Stephen Frears
- Known for
- Directing
- Born
- 20 June 1941 · Leicester, England, UK
Stephen Arthur Frears (born 20 June 1941) is an English director and producer. He has directed numerous acclaimed films since the early 1980s, including My Beautiful Laundrette (1985), Dangerous Liaisons (1988), The Grifters (1990), High Fidelity (2000), The Queen (2006), Philomena (2013), Florence Foster Jenkins (2016), and Victoria & Abdul (2017). He has received two nominations for the Academy Award for Best Director. Frears is also known for his work on various television programs, including Fail Safe (2000), The Deal (2003), Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight (2013), A Very English Scandal (2018), State of the Union (2019), and Quiz (2020). He has received four Primetime Emmy Award nominations, with one win. In 2008, The Daily Telegraph named Frears among the 100 most influential people in British culture.
Known for
Directing 62
- 2026Wilder & Me · director
- 2022The Lost King · director
- 2017Victoria & Abdul · director
- 2016Florence Foster Jenkins · director
- 2015The Program · director
- 2014Henri Langlois vu par... · director
- 2013Philomena · director
- 2013Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight · director
- 2012Lay the Favorite · director
- 2010Tamara Drewe · director
- 2009Chéri · director
- 2006The Queen · director
- 2005Le court des grands · director
- 2005Mrs. Henderson Presents · director
- 2004The Route V50 · director
- 2003The Deal · director
- 2002Dirty Pretty Things · director
- 2001Liam · director
- 2000Fail Safe · director
- 2000High Fidelity · director
- 1998The Hi-Lo Country · director
- 1996The Van · director
- 1996Mary Reilly · director
- 1995Typically British: A Personal History of British Cinema · director
- 1993The Snapper · director
- 1992Hero · director
- 1990The Grifters · director
- 1988Dangerous Liaisons · director
- 1988Mr Jolly Lives Next Door · director
- 1987Sammy and Rosie Get Laid · director
- 1987Prick Up Your Ears · director
- 1986Song of Experience · director
- 1986Consuela (or, The New Mrs Saunders) · director
- 1985My Beautiful Laundrette · director
- 1984December Flower · director
- 1984The Bullshitters: Roll Out the Gunbarrel · director
- 1984The Hit · director
- 1983Saigon: Year of the Cat · director
- 1983Walter and June · director
- 1982Walter · director
- 1982The Tractor Factor · director
- 1981Going Gently · director
- 1980Bloody Kids · director
- 1979Long Distance Information · director
- 1979One Fine Day · director
- 1979Afternoon Off · director
- 1978Doris and Doreen · director
- 1978Me! I'm Afraid of Virginia Woolf · director
- 1978Cold Harbour · director
- 1978A Visit from Miss Prothero · director
- 1977Black Christmas · director
- 1977Able's Will · director
- 1977Last Summer · director
- 1976Play Things · director
- 1976Early Struggles · director
- 1975Three Men in a Boat · director
- 1975Sunset Across the Bay · director
- 1974Match of the Day · director
- 1972A Day Out · director
- 1971Gumshoe · director
- 1968The Burning · director
- 1966Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment · assistant director
Acting 41
- 2026Angela Allen: The Woman Who Saw Everything
- 2025Innes Lloyd: The Producer as Self (archive footage)
- 2024Alec Guinness: A Class Act as self
- 2024A Look Through His Lens as Self
- 2023The Rise of the Comic Strip as Self
- 2022Hans Zimmer: Hollywood Rebel as Self
- 2020In The Tracks Of - Alexandre Desplat as Self
- 2019Revisiting The Man in the White Suit
- 2019Memories of Lindsay Anderson as Self
- 2018Who Killed British Cinema? as Self
- 2018Seduction. Betrayal. Murder: The Making of The Grifters
- 2018She's French
- 2017Il était une fois... « The Queen » as Self
- 2016Alan Clarke: Out of His Own Light as Self
- 2015Reflecting on My Beautiful Laundrette: A Conversation between Stephen Frears and Colin MacCabe
- 2015French Cinema Mon Amour as Self
- 2014Henri Langlois vu par... as Self
- 201230 Years of Comic Strip
- 2012My Friend Sam: Living for the Moment
- 2011Hans Zimmer: The Sound of Hollywood as Self
- 2010Heavy Rain as Himself
- 2009Once Upon a Time... 'Notorious' as Self
- 2009Great Directors as Self
- 2009Chéri as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
- 2007Here’s Looking at You, Boy as Self
- 2007The Making of 'The Queen' as Self
- 2005Michael Powell
- 2004Lindsay Anderson: Lucky Man? as Self (Archival)
- 2004Cast & Crew: If.... as Self - Interviewee
- 2003100 Greatest Sexy Moments as Self
- 2002Forever Ealing as Self
- 2002Robert Altman in England as Self
- 2001All About Desire: The Passionate Cinema of Pedro Almodovar as Narrator
- 2000Alan Clarke: His Own Man as Self
- 1997Howard Hawks: American Artist as Narrator
- 1995Typically British: A Personal History of British Cinema
- 1991Director: Alan Clarke
- 1986Hooray For Holyrood as Self
- 1985Shooting from the Heart: Chris Menges, Cameraman as Self
- 1978Long Shot as Biscuit Man
- 1971Incident as Man
Writing 2
- 2021Short Cuts: Dangerous Liaisons · original film writer
- 2016Florence Foster Jenkins · writer
Production 7
- 2014Night Will Fall · executive producer
- 2009Jean Charles · executive producer
- 1997Beyond Fear · executive producer
- 1979One Fine Day · producer
- 1979Afternoon Off · producer
- 1978Doris and Doreen · producer
- 1977Last Summer · producer
crew 1
- 2005Eletrodoméstica · thanks
Camera 1
- 1986Consuela (or, The New Mrs Saunders) · director of photography