Otto Bathurst

Otto Bathurst
Bathurst in 2015
Born
Otto Benjamin Charles Bathurst[1]

(1971-01-18) 18 January 1971[1]
Hammersmith, London England[2]
Occupations
  • Television director
  • film director
ChildrenThree[3]

Otto Benjamin Charles Bathurst (born 18 January 1971)[1] is a British television and film director. In 2014, he won a BAFTA for his work on BBC drama Peaky Blinders.[4][5] He was also previously BAFTA nominated for his work on BBC series Criminal Justice and Five Days.[6]

Early life

Bathurst was born on 18 January 1971,[1] the son of Elizabeth Mary (Thompson)[7] and Christopher Bathurst, 3rd Viscount Bledisloe.[8] He grew up in Dudley and Bridgnorth.[9] He began to study engineering at university, but dropped out to move to London and work in film.[9]

Family life

The Bathurst family has lived in Bath, Somerset since 2013.[3][10][11] Otto enjoys cooking and his favourite restaurant serves classic Indian cuisine.[12]

Career

Bathurst began his career in editing and then worked on commercials, before moving into television.[13] He has taught filmmaking at Oxford and London universities.[14]

In 2009, Bathurst directed Margot, a biopic of Margot Fonteyn starring Anne-Marie Duff, which focused upon the relationship between Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev.[15]

In 2011, he directed "The National Anthem", the first episode of the anthology television series Black Mirror.[16]

He has also directed episodes of Urban Gothic, Teachers, and Hustle. In 2013, he was described by Express & Star as "Britain's most exciting director".[9]

In 2018, he made his feature film directorial debut with Robin Hood.[17] It starred Jamie Dornan as Will Scarlett, Jamie Foxx as Little John, Tim Minchin as Friar Tuck, Eve Hewson as Maid Marian, and Taron Egerton as the eponymous hero.[18] The film was universally panned[19] and was estimated to have lost the studio US$83.7 million.[20]

He directed episodes of the historical drama series Lockerbie: A Search for Truth, broadcast in January 2025.[21]

Filmography

Feature film

Television

Year Title Director Executive
Producer
Notes
2000-2001 Urban Gothic Yes No 4 episodes
2002 Comedy Lab Yes No Episode "Shoreditch Tw*t"
Guardian of the Amazon Yes No TV movie
2003 20 Things to Do Before You're 30 Yes No 3 episodes
Teachers Yes No 3 episodes
UGetMe Yes No 6 episodes
2004 NY-LON Yes No Episode "Something About Chemicals"
2005-2006 Hustle Yes No 4 episodes
2007 Five Days Yes No 3 episodes
2008 Criminal Justice Yes No 3 episodes
2009 Margot Yes No TV movie
2011 Black Mirror Yes No Episode "The National Anthem"
2013 Peaky Blinders Yes No 3 episodes
2014 Hysteria Yes Yes Unaired pilot
2019 His Dark Materials Yes Yes Episodes "Armour" and "The Lost Boy"
2022 Billy the Kid Yes Yes 2 episodes
2022-2024 Halo Yes Yes 4 episodes
2023 The Winter King Yes Yes 4 episodes
2025 Lockerbie: A Search for Truth Yes Yes 4 episodes
The Abandons Yes Yes 2 episodes

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Otto Bathurst". AlloCiné. Archived from the original on 21 October 2019.
  2. ^ "Otto Bathurst: Biography". IMDb. 20 April 2020. Archived from the original on 20 April 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Komedia Bath: IMDb Script to Screen Award 2018". TicketSource. 20 June 2018. Archived from the original on 20 April 2020.
  4. ^ "2014 Television Craft Director - Fiction". British Academy Film Awards. 12 May 2014. Archived from the original on 23 August 2019.
  5. ^ "Peaky Blinders wins two prizes at BAFTA Craft Awards". Birmingham Mail. 28 April 2014. Archived from the original on 12 April 2020.
  6. ^ "BAFTA Awards Search". British Academy Film Awards. 21 October 2019. Archived from the original on 19 November 2018.
  7. ^ "Obituaries: Elizabeth Mary (Thompson) STRACHAN". The Times. Legacy. 11 October 2016. Archived from the original on 19 April 2020.
  8. ^ "Run by a wealthy old Etonian in deepest Somerset". Celebrity Best News. 16 March 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  9. ^ a b c Richardson, Andy (18 September 2013). "I hate period TV shows - but Peaky Blinders was rock 'n' roll". Express & Star. MNA Media. Archived from the original on 22 October 2019.
  10. ^ Bathurst, Otto (October 2015). "A True Man in the 21st Century". The Bath Magazine. UK: MC Publishing Ltd. p. 12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  11. ^ "The Team". Creative Aquatic. Frome, Somerset: The Lighthouse. 20 October 2019. Archived from the original on 20 April 2020.
  12. ^ Bielby, Matt (6–20 July 2018). "The Big Interview". Bath Life. MediaClash Ltd. pp. 54–57.
  13. ^ "Otto Bathurst". Screen Daily. Media Business Insight Ltd. 29 June 2009. Archived from the original on 23 April 2020.
  14. ^ Bathurst, Otto (15 December 2015). "Serge Benhayon, me and men". Unimed Living. Universal Medicine. Archived from the original on 19 April 2020.
  15. ^ Jennings, Luke (29 November 2009). "Anne-Marie Duff: why playing Margot Fonteyn hurt". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 21 October 2019.
  16. ^ Frost, Vicky (7 November 2011). "The National Anthem: the princess, the PM and bestiality on TV? It must be C4". The Guardian. UK. Archived from the original on 21 October 2019.
  17. ^ Sharf, Zack (3 May 2018). "'Robin Hood' First Trailer: Taron Egerton and Jamie Foxx Put An Action-Packed Spin on the Legend". IndieWire.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  18. ^ PA (3 May 2018). "Taron Egerton revealed as Robin Hood in first teaser". Belfast Telegraph.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  19. ^ "Robin Hood (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. 31 December 2019. Archived from the original on 16 January 2020.
  20. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (8 April 2019). "The Biggest Box Office Bombs Of 2018: Deadline's Most Valuable Blockbuster Tournament". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 14 April 2020.
  21. ^ Hilton, Nick (2 January 2025). "Lockerbie drama is a punch to the gut with a stellar performance from Colin Firth". The Independent. Retrieved 3 January 2025.