Tom Hooper facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Tom Hooper
Hooper at the 2010 Toronto Film Festival
Born	Thomas George Hooper (1972-10-05) 5 October 1972 (age 52) London, England
Citizenship	British Australian
Alma mater	University College, Oxford
Occupation	Director producer screenwriter
Years active	1992–present
Parent(s)	Richard Hooper Meredith Hooper
Awards	Full list

Thomas George Hooper (born 5 October 1972) is a British-Australian filmmaker. He is famous for his work in both movies and TV shows. He has won many awards, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and an Emmy Award. He also has three Golden Globe Awards.

Hooper started making short films when he was a teenager. His first professional short film, Painted Faces, was shown on TV in 1992. While at Oxford University, he directed plays and TV commercials. After college, he directed episodes for British TV shows like Byker Grove and EastEnders. In the 2000s, Hooper directed big BBC period dramas such as Love in a Cold Climate and Daniel Deronda. He also directed the 2003 TV series Prime Suspect.

He became well-known for directing HBO projects like Elizabeth I (2005) and John Adams (2008). For Elizabeth I, he won an Emmy Award for directing. Hooper made his first feature film, Red Dust, in 2004. He then directed the sports movie The Damned United (2009). He directed the historical drama The King's Speech (2010), which won him an Academy Award for Best Director. Later, he directed the musical Les Misérables (2012) and the romantic drama The Danish Girl (2015). In 2019, he directed the movie version of the musical Cats. That same year, he also directed two episodes of the HBO fantasy series His Dark Materials.

Early Life and Education

Tom Hooper was born in London, England, on October 5, 1972. His mother, Meredith Jean, is an Australian author. His father, Richard Hooper, is an English media businessman. Tom went to Highgate School and Westminster School. His English and drama teacher, Roger Mortimer, helped him get interested in acting and directing.

Discovering a Passion for Filmmaking

When Tom was 12, he read a book called How to Make Film and Television. This book made him want to become a director. For the next year, he studied filmmaking from books like On Camera. At 13, he made his first film, Runaway Dog. He used a special 16mm camera his uncle gave him. The camera could only record for 30 seconds at a time. He could only afford a small amount of film, which cost about £25. He also had to wait two weeks for the film to be developed. Because sound was too expensive, he could only make silent movies. He filmed this comedy about a dog in Oxfordshire.

When Hooper was 14, his film Bomber Jacket won second place in a BBC competition for young filmmakers. This short movie was about a boy who finds a bomber jacket and a photo. He then learns his grandfather died in World War II. Another short film by Hooper, Countryside, showed a nuclear holocaust.

First Professional Film and University

Hooper finished school at 16. He then wrote the script for his first professional short film, Painted Faces. He spent two years finding money for the film. Director Paul Weiland invested in the short, which helped Hooper get the equipment he needed. Hooper wrote, produced, directed, and edited Painted Faces. It was shown on Channel 4 in 1992 and at the 35th London Film Festival.

After a year off to work on Painted Faces, Hooper studied English at University College, Oxford. He joined the Oxford University Dramatic Society. There, he directed plays starring Kate Beckinsale and Emily Mortimer. Hooper also got his first paid directing job, making £200 for a Christmas video. He directed his first TV commercials, including one for Sonic the Hedgehog 3. He still directs commercials today. In 2011, he directed a Jaguar car ad with Tom Hiddleston, Ben Kingsley, and Mark Strong. This ad was shown during the Super Bowl XLV.

Career Highlights

Early TV Work (1997–2003)

After graduating from Oxford, Hooper directed more TV commercials. His goal was to get into the film industry. His father introduced him to TV producer Matthew Robinson. Robinson became Hooper's mentor and gave him his first TV directing jobs. In 1997, Hooper directed episodes of the soap opera Quayside. He also directed four episodes of the children's show Byker Grove. In 1998, he directed his first episodes of the popular BBC One soap opera EastEnders.

Hooper worked 10-hour days on EastEnders. He learned to direct very quickly. He was inspired by the cinematic style of American TV shows like ER. He tried to bring that style to his EastEnders episodes. One scene with Grant Mitchell used a crane shot. This made him well-known among the EastEnders crew.

In 1999, Hooper directed two episodes of the comedy-drama Cold Feet. This marked his move to bigger TV productions. In 2001, Hooper directed his first period drama for the BBC. Love in a Cold Climate was based on Nancy Mitford's novels. In 2002, he directed Daniel Deronda, based on George Eliot's novel. Critics praised how he brought energy and intelligence to these traditional dramas.

Hooper returned to ITV in 2003 to direct Prime Suspect 6: The Last Witness. This was the first Prime Suspect story since 1995. The star, Helen Mirren, convinced him to take the job. She promised he could make the series his own way. The two-part series was shown in November 2003. Hooper's directing was highly praised. He was nominated for a BAFTA Television Award and an Emmy Award for his work on Prime Suspect.

First Films and HBO Success (2004–2008)

Hooper at the 2010 Hamptons International Film Festival

Hooper directed his first feature film, Red Dust, in 2004. This drama was about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa. It starred Hilary Swank and Chiwetel Ejiofor. The film was not widely seen. Hooper felt this was because of news about torture during the Iraq War. The film was later shown on BBC Two in 2005.

In 2005, Helen Mirren asked Hooper to direct the HBO series Elizabeth I, in which she starred. This series won Hooper his first Emmy Award for directing. In 2006, Hooper filmed the TV movie Longford. This film told the story of Lord Longford trying to get Myra Hindley released from prison. The film was shown on Channel 4 in October 2006. Hooper's success led him to be ranked among the top directors in Broadcast magazine. He was also nominated for a BAFTA Television Craft Award for Longford.

