Damien Chazelle facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Damien Chazelle
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Chazelle in 2014
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Damien Sayre Chazelle
January 19, 1985 Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.
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| Alma mater | Harvard University (BA) |
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| Years active | 2008–present |
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| Children | 2 |
| Parent(s) | Bernard Chazelle Celia Chazelle |
| Awards | Full list |
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Damien Sayre Chazelle (born January 19, 1985) is an American filmmaker. He is famous for directing movies like Whiplash (2014), La La Land (2016), and First Man (2018).
For his movie Whiplash, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. His film La La Land was a huge success. It was nominated for 14 Academy Awards and won six. Chazelle won the Best Director award for La La Land. He was only 32 years old, making him the youngest person ever to win this award. He has also directed episodes of the Netflix show The Eddy (2020).
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Early Life and Education
Chazelle was born in Providence, Rhode Island. His father, Bernard Chazelle, is a computer science professor at Princeton University. His mother, Celia, teaches history.
Damien grew up in Princeton, New Jersey. He loved filmmaking from a young age. Later, he wanted to be a musician and played jazz drums in high school. He had a very strict music teacher. This teacher inspired the character of Terence Fletcher in his movie Whiplash.
After high school, Chazelle decided to focus on filmmaking again. He studied filmmaking at Harvard University and graduated in 2007. At Harvard, he lived with his friend and future music partner, Justin Hurwitz.
Career Highlights
Early Work and First Films
Chazelle wrote and directed his first movie, Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench, while he was still at Harvard. The film was shown at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2009. It won several awards at film festivals.
After college, Chazelle moved to Los Angeles. His main goal was to find support for his musical movie idea, La La Land. He also worked as a writer for other films. These included The Last Exorcism Part II (2013) and Grand Piano (2013).
Breakthrough with Whiplash and La La Land
Chazelle wrote Whiplash because he was stuck on another script. He said the story felt very personal to him. At first, no one wanted to make the movie. But his script was listed as one of the best unmade films in 2012.
To show how the movie would look, Chazelle made a short film version of Whiplash. This short film was a hit at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. This success helped him get money to make the full movie. The movie was released in 2014 and got great reviews. Whiplash won many awards and was nominated for five Oscars, winning three.
Because Whiplash was so successful, Chazelle was able to get funding for La La Land. This musical movie was released in 2016. It received amazing reviews and many awards. Chazelle won a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for Best Director. As mentioned, he was the youngest director to win both awards at age 32.
Chazelle then directed First Man (2018). This movie was about the astronaut Neil Armstrong. Ryan Gosling played Neil Armstrong. The film received good reviews and won an Oscar for Best Visual Effects.
Recent Projects
In 2020, Chazelle directed the first two episodes of the Netflix show The Eddy. This show was a musical drama set in Paris.
His next film was Babylon, released in late 2022. It was set in Hollywood in the 1920s. The movie starred Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt. Babylon received mixed reviews from critics.
As of 2025, Chazelle is working on new film projects. He and his wife, Olivia Hamilton, have a production company called Wild Chickens Productions.
Personal Life
Chazelle married Jasmine McGlade in 2010, but they divorced in 2014. In 2018, he married actress Olivia Hamilton. They have two children, a son born in 2019 and a second child born in 2022. Chazelle can speak French fluently.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2011 | Maria My Love | No | No | Co-producer |
| 2013 | The Last Exorcism Part II | No | Yes | No |
| Grand Piano | No | Yes | No | |
| 2014 | Whiplash | Yes | Yes | No |
| 2016 | 10 Cloverfield Lane | No | Yes | No |
| La La Land | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 2018 | First Man | Yes | No | Yes |
| 2022 | Babylon | Yes | Yes | No |
| TBA | Heart of the Beast | No | No | Yes |
Short film
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Day and Night | No | No | No | Cinematographer |
| 2013 | Whiplash | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 2016 | Surrogate | No | No | Yes | |
| 2020 | The Stunt Double | Yes | No | No | |
| 2021 | Perfetto. Espresso Made Right | Yes | No | No | |
| After Laughter | No | No | Associate | ||
| 2024 | Cartier: A Season Tale | Yes | No | No |
Television
| Year | Title | Director | Executive Producer |
Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | The Eddy | Yes | Yes | 2 episodes |
Awards and Nominations
| Year | Title | Academy Awards | BAFTA Awards | Golden Globe Awards | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominations | Wins | Nominations | Wins | Nominations | Wins | ||
| 2014 | Whiplash | 5 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| 2016 | La La Land | 14 | 6 | 11 | 5 | 7 | 7 |
| 2018 | First Man | 4 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 1 | |
| 2022 | Babylon | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 1 | |
| Total | 26 | 10 | 26 | 9 | 15 | 10 | |
Images for kids
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Chazelle and Hamilton in 2018
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See also
In Spanish: Damien Chazelle para niños
- List of youngest Academy Award winners for Best Director
