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Mike LeighEnglish writer and director
Date of Birth: 20.02.1943
Country:  Great Britain |
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Biography of Mike Leigh
Mike Leigh, an English writer and film director, was born on February 20, 1943. He was born in Salford, England, to Phyllis Pauline Cousin and Alfred Abraham Leigh, a doctor serving the working class of Salford. Leigh grew up in a family of Jewish immigrants (their original surname was Liberman but later anglicized).
Early Career
Leigh initially studied acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and worked in the Royal Shakespeare Company. He then took lessons at the East 15 Acting School, where he met actress Alison Steadman, who later became his wife and favorite actress. In 1960, Leigh won a grant to study at RADA. He also attended classes at the Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts, Central Saint Martins, and the London Film School.
In the early 1960s, Mike Leigh played small roles in films such as "West 11" and "Two Left Feet," and appeared in the BBC television series "Maigret." In 1965, he began writing and directing his own plays. In the 1970s, Leigh directed nine television plays. His earlier plays, such as "Nuts in May" and "Abigail's Party," were satirical towards the manners of middle-class people but appeared more cold than genuinely funny. His plays were mostly sharp, revealing a keen reaction to the banality and mediocrity of society. Plays like "Goose-Pimples" and "Abigail's Party" focused on the vulgarity of middle-class individuals, as showcased in their behavior during a party.
Film Career
In 1988, Leigh directed "High Hopes," a film about the disintegration of a working-class family living in a "semi-derelict flat" in a council estate. His earlier films, such as "Naked" and "Vera Drake," were equally powerful but more brutal and centered around the lives of the working class. However, his latest film, "Happy-Go-Lucky," is more contemporary and comedic. In Mike Leigh's films, his commitment to portraying social realism and humanism is evident. Only a few of his films and television plays revolve around the narrower territory of ordinary people's family relationships, often leading to a dead-end.
Mike Leigh has won several awards at leading European film festivals, including the Best Director award at Cannes for "Naked" (1993) and the Golden Palm for "Secrets & Lies" (1996). He also received the "Leone d'Oro" for Best Film at the Venice International Film Festival in 2004 for "Vera Drake." He has been nominated for the Academy Award six times for films such as "Vera Drake" and "Secrets & Lies," as well as for "Topsy-Turvy" and "Happy-Go-Lucky" (2008). Some of Mike's most famous films include "Life is Sweet" (1990), the biographical film about Gilbert and Sullivan "Topsy-Turvy" (1999), and the gritty drama about working-class individuals "All or Nothing" (2002).
Leigh often starts working on projects without a pre-written script, only taking a central idea and allowing the actors to improvise, thereby developing the idea further.
Personal Life
In September 1973, Mike Leigh married Alison Steadman. The couple has two sons, Toby (born in 1979) and Leo (born in 1981). Steadman appeared in seven of Leigh's films and performed in several of his plays, including "Wholesome Glory" and "Abigail's Party." They divorced in 2001. Currently, the director resides in Camden with costume designer Charlotte Goldich. In 2009, Leigh joined the Russell Tribunal on Palestine.