Elizabeth I and Longford helped Hooper get chosen by Tom Hanks to direct the big miniseries John Adams for HBO. Hooper worked on this miniseries for 16 months. It starred Paul Giamatti as John Adams. It was Hooper's first fully American production. He managed a $100 million budget.

John Adams received 23 Emmy Award nominations and won 13. This was the most wins for any nominee in one year. Hooper was also nominated for a Directors Guild of America Award.

Independent Films and The King's Speech (2009–2010)

Hooper directing The King's Speech on location in 2010

After John Adams won many Emmys, Hooper received offers to direct spy and comic book movies, but he turned them down. In 2007, he agreed to direct The Damned United. This film reunited him with writer Peter Morgan. The movie was about the 44 days English football manager Brian Clough spent managing Leeds United. Hooper did a lot of research for the film, especially on the locations and football grounds of that time. The film was released in 2009.

Work on Hooper's next film, The King's Speech, started in the same year. Hooper's mother, who is Australian, told him about a play about King George VI and his Australian speech therapist, Lionel Logue. Hooper thought the play was brilliant. He cast Colin Firth as King George VI and Geoffrey Rush as Lionel Logue. They spent three weeks reading the script and practicing. Filming took place in the UK from November 2009 to January 2010.

Hooper with Colin Firth in January 2011

Hooper finished the film in August 2010. It was shown at the Telluride Film Festival and won the People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. Hooper won the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures. In February 2011, he won the Academy Award for Best Director.

Studio Films and Recent Work (2011–Present)

After the success of The King's Speech, Hooper joined the board of governors at the British Film Institute. He was also invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In 2009, Hooper met with Nelson Mandela to prepare for directing a film about Mandela's life story, Long Walk to Freedom. However, by 2012, he had left that project.

He was offered the chance to direct Iron Man 3 but chose to direct Les Misérables instead. He had heard about this project in 2010. Hooper had not seen the musical before, so he watched a performance in London. The film starred Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, and many other famous actors. The actors had to sing and dance, so they auditioned in front of Hooper and the producers.

Hooper directing the second unit of Les Misérables on location in Winchester, April 2012

Hooper thought about filming Les Misérables in 3D but decided to use traditional 2D methods. Unlike other musical films, Les Misérables had the actors singing live on camera. Hooper felt that singing live allowed the actors to show more emotion in their songs. Les Misérables was released in North America on December 25, 2012. It received eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture.

Hooper's fifth feature film, The Danish Girl, was released in late 2015. It tells the story of Lili Elbe, one of the first people to have sex reassignment surgery, and her wife Gerda Wegener. It starred Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander, who both received Academy Award nominations. Critics generally liked the film.

In 2016, it was announced that Hooper would direct a movie version of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Cats. Filming began in November 2018. The movie starred Jennifer Hudson, Ian McKellen, Judi Dench, and Taylor Swift. It was released on December 20, 2019. Hooper also helped produce the song "Beautiful Ghosts" for the film.

In 2023, Hooper helped create a new digital version of Les Misérables with improved sound and picture. This new version was released in theaters in 2024 to celebrate the musical's 40th anniversary. In February 2024, Hooper shared that he is working on new projects. He had taken a break from directing movies for five years after Cats. During that time, he directed commercials for companies like Vodafone and McDonald's.

Directing Style and Techniques

Hooper adopted a style of framing actors at the extreme edge of a scene in both The Damned United (top) and The King's Speech (bottom)

Hooper uses camera styles that help tell the story. He often reuses and improves his filming styles in different projects. Hooper believes that research is very important for directing historical dramas like John Adams. This helps make the scenes feel real. For The Damned United, Hooper and his director of photography, Ben Smithard, studied old football photos to get the right look for the late 1960s and early 1970s. Hooper has also been influenced by cinematographer Larry Smith, who worked with Stanley Kubrick. Hooper and Smith have worked together on several projects, including Cold Feet and Elizabeth I.

Hooper also uses unusual ways of framing shots to highlight the story. In John Adams, he wanted to show that American independence seemed difficult during the Revolutionary War. So, he used a very rough camera style. He used handheld cameras, wide lenses close to the actors, and lots of movement. He also used dutch tilts, which made the horizon lines look off-balance. This made the American scenes feel uncertain. In contrast, the scenes set in France used more traditional filming to show established values.

Similarly, in The Damned United, Hooper started experimenting with wide-angle lenses. He would place actors at the very edges of the frame. He was inspired by how social photographers in the 1970s framed their pictures. Hooper used the same style in The King's Speech. For example, in the scene where Bertie and Logue first meet, Colin Firth is placed far to the left of the picture. This leaves most of the shot showing the rough wall behind him.

Another technique Hooper often uses is different camera lenses to change the picture. In The Damned United, he used a 10mm lens. He even operated the camera himself in one scene. In The King's Speech, Hooper used lenses like 14mm, 18mm, and 21mm. He placed the camera close to the actors' faces. Hooper said this method in the first meeting scene helped to "suggest the awkwardness and tension" between Logue and Bertie.

Filmography

Film Projects

Television Projects

Awards and Recognitions

Hooper with Kathryn Bigelow, who won the previous year's Oscar for Best Director

Tom Hooper has won many awards for his directing. Here are some of the major awards his films have received nominations and wins for:

Actors Who Won Awards Under Hooper's Direction

Hooper has directed several actors who have been nominated for or won Academy Awards:

See Also

• List of directorial debuts
• List of EastEnders crew members
• List of English Academy Award nominees and winners
• List of University of Oxford people