on music and acting and played the lead roles in several productions such as 'My Fair Lady', 'Sweet Charity', and 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf'. At the age of eighteen, Jules won a scholarship to Wells Cathedral, where he sang for part of his GAP year, and then gained entry to St Andrews University where he studied alongside Prince William and Kate Middleton. There he completed an Master of Arts in Art History, and performed in several plays and musicals such as 'City of Angels', 'Follies', and 'Antigone'.
At University, Jules decided that he wanted to be an actor, and applied to the Central School of Speech and Drama where he was offered one of the 20 places amongst over 3,000 applicants. He left Central in 2007, having specialised in Acting for Screen (MA), and launched himself into the world of entertainment.
Jules worked in the Houses of Parliament for an MP, in a PR company, a Headhunting company, ripped tickets in the Piccadilly theatre, picked up litter at the Wimbledon tennis tournament and handed out flyers for a bar in Covent Garden, in between training and auditions. To help pay the rent, Jules put a singing group together, using Facebook to find the other members. Two days after the group met for the first time to rehearse Jules found himself being offered a £1 million pound record deal by Universal Music, only 6 months after leaving drama school. Jules went on to make four chart topping albums with Blake, the debut album winning 'Album of the Year' at the Classical Brits in 2008 and going 'Gold' in under three weeks.
The group's third album, 'Together' gained Blake their second Brit award nomination. Blake had extraordinary successes both with their albums and live touring across the world, in territories as far flung as the Philippines, South Africa, Australia, China, Russia, Scandinavia, and Japan, They were were regulars at such venues as the Albert Hall, the Olympic stadium Twickenham, Wembley and the Royal Festival Hall and were a firm favourite with Royalty and celebrities alike. Having seen them on TV, Dame Shirley Bassey invited the to sing at her sumptuous 70'th birthday party at Cliveden House and they performed several times for the Queen at Buckingham Palace.
Jules went on to star in BBC One's medical drama series 'Holby City' as arrogant but capable Doctor Harry Tressler and soon became one of the hit show's most popular characters. The show regularly attracted over 5 million viewers per week and Jules quickly became an integral character, leading some gripping storylines. His leaving storyline caused a stir as Harry sustained major facial injuries, and the scale of prosthetics employed over a period of four episodes was a first, even for Holby. After two years, Jules left Holby and recorded his debut solo singing album with chart topping Producer Andrew Powell (Wuthering Heights) and Film and TV boss, Adrian Munsey. The album, 'Change of Heart' was released in April 20th 2015 and was recorded at Peter Gabriel's state of the art studio, 'Real World' with some of the world's finest musicians. - Amy-Leigh Hickman was born on 15 September 1997 in Hastings, Sussex, England, UK. She is an actress, known for The Dumping Ground (2013), Strike Back (2010) and Ackley Bridge (2017).
- Actor
- Talent Agent
- Producer
Alan Mehdizadeh was born in Hastings, East Sussex.
His early career started at the Questors Theatre in Ealing, where he appeared in a youth production of 'Godspell', when he was 14. He then went on to perform at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre in a production of 'Watership Down', where he played Cowslip. He also regularly appeared in popular BBC children's programme 'Grange Hill'.
Mehdizadeh graduated from the University of Wales, Aberystwyth in 2007 (where he read Drama).
Other educational institutions attended include Richmond Upon Thames College, and Drayton Manor High School.
Career As of 15 August 2016, Mehdizadeh joined the West End production of 'Kinky Boots' in the role of Don. He also played Big Davey in the West End musical 'Billy Elliot the Musical'. Mehdizadeh also appeared in the same role for both the worldwide live cinema release, and the subsequent DVD release of the show.
In 2016, Alan appeared in the UK premiere production of 'Swap!', written and directed by TV star Ian Ogilvy. The play toured the UK. Alan played Harry "The Hammer" Henson alongside several TV personalities (including Kim Tiddy & Louisa Lytton).- Actor
- Soundtrack
An air of almost smug disdain would hang over his characters like a grey cloud. Yet he could end up being a ray of sunshine with that cloud. Stage or screen, comedy or drama, playing butler or Lord Commander, Englishman Cecil Parker was born in 1897 and took an avid interest in performing following his discharge from World War I military service. Making his professional stage bow in 1922, he appeared in London's West End three years later and by the advent of sound could be found on film. Not surprisingly he fitted the support mold perfectly with his raspy, well-bred tones and stuffed-shirt personality, but by the late 40s he was actually toying with post-war character stardom with top-billed roles. Such films as Captain Boycott (1947), The Weaker Sex (1948) and The Amazing Mr. Beecham (1949), Tony Draws a Horse (1950) and I Believe in You (1952) demonstrated his talent and command. However, soon he started gaining in the stomach area and losing in the hair department, so he fell away again to the secondary ranks. His assisting men of power, position and influence are probably most recognized in the droll, classic films of Sir Alec Guiness, which include The Man in the White Suit (1951), The Detective (1954), The Ladykillers (1955). Parker could be humorously beleaguered or remotely pernicious and as the years wore on, found himself more and more in film comedy than anything else, often giving lift to such dry fare as Indiscreet (1958) and the farce-like slapstick of The Pure Hell of St. Trinian's (1960) and Carry on Jack (1964). Parker died in 1971.- Henry Kulky was born on 11 August 1911 in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964), Love Nest (1951) and The Red Skelton Hour (1951). He died on 12 February 1965 in Oceanside, California, USA.
- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Oliver Trevena is an actor and producer well known from numeruous films and series.He recently wrapped the lead in the film "The Paradox Effect" opposite Olga Kurylenko and Harvey Keitel where he also serves as an Executive Producer, as well as the Paramount film "The Gorge" opposite Miles Teller and Anya Taylor Joy. He can be seen in the Lionsgate film "The Plane" in a strong supporting role opposite Gerard Butler. He's got Millennium's "The Bricklayer" in the can opposite Aaron Eckhardt and "Wire Room" opposite Bruce Willis and Kevin Dillon (also a producer). He won "breakout star" at the Rome Film Festival in 2024.
He was born and raised in East Sussex, England and is the youngest of four sons.
Oliver trained at the South East Theatre Society & RADA. In his early acting days, he starred in William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream". Later, he starred in a variety of plays, including "The King and I", "Bugsy Malone" and even "Oliver".- Harold Bennett was born on 17 November 1898 in Hastings, East Sussex, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Are You Being Served? (1972), Are You Being Served? (1977) and Whack-O! (1956). He died on 15 September 1981 in London, England, UK.
- Todd Eric Andrews was born on 1 May 1966 in Hastings, Nebraska, USA. He is an actor, known for I Know My First Name Is Steven (1989), Zapped Again! (1990) and Captive Audience (2022).
- Actress
- Sound Department
Gillian Barge, born Gillian Betty Bargh, (27 May 1940 - 19 November 2003) was an English stage, television and film actress.
She was born in Hastings, Sussex and she started acting at the age of 17, training at the Birmingham Theatre School.
Gillian performed on the stage internationally, as well as in Britain where she has played all the major London theatres. Her stage roles included The Cherry Orchard (as Varya), Measure For Measure (Isabella) and The Winter's Tale (Paulina). In 2001 she was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Theatre Award as Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Passion Play at the Donmar Warehouse.
In addition to her theatre work, Gillian Barge has numerous television appearances to her credit. These include guest appearances on episodes of Pie in the Sky (1996), Lovejoy (1994), Midsomer Murders (2002), One Foot in the Grave (1990), All Creatures Great and Small (1980), Van der Valk (1977) and Softly, Softly (1972). Her film credits include The National Health (1973).
Her second husband was the actor Clive Merrison. She died in 2003 of cancer, aged just 63.- Actor
- Additional Crew
Born Hastings, East Sussex. Tony Pankhurst started in the Entertainment Industry at age 17 as A Butlins Redcoat. In a career that has spanned over 40 years he has entertained as a radio presenter, an MC, run his own business for over 25 years and now performs featured, walk-on and stand-in roles for TV, Film and Commercials.
His recent TV work includes Eastenders, Holby City, Mr Selfridge and Endeavour, his involvement in films include The Theory of Everything, Legend, Rise of The Krays, Mission Impossible 5 and Star Wars 7 among many others. His love of TV and Film and his passion for hard work, reliability and professionalism has led to an ever increasing number of roles.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Born on April 13, 1921, in Hastings, Peter Dyneley acted mostly in stage productions prior to 1954, when he began working in films. Many of his plays and films were done with his wife, Jane Hylton. Peter appeared as a guest star in many television series. He spoke fluent French, German and Spanish and was 5'11" tall. Peter died on August 19, 1977. Details of his death are unknown. His wife died of a heart attack only a few months later.- Director
- Art Director
- Art Department
British director Don Chaffey began his career in the film industry in the art department at Gainsborough Pictures. He began directing in 1951, often working on films aimed at children. He branched out into television in the mid-'50s, turning out many of the best episodes of such classic series as Danger Man (1960), The Prisoner (1967) and The Avengers (1961). Although he worked in many film genres, his best work is generally acknowledged to be the crackerjack fantasy Jason and the Argonauts (1963). On the other hand, he was also responsible for the lugubrious, box-office disaster The Viking Queen (1967), one of the few productions from Hammer Films that lost money. In the late 1970s Chaffey traveled to the US and worked primarily there, often in made-for-TV movies.- Writer
- Actor
- Producer
Henry Shields was born on 21 August 1988 in Hastings, East Sussex, England, UK. He is a writer and actor, known for Peter Pan Goes Wrong (2016), The Goes Wrong Show (2019) and Office Royale (2024).- Actor
- Producer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Dan Robins is a British actor working in the film and television industry. He received training from Rob Brownstein at An Actors Space and completed an intensive Acting for TV and film at City Academy in London. Dan has honed his craft, landing small roles in a wide range of productions, from small-budget projects to larger film projects.
