Antoine Fuqua

Antoine Fuqua ( ; born May 30, 1965) is an American director and producer. Known for his work on film, television, and music videos, and for his work in the action and thriller genres, he was originally known as a director of music videos, and made his film debut in 1998 with The Replacement Killers. His critical breakthrough was the 2001 crime thriller Training Day, winning the Black Reel Award for Outstanding Director.

His subsequent films include Tears of the Sun (2003), King Arthur (2004), Shooter (2007), Brooklyn's Finest (2009), Olympus Has Fallen (2013), Southpaw (2015), The Magnificent Seven (2016) and The Equalizer trilogy (2014–2023), earning with the first one the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture. He also directed the Michael Jackson biopic Michael (2026), making his highest-grossing film to date.

He also directed the critically acclaimed documentaries American Dream/American Knightmare (2018), What's My Name: Muhammad Ali (2019), and the 2022 Hulu documentary series Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers, for which he won the Sports Emmy Awards for Outstanding Documentary Series.

Early life and education Fuqua was born in Pittsburgh to Carlos and Mary Fuqua. He graduated from Taylor Allderdice High School in 1983. Before turning to filmmaking and music videos, Fuqua studied electrical engineering, with the hope of going on to fly jets in the military. He earned a basketball scholarship to West Virginia State, before transferring to West Virginia University.

Fuqua pays tribute to screenwriter Shinobu Hashimoto, a frequent collaborator of Akira Kurosawa's, saying his writing "affected a boy from Pittsburgh living in the ghetto."

Fuqua later said that his experience of violence shaped his adolescence, and played a role in his eventual choice of career.

Career Fuqua began his career directing music videos for popular artists such as Toni Braxton, Stevie Wonder, and Prince. He directed Michelle Pfeiffer in the video Gangsta's Paradise by Coolio which was used to promote Jerry Bruckheimer's successful film Dangerous Minds.

The movie became a big hit and Jerry Bruckheimer was kind enough to give me a lot of credit for it because they used my music video ... the irony was people thought I was the new French film director. No one had any idea I was this guy from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. So I used to walk in the room and people would literally ask me to get coffee. And I would say, "No, no, I'm the director", and I loved watching their faces. That was fun.

Fuqua at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival He co-created the comic-book miniseries After Dark with Wesley Snipes, which was written by Peter Milligan and illustrated by Jeff Nentrup. He was slated to direct Tupac Shakur's official biopic but the project was postponed to allow Fuqua to direct rapper Eminem's second feature film, Southpaw (2015). Eminem later left Southpaw to focus on his music, and was replaced with Jake Gyllenhaal.

Fuqua's 2016 film, The Magnificent Seven, was a remake of the classic 1960 Western of the same name which itself was an American remake of Kurosawa's 1954 film, Seven Samurai. Denzel Washington plays the lead role of Sam Chisolm.

In early 2018, Fuqua worked as one of the executive producers on the Fox medical drama series The Resident. In the summer of 2018, his thriller sequel The Equalizer 2 (2018) was released with Denzel Washington returning in the main role. In June 2021, Fuqua's sci-fi film Infinite, starring Mark Wahlberg and Chiwetel Ejiofor was released.

In 2021, Fuqua and actor Will Smith announced that their upcoming film, Emancipation, would not be filmed in Georgia because of the recent passage of Georgia's new voting law. Smith and Fuqua released a joint statement: "We cannot in good conscience provide economic support to a government that enacts regressive voting laws that are designed to restrict voter access". Emancipation was released in theatres on December 2, 2022, followed by a streaming release on Apple TV+ on December 9.

On December 3, 2021, he signed a first look deal with Netflix and renamed his production company from Fuqua Films to Hill District Media. He later signed an overall television deal with Paramount Television Studios and MTV Entertainment Studios.

In 2023, it was announced that Fuqua would be producing a television miniseries based on the life of Shaka.

