Stephen Arthur Frears (born 20 June 1941) is an English director and producer. He has directed numerous acclaimed films since the early 1980s, including My Beautiful Laundrette (1985), Dangerous Liaisons (1988), The Grifters (1990), High Fidelity (2000), The Queen (2006), Philomena (2013), Florence Foster Jenkins (2016), and Victoria & Abdul (2017). He has received two nominations for the Academy Award for Best Director.
Frears is also known for his work on various television programs, including Fail Safe (2000), The Deal (2003), Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight (2013), A Very English Scandal (2018), State of the Union (2019), and Quiz (2020). He has received four Primetime Emmy Award nominations, with one win.
In 2008, The Daily Telegraph named Frears among the 100 most influential people in British culture.
Known For
High Fidelity
(2000)
Director
Dangerous Liaisons
(1988)
Director
Mary Reilly
(1996)
Director
Philomena
(2013)
Director
Victoria & Abdul
(2017)
Director
The Queen
(2006)
Director
Hero
(1992)
Director
Florence Foster Jenkins
(2016)
Director
Dirty Pretty Things
(2002)
Director
The Program
(2015)
Director
Tamara Drewe
(2010)
Director
Lay the Favorite
(2012)
Director
Fail Safe
(2000)
Director
Mrs. Henderson Presents
(2005)
Director
The Grifters
(1990)
Director
My Beautiful Laundrette
(1985)
Director
Full Filmography
Directing
Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment
(1966)
Assistant Director
The Burning
(1968)
Director
Gumshoe
(1971)
Director
A Day Out
(1972)
Director
Match of the Day
(1974)
Director
Three Men in a Boat
(1975)
Director
Sunset Across the Bay
(1975)
Director
Early Struggles
(1976)
Director
Black Christmas
(1977)
Director
Last Summer
(1977)
Director
A Visit from Miss Prothero
(1978)
Director
Me! I'm Afraid of Virginia Woolf
(1978)
Director
Doris and Doreen
(1978)
Director
Cold Harbour
(1978)
Director
One Fine Day
(1979)
Director
Afternoon Off
(1979)
Director
Long Distance Information
(1979)
Director
Bloody Kids
(1980)
Director
Going Gently
(1981)
Director
Walter
(1982)
Director
Walter and June
(1983)
Director
Saigon: Year Of The Cat
(1983)
Director
The Hit
(1984)
Director
December Flower
(1984)
Director
The Bullshitters: Roll out the Gunbarrel
(1984)
Director
My Beautiful Laundrette
(1985)
Director
Song of Experience
(1986)
Director
Consuela (or, The New Mrs Saunders)
(1986)
Director
Prick Up Your Ears
(1987)
Director
Sammy and Rosie Get Laid
(1987)
Director
Dangerous Liaisons
(1988)
Director
Mr Jolly Lives Next Door
(1988)
Director
The Grifters
(1990)
Director
Hero
(1992)
Director
The Snapper
(1993)
Director
Typically British: A Personal History of British Cinema
(1995)
Director
The Van
(1996)
Director
Mary Reilly
(1996)
Director
The Hi-Lo Country
(1998)
Director
High Fidelity
(2000)
Director
Fail Safe
(2000)
Director
Liam
(2001)
Director
Dirty Pretty Things
(2002)
Director
The Deal
(2003)
Director
The Route V50
(2004)
Director
Mrs. Henderson Presents
(2005)
Director
Le court des grands
(2005)
Director
The Queen
(2006)
Director
Chéri
(2009)
Director
Tamara Drewe
(2010)
Director
Lay the Favorite
(2012)
Director
Philomena
(2013)
Director
Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight
(2013)
Director
Henri Langlois vu par...
(2014)
Director
The Program
(2015)
Director
Florence Foster Jenkins
(2016)
Director
Victoria & Abdul
(2017)
Director
The Lost King
(2022)
Director
Acting
Incident
(1971)
Man
Long Shot
(1978)
Biscuit Man
Shooting from the Heart: Chris Menges, Cameraman
(1985)
Hooray For Holyrood
(1986)
Himself
Director: Alan Clarke
(1991)
Typically British: A Personal History of British Cinema
(1995)
Howard Hawks: American Artist
(1997)
Narrator
Alan Clarke: His Own Man
(2000)
Himself
All About Desire: The Passionate Cinema of Pedro Almodovar
(2001)
Narrator
Robert Altman in England
(2002)
Himself
Forever Ealing
(2002)
Self
Cast & Crew: If....
(2004)
Self - Interviewee
Here’s Looking at You, Boy
(2007)
Self
Great Directors
(2009)
Self
Once Upon a Time... 'Notorious'
(2009)
Self
Chéri
(2009)
Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Heavy Rain
(2010)
Hans Zimmer: The Sound of Hollywood
(2011)
Self
My Friend Sam: Living for the Moment
(2012)
30 Years of Comic Strip
(2012)
Henri Langlois vu par...
(2014)
Self
French Cinema Mon Amour
(2015)
Self
Reflecting on My Beautiful Laundrette: A Conversation between Stephen Frears and Colin MacCabe
(2015)
She's French
(2017)
Seduction. Betrayal. Murder: The Making of The Grifters
(2018)
Who Killed British Cinema?
(2018)
Himself
Memories of Lindsay Anderson
(2019)
Himself
Revisiting The Man in the White Suit
(2019)
A Life on Screen, Hugh Grant
(2019)
Self
In The Tracks Of - Alexandre Desplat
(2020)
Self
Hans Zimmer: Hollywood Rebel
(2022)
Self
Production
Last Summer
(1977)
Producer
Doris and Doreen
(1978)
Producer
One Fine Day
(1979)
Producer
Afternoon Off
(1979)
Producer
Beyond Fear
(1997)
Executive Producer
Jean Charles
(2009)
Executive Producer
Night Will Fall
(2014)
Executive Producer and Producer
Camera
Writing