With a portfolio of over 30 credits, Dan's talent shows in works like "The Art Of Abuse," "Return of Krampus" and "Amityville Scarecrow 2." In addition to his acting career, Dan Robins is steering his own project, "Take the Fall."- Myra Frances was born on 13 April 1942 in Hastings, East Sussex, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Survivors (1975), Heidi (1974) and Don't Just Lie There, Say Something! (1974). She was married to Peter Egan and Robert Taylor. She died on 30 March 2021 in Surrey, England, UK.
- Actor
Bing Davidson was born on 17 December 1940 in Hastings, Nebraska, USA. He was an actor. He died on 18 July 1965 in San Francisco, California, USA.- Harriet Jones was born on 18 August 1987 in Hastings, East Sussex, England, UK. She is an actress, known for Beauty and the Beast (2017).
- Director
- Producer
- Writer
George A. Johnson is an award-winning writer, director, and producer, best known for Pursuit of Freedom (2022), Thy Neighbor (2018), and Homeless for the Holidays (2009).
Johnson began filmmaking at an unusually young age. As a 3-year-old, he would create stories with toy action figures, and act them out, positioning various characters throughout the room. Rather than playing along, Johnson's childhood friends would often prefer to watch and see how the stories would unfold.
At age 7, Johnson purchased his first 8mm film camera at a yard sale, and began writing scripts, and producing short films, even experimenting with in-camera effects. Coming from humble beginnings, Johnson could rarely afford to purchase film for his camera, so most of his stories were never actually recorded. He just wound the camera up, and listened to it buzz as he shot his choreographed scenes with friends, as well as his little brother, Ben Johnson (who later starred in Johnson's first feature film, Dreamer: The Movie (2004)).
When he was 13, George purchased his first video camera with money that he had saved from delivering newspapers, and he continued to write and shoot short films throughout high school. He finished his first feature length screenplay at age 17.
After graduating from the Hollywood Scriptwriting Institute, Johnson began working in television and video, where he continued to excel as a writer, director, and producer, as well as a visual effects artist.
Since beginning his full-time work in television and video in 1998, Johnson has written, directed, and produced over 7,000 regional, national, and international commercials, as well as countless interactive DVD projects, music videos, and short films. He has also directed hundreds of live television programs.
In 2000, he decided to embark upon his first feature length project, Dreamer: The Movie (2004), using nothing more than ordinary consumer video equipment. The goal of the experimental film was to prove that anybody with a video camera, a computer, and a basic editing program has a voice that can be heard around the world. (YouTube was not yet an Internet sensation at the time). Johnson had established himself since childhood with such tools, and with the advancements in technology, it had been a longtime dream of his to see of a feature could be accomplished with them.
Dreamer: The Movie (2004) opened in select US theaters in Michigan, Indiana, Missouri, and Iowa. Over 600 people attended the world premier showing showing in Ionia, MI on New Year's Eve, 2004. Every theater that booked the movie extended their showings by as much as a week or more. The film won two film festivals; one regional & one international. It received positive reviews from both American & Canadian film critics, and in June 2005, it was picked up for worldwide distribution by Illuminare Entertainment.
After the release of Dreamer: The Movie (2004) (ultimately a "hobby project") Johnson returned to his position as Production Manager at a Television Station in Northern Ohio.
In 2009, Johnson wrote, produced, and directed his second feature, Homeless for the Holidays (2009).
In 2018, Johnson won his first NATAS LGL Emmy® Award for directing the music video "Haunted" by iconic American rock band, The Guess Who.
Johnson and his wife, Kary Johnson co-produced the award-winning thriller, "Thy Neighbor", (written and directed by Johnson) which was released in 2018, and in 2019, they began development on their fifth feature film, "Pursuit of Freedom".