In January 2023, Fuqua announced his next film project would be Michael, a biographical film about Michael Jackson, starring Jackson's nephew Jaafar Jackson and being produced by Graham King. The film was released in theatres on April 10, 2026.

In November 2023, it was announced Fuqua would reunite with Denzel Washington on a film about Hannibal for Netflix, with John Logan writing the screenplay. However, in June 2026, it was reported that pre-production of the film had been halted.

On May 6, 2024, Hill District Media became officially attached to develop the film adaptation of Sky's End, a YA dystopian fantasy novel written by Marc J. Gregson, with Fuqua serving as a producer.

Personal life

Fuqua and actress Lela Rochon became engaged in 1998 and married on April 9, 1999. They have a daughter and a son. Fuqua also has a son from a previous relationship. He has two granddaughters.

When asked by the BBC in September 2014 whether he believes in God, Fuqua said: "Absolutely."

Political activities On October 16, 2023, following the October 7 attacks, Antoine Fuqua, along with other 700 Hollywood figures, signed an open letter in support of Israel.

Filmography Film Year TitleDirectorProducer 1998 The Replacement Killers 2000 Bait 2001 Training Day 2003 Tears of the Sun 2004 King Arthur 2007 Shooter 2009 Brooklyn's Finest 2013 Olympus Has Fallen 2014 The Equalizer 2015 Southpaw 2016 The Magnificent Seven 2018 The Equalizer 2 2021 Infinite The Guilty 2022 Emancipation 2022 Bullet Train 2023 The Equalizer 3 2024 Rob Peace 2026 Michael

Television YearTitleDirectorExecutiveproducer Notes 2016–17 Ice Episode "Hyenas"2022 The Terminal List Episode "The Engram"

Executive producer only Shooter (2016–2018) Training Day (2017) The Resident (2018–23) FreeRayshawn (2020) Mayor of Kingstown (2021–present) The Terminal List: Dark Wolf (2025)

Documentary works YearTitle Director Producer Notes 2004 Lightning in a Bottle 2018 American Dream/American Knightmare TV movie 2019 What's My Name: Muhammad Ali 2021 The Day Sports Stood Still 2022 Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers Docuseries 2026 Troublemaker: The Story Behind the Mandela Tapes

Producer only Bastards of the Party (2005) Forever Brothers: The '71 Pittsburgh Pirates Story (2016) Stans (2025)

Directed Academy Award performancesUnder Fuqua's direction, these actors have received Academy Award nominations (and one win) for their performances in their respective roles.

Music videography Year Title Artist(s) 1990 "I Like the Girls" Mr. Lee "I'll Do 4 U"Father MC "I Just Can't Handle It"Hi-Five1991"I Like the Way (The Kissing Game)""I Can't Wait Another Minute" 1992 "Love's Taken Over" Chanté Moore "It's Alright""You Know What I Like"El DeBarge "All I See" Christopher Williams "Saving Forever for You" Shanice"Goodbye My Love"Brian McKnight"I Can't Go for That""Let's Get Smooth"Calloway"Who's the Man?"Heavy D & the Boyz"Oh My Gosh"Don-E 1993 "Another Sad Love Song" (Black and White Version, International Version) Toni Braxton "Try My Love"Jeremy Jordan"Get A Little Freaky with Me"Aaron Hall"In Our Love"Caron Wheeler"Angel"Company 1994 "Ain't Nobody" Jaki Graham "Somewhere" Shanice "I'm in the Mood" CeCe Peniston "Deep Down" Ladae "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" Prince "United Front" Arrested Development "Freedom" Various Artists "Gangsta's Paradise" Coolio 1996 "Someday" All-4-One 1998 "Bedtime (Version 2)" Usher Raymond 1999 "Blue Angels" Pras 2007 "Citizen/Soldier" 3 Doors Down 2011 "Mirror" Lil Wayne

Other works Commercials Pirelli – "The Call" (2006), featuring Naomi Campbell and John Malkovich