Antoine Fuqua facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Antoine Fuqua
Fuqua at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival
Born	(1965-05-30) May 30, 1965 (age 60) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Occupation	Film director producer
Years active	1992–present
Spouse(s)	Lela Rochon ​ (m. 1999)​
Children	3
Family	Harvey Fuqua (uncle)

Antoine Fuqua (born May 30, 1965) is an American film director and producer. He is famous for directing action and thriller movies. Before making films, he directed many music videos for popular artists. His first movie was The Replacement Killers in 1998.

He became well-known for the crime thriller Training Day (2001). This film helped its star, Denzel Washington, win an Academy Award for Best Actor. Fuqua also directed other popular movies like Olympus Has Fallen (2013), Southpaw (2015), and The Magnificent Seven (2016). He is also known for the The Equalizer trilogy (2014–2023).

Besides action films, Fuqua has directed important documentaries. These include American Dream/American Knightmare (2018) and What's My Name: Muhammad Ali (2019). He also directed the 2022 Hulu series Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers. For this series, he won a Sports Emmy Award.

Antoine Fuqua's Early Life

Antoine Fuqua was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His parents were Carlos and Mary Fuqua. He finished high school at Taylor Allderdice High School in 1983. Before he became a director, Fuqua studied electrical engineering. He hoped to become a jet pilot in the military.

Fuqua has said that the writing of Shinobu Hashimoto greatly influenced him. Hashimoto was a writer who often worked with the famous director Akira Kurosawa. Fuqua explained that Hashimoto's stories were "beautiful and poetic and powerful." They were about justice and sacrifice.

Fuqua shared how a difficult experience in his youth shaped his life.

My first big break was when I got shot when I was fifteen. It changed my life and it made me not hang out in the streets as much, and go to the movies more. Those sort of things are wake up calls to have a better appreciation for life, and a better appreciation for the people around you. From that moment in my life I put all my energy into what I believed in, and at that time it was playing basketball and sports. That led me to a scholarship ... after that a professor said that I should take an art class ... I fell in love with an artist by the name of Caravaggio.

This event made him appreciate life more. It also led him to focus on basketball and later, art.

Antoine Fuqua's Directing Career

Fuqua started his career directing music videos. He worked with big names like Toni Braxton, Stevie Wonder, and Prince. He directed the video for Gangsta's Paradise by Coolio. This video was used to promote the movie Dangerous Minds. The movie became a big hit.

Fuqua then moved on to directing feature films. His first movie was The Replacement Killers in 1998. It was an action film produced by John Woo. He also directed the action comedy Bait (2000) starring Jamie Foxx.

His film Training Day (2001) was a major success. It starred Denzel Washington, who won an Oscar for his role. Fuqua continued to direct many action and thriller movies. These include Tears of the Sun (2003), King Arthur (2004), and Shooter (2007). He also directed Olympus Has Fallen (2013) and The Equalizer (2014). He worked with Denzel Washington again on The Equalizer.

Fuqua at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival

In 2016, Fuqua directed The Magnificent Seven. This movie was a remake of a classic Western film. That Western was itself a remake of Akira Kurosawa's Japanese film Seven Samurai. Denzel Washington played the main character, Sam Chisolm.

Fuqua also worked as an executive producer for TV shows. These include the medical drama The Resident. In 2018, he released The Equalizer 2, another movie with Denzel Washington. In 2021, his science fiction film Infinite came out. It starred Mark Wahlberg.

In 2021, Fuqua and actor Will Smith decided not to film their movie Emancipation in Georgia. They made this choice because of new laws passed in the state. They said they could not support a government that made laws limiting voting access.

In 2021, Fuqua signed a deal with Netflix. He also changed the name of his production company to Hill District Media. In 2023, Fuqua announced his next film project. It will be Michael, a movie about the life of Michael Jackson. Jackson's nephew, Jaafar Jackson, will star in the film.

Antoine Fuqua's Personal Life

Fuqua with his wife Lela Rochon in 2007

Antoine Fuqua is married to actress Lela Rochon. They got engaged in 1998 and married on April 9, 1999. They have two children together: a daughter named Asia Rochon Fuqua (born 2002) and a son named Brando (born 2004). Fuqua also has another son, Zachary, from a previous relationship. He has two granddaughters as well.

When asked if he believes in God, Fuqua said: "Absolutely."

Filmography

Film

Documentary films

Television

Executive producer only

• Shooter (2016–2018)
• Training Day (2017)
• The Resident (2018–2023)
• FreeRayshawn (2020)
• Mayor of Kingstown (2021–present)
• King Shaka

Music videos

Other Videos

• Father MC - "I'll Do 4 U" (1990)
• Hi-Five - "I Just Can't Handle It" (1990), "I Like the Way (The Kissing Game)" (1991), "I Can't Wait Another Minute" (1991)
• Brian McKnight - "Goodbye My Love" (1992), "I Can't Go for That" (1992)
• Calloway - "Let's Get Smooth" (1992)
• Heavy D & the Boyz - "Who's the Man?" (1992)
• Don-E - "Oh My Gosh" (1992)
• Al B. Sure! - "Natalie" (1993)
• Go West - "Still in Love" (1993)
• Jeremy Jordan - "Try My Love" (1993)
• Aaron Hall -"Get A Little Freaky with Me" (1993)
• Caron Wheeler - "In Our Love" (1993)
• Company - "Angel" (1993)

Commercials

• Pirelli Tires – "The Call" (2006), featuring Naomi Campbell and John Malkovich

See Also

In Spanish: Antoine Fuqua para niños