Simon Curtis

Simon Curtis Headshot

Director • Producer

Birth Date: March 11, 1960

Age: 64 years old

Birth Place: London, England, UK

Spouses: Elizabeth McGovern

Simon Curtis is a British filmmaker and TV producer best known for helming the 2011 historical drama "My Week with Marilyn." Born and raised in London, Curtis' first brush with show business came when he was hired as an assistant director at the famed Royal Court Theatre. It was during this time that Curtis, who himself had dreams of helming his own film and TV projects one day, learned the craft from some of England's best filmmakers, like Danny Boyle.

Equipped with the confidence and knowledge he needed to make his own material, Curtis embarked on a career in TV in the early '90s and quickly made his name as an effective producer and director of made-for-TV movies in Britain. Some of the projects he worked on during this period included "Killing Me Softly" (1995), "Mrs. Dalloway" (1997), and "David Copperfield" (1999), the last of which he also directed. Curtis continued producing and directing shows for British television well into the 2000s, and went on to earn a Primetime Emmy nomination for his children's program "Pride" (BBC, 2004).

By the late 2000s, however, Curtis started itching to direct a feature film. He had the opportunity when famed Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein approached him about directing a biopic on a brief period in the life of Marilyn Monroe. Curtis jumped at the chance and in November of 2011, "My Week with Marilyn" was released to wide critical praise.

The film was also nominated for two Oscars, in addition to countless other awards, thus signaling the rise of Simon Curtis as a critically-lauded British filmmaker. Curtis' follow-up feature, 2015's "Woman In Gold," was released in the United States in April of 2015.

Despite starring Ryan Reynolds and Oscar-winner Helen Mirren, however, the film received generally lukewarm reviews from critics. Curtis returned to TV in 2015 with the mini-series "Indian Summer," which debuted on British television in the summer of 2015.

Credits

Downton Abbey 3

Director
Movie
2025

Downton Abbey: A New EraStream

Director
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2022
86%

The Art of Racing in the RainStream

Director
Movie
2019
44%

Goodbye Christopher Robin

Director
Movie
2017

Goodbye Christopher Robin

Executive Producer
Movie
2017

Indian SummersStream

Executive Producer
Series
2015

Woman in GoldStream

Director
Movie
2015
58%

Black Box

Director
Show
2014

My Week With MarilynStream

Director
Movie
2011
82%

My Week With MarilynStream

Executive Producer
Movie
2011
82%

Return to Cranford

Director
Show
2009

A Short Stay in Switzerland

Director
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2009

A Short Stay in Switzerland

Director
Movie
2009

CranfordStream

Director
Series
2007

Five Days

Director
Show
2007

Five Days

Executive Producer
Show
2007

Pride

Executive Producer
Movie
2004

Carrie's War

Executive Producer
Movie
2004

Man and Boy

Director
Movie
2002

The Sins

Director
Show
2000

David Copperfield

Producer
Show
2000

David CopperfieldStream

Director
Miniseries
1999

Shooting the Past

Executive Producer
Show
1999

The American

Executive Producer
Movie
1999

Shooting the Past

Executive Producer
Movie
1999

The Tribe

Executive Producer
Movie
1998

My Summer With Des

Director
Movie
1998

King Lear

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Movie
1998

The PracticeStream

Director
Series
1997

Mrs. Dalloway

Executive Producer
Movie
1997

The Student Prince

Director
Movie
1997

The Designated Mourner

Executive Producer
Movie
1997

Tracey Takes On...

Director
Series
1996

Broken Glass

Executive Producer
Movie
1996

Killing Me Softly

Executive Producer
Movie
1996

The Mother

Writer
Show
1995

After Miss Julie

Executive Producer
Show
1995

Henry IV

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Show
1995

The Widowing of Mrs. Holroyd

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Show
1995

Message for Posterity

Producer
Show
1994

A Summer Day's Dream

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Movie
1994

Stages: Suffer the Little Children

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1994

The Changeling

Director
Show
1993

The Changeling

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Show
1993

The Entertainer

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Show
1993

A Doll's House

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Movie
1992

Performance

Producer
Show
1991

Edward II

Executive Producer
Movie
1991

Top Girls

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Movie
1991

Masterpiece

Director
Franchise
1971

Masterpiece

Executive Producer
Franchise
1971