Rod Hardy

Australian television director Rod Hardy showed an early interest in filmmaking, shooting his first shorts at age 12 with an 8mm camera. He broke into television in 1974, directing episodes of the Australian TV cop drama "Division 4." After helming a string of TV programs, Hardy took on his first feature film, the 1979 vampire thriller "Thirst," which earned some praise but was a box office failure. Disheartened, Hardy dove back into Australian television. After directing a string of episodes of the long-running Australian soap opera, "Neighbors," Hardy got his chance in the United States, helming a couple of episodes of the popular spy series "Mission: Impossible." From there he directed a number of TV movies, steadily repairing his reputation as a long-form director. In 1999 his made-for-TV Western about two cons on the run, "Two for Texas," was awarded a Bronze Wrangler award in the Television Feature Film category. He became respected in the TV industry for his masterful directing of such popular programs as the sci-fi procedural drama "The X-Files," the sci-fi space adventure "Battlestar Galactica," and the Robin Hood-style crime drama "Leverage." In 2007, Hardy briefly drew notice with his comedy-of-age tale "December Boys," which starred the wildly famous star of the "Harry Potter" franchise, Daniel Radcliffe. However, his would-be comeback failed when the film, despite winning the CGS Award for Best Film, was berated by critics and generally deemed a box office flop. He continues to work in television.