Richard Laxton

Richard Laxton was born in London, England. Although he tried his hand at acting with a singular small role in the Liam Neeson-led drama film "The Innocent" (1985), his career behind the camera began seven years later when he brought his first short feature to life: the sweet "I Bet It Will Rain" (1992), which starred Janet McTeer and David Thewlis. By the next year, Laxton was landing gigs directing television series, beginning with the iconic British soap opera "EastEnders" (BBC One 1985-). In 1995, he landed his first recurring job on the drama "Band of Gold" (ITV 1995-97), and would spend the next decade as a repeat contributor to shows like "Wing and a Prayer" (BBC 1997-99), "Invasion: Earth" (BBC 1998), "The Inspector Lynley Mysteries" (BBC One 2001-08), and "Outlaws" (BBC Three 2004). After mounting a legion of TV work, Laxton released his very first feature film: "Life and Lyrics" (2006), a romantic drama about the music business. It wasn't long before he was a cinematic mainstay, releasing two more films in just two years: the kooky comedy "Grow Your Own" (2007) and the Quentin Crisp biopic "An Englishman in New York" (2009), starring John Hurt. A year later, Laxton would sign on to Stefan Golaszewski's new, ultimately critically revered romantic sitcom "Him & Her" (BBC Three 2010-13), helming each of the series' 25 episodes. During this time, he'd also pay tribute to Hollywood icons Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor in "Burton and Taylor" (BBC Four 2013), a television biopic that starred Dominic West and Helena Bonham Carter. His next project, written by and starring Emma Thompson, is "Effie Gray" (2015), told the somewhat sordid story of 19th century art critic John Ruskin. Dakota Fanning starred as his young wife.