Daniel Francis Boyle (born 20 October 1956) is an English director and producer, active in film, television, and theatre. He has been described by theBritish Film Institute as "one of the liveliest and most unpredictable of British directors, adept at shifting genres and bringing a personal quality to whatever he tackles."[1]
Daniel Francis Boyle was born on 20 October 1956,[2] inRadcliffe,Lancashire,England, about 6 miles (9.7 km) north ofManchester's city centre, His father Francis "Frank" was from Manchester and was of Irish Catholic descent from County Mayo, and his mother Annie Boyle, was fromCounty Galway. He has a twin sister, Marie, and a younger sister, Bernadette, both of whom are teachers.[3][4]
Boyle was brought up in a working-class Catholic family. He was analtar boy for eight years and his mother had the priesthood in mind for him, but at the age of 14 he was persuaded by a priest not to transfer to aseminary.[5]
Whether he was saving me from the priesthood or the priesthood from me, I don't know. But quite soon after, I started doing drama. And there's a real connection, I think. All these directors –Martin Scorsese,John Woo,M. Night Shyamalan – they were all meant to be priests. There's something very theatrical about it. It's basically the same job – poncing around, telling people what to think.[6][7]
He now describes himself as a "spiritual atheist".[8]
In 1987 Boyle started working in television as a producer forBBC Northern Ireland where he produced, amongst other TV films,Alan Clarke's controversialElephant before becoming a director on shows such asArise And Go Now,Not Even God Is Wise Enough,For The Greater Good,Scout, and two episodes ofInspector Morse.[12]
In 2011, he directedFrankenstein for the National Theatre.[14] This production was broadcast to cinemas as a part ofNational Theatre Live on 17 March 2011.[15] He has appeared onTop Gear and set the fastest wet lap at that time.[16] In 2014 both Boyle and Christian Colson signed to a first look deal with FX Productions.[17]
In September 2022, it was announced that Boyle would direct a dance adaptation ofThe Matrix, titled "Free Your Mind", which debuted in October 2023 in Manchester.[18]
On 14 November 2010, he directed a one-night play at theOld Vic Theatre in London titledThe Children's Monologues, in aid of his charityDramatic Need, which operates in Rwanda and South Africa, helping young people to come to terms with trauma and conflict.[19] He co-directed another performance of the play in 2015 at theRoyal Court Theatre,[20] and again in 2017 atCarnegie Hall in New York City.[21]
On 11 January 2021, it was announced that Boyle would be adapting theSteve Jones' autobiographyLonely Boy into a six-part TV series entitledPistol that charts the rise and fall of theSex Pistols. The series aired onFX andDisney+ on 30 May 2022.[27] The show was filmed in London.[28]
Boyle's love for film began with his first viewing ofApocalypse Now:
It had eviscerated my brain, completely. I was an impressionable twenty-one-year-old guy from the sticks. My brain had not been fed and watered with great culture, you know, as art is meant to do. It had been sandblasted by the power of cinema. And that's why cinema, despite everything we try to do, it remains a young man's medium, really, in terms of audience.[29]
He directed a short filmAlien Love Triangle, which was intended to be one of three shorts within a feature film. The project was cancelled after the two other shorts were made into feature films:Mimic andImpostor.[36] In 2004 Boyle directedMillions,[6] scripted byFrank Cottrell Boyce.[37] His next collaboration with Alex Garland[6] was the 2007 science-fiction filmSunshine.[38]
In 2008 he directedSlumdog Millionaire, the story of an impoverished child on the streets ofMumbai, India, who competes on the localversion ofWho Wants to Be a Millionaire?, for which Boyle won Academy and BAFTA Awards for Best Director. The most successful British film of the decade, the film won eightAcademy Awards and sevenBAFTA Awards.[39][40] Boyle commented, "To be a film-maker...you have to lead. You have to be psychotic in your desire to do something. People always like the easy route. You have to push very hard to get something unusual, something different."[11] Andrew Macdonald, producer ofTrainspotting, said "Boyle takes a subject that you've often seen portrayed realistically, in a politically correct way, whether it's junkies or slum orphans, and he has managed to make it realistic but also incredibly uplifting and joyful."[11] The success led a deal with Fox Searchlight.[41]
Despite the commercial success ofSlumdog Millionaire, Boyle faced criticism for his portrayal of India through a Western, idealized lens. Some critics saw the film as "poverty porn," though Boyle argued he showed India's "lust for life" and "resilience."[42]
Boyle's next film wasTrance. It has been reported another instalment of the28 Days Later franchise is in the development stages.[45][46] Boyle has stated previously that in theory the third instalment of the series would be titled28 Months Later, but alluded to a film taking place somewhere else in the world he created in28 Days Later and28 Weeks Later. He was also stated to be producing the upcoming filmPaani.[47]
Boyle told an interviewer about the eclectic range of his films, "There's a theme running through all of them—and I just realised this. They're all about someone facing impossible odds and overcoming them."[48] With a strong interest in music, Boyle has mentioned in interviews that he has considered amusical film with original compositions. Boyle has also expressed interest in an animated film.[49]
Boyle's biographical filmSteve Jobs aboutApple Inc. founderSteve Jobs closed the 59thBFI London Film Festival. It was the third time Boyle has had that honour, afterSlumdog Millionaire in 2008 and127 Hours two years later. The BFI's London Film Festival Director, Clare Stewart, said Boyle had created an "exhilarating and audacious film about a complex, charismatic pioneer".[50] He directed the sequel toTrainspotting,T2 Trainspotting.[51]
In a BBC interview, Boyle stated that he did not write his own films but they did reflect his personality. "I am not a big auteur fan and like to work with writers, but ultimately a film is a director's vision, because he gets all its elements together towards that vision."[52]
In March 2018, Boyle confirmed he would be directing the then-untitled twenty-fifthJames Bond film (later known asNo Time to Die)[53] but dropped out that August due to a dispute over the film's script.[54][55] He and writerRichard Curtis collaborated onYesterday, released on 28 June 2019.[56]
In 2024, after a two-year hiatus from directing, Boyle reunited with Garland to make28 Years Later, which is set in a post-apocalyptic Britain 28 years after the first film in the28 Days Later series.[57][58] The film was released in the UK in June 2025. It is the first in a planned trilogy, with the second,28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, already under way.[59]
Boyle was a founding trustee[64] in 2007,[65] ofDramatic Need, a charity which operated in Rwanda and South Africa, helping young people to come to terms with trauma and conflict.[19] The charity was wound up in November 2021.[66]
As of 2008[update], Boyle was the patron ofNorth West England-based young people's substance misuse charity, Early Break, which was founded and based in his home town of Radcliffe.[67] In 2014, Boyle was appointed a patron ofHOME in Manchester.[68]
In December 2012, it was reported that Boyle turned down a knighthood in theNew Year Honours list.[76] He later said that he believed "in being an equal citizen rather than a preferred subject" and that "that sort of thing just makes me vomit."[63][77]
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