Steve Shill | |
|---|---|
| Born | Stephen A Shill 1957 (age 68–69) |
| Occupations | Television director, television producer, actor, screenwriter, film director. |
| Years active | 1988–present |
Stephen A Shill (born 1957) is a British television and film director, actor, screenwriter and television producer.[1] His directing credits includeEastEnders,Casualty,The Sopranos,The Wire,Rome,Carnivàle,Deadwood,Big Love,The Tudors,Brotherhood,Dexter,The Kill Point,Knight Rider,Law & Order,Night Stalker,Invasion,Commander in Chief,Dragnet,ER,The West Wing,Deadwood,Obsessed,Ben Hur,The Good Wife. His acting credits includeThe Last Temptation of Christ,Kinsey, andBeing Human.
Shill was born in 1957 in Buckinghamshire, England.[2] He attended Keswick Grammar School inKeswick, Cumbria, England in the 1970s, and was a student atUniversity of Leeds,[1] in their Fine Arts Department, where he studied painting, printing and photography; He graduated in 1980.[1]
After leaving university, he became a member ofImpact Theatre Co-operative,[1] and wrote, directed and produced his own theatre work under his own name for 10 years.[1] He completed the BBC Drama Director's Course, he began his television directing career with episodes ofEastEnders, andCasualty for theBBC.[1]
He moved to the United States and worked on many successful shows produced bypremiumcable networkHBO, includingThe Sopranos,[3]The Wire,[4][5][6][7]Rome,[1]Carnivàle,Deadwood,[1] andBig Love.[8]
He directed the pilot episode ofShowtime'sThe Tudors,[1] and served as a regular director and executive producer throughout the firstseason. He has also directed episodes of Showtime'sBrotherhood andDexter.[9] Shill directed all eight episodes ofSpike TV'sThe Kill Pointmini-series and also served as an executive producer.[9] Shill directed and co-executive produced the 2008Knight Rider TV movie that served as a pilot for the2008 follow-up series.[9] Shill has also directed numerous episodes of memorable network programs, including three episodes ofLaw & Order,[1]Night Stalker,[9]Invasion,[9]Commander in Chief,[9]Dragnet,[9]ER,[1] andThe West Wing.[1]
Shill joined the HBO western dramaDeadwood,[1] as a director for the first season in 2004. The series was created byDavid Milch and focused on a growing town in the American West. Shill directed the episode "Jewel's Boot Is Made for Walking".[10] He returned as a director for the second season in 2005 and also wrote an episode. Shill directed the episode "New Money"[11] and wrote and directed the episode "Something Very Expensive".[12] Shill and the writing staff were nominated for aWriters Guild of America Award for Outstanding Drama Series at theFebruary 2006 ceremony for their work on the second season.
Shill directed the theatrical featureObsessed,[9] starringIdris Elba,Beyoncé Knowles, andAli Larter. The film opened at number one in the United States of America in April 2009, taking almost $70m at the box office and becomingScreen Gems' second biggest opening weekend in their history. In 2010, Shill directed the miniseriesBen Hur[9] and the first-season episode "Painkiller" for the legal drama seriesThe Good Wife.[13] That same year, he received anEmmy Award forOutstanding Directing for a Drama Series forDexter episode"The Getaway".[1]
Shill had acting roles in the filmsThe Last Temptation of Christ,[9]The Missing Reel,[9]Kinsey[9] andBeing Human.[9]
