Ben Wheatley

Ben Wheatley (born 1972) is an English filmmaker, film editor, and animator. Beginning his career in advertising, Wheatley first gained recognition and acclaim for his commercials and short films, before transitioning into feature films and television programmes. He is best known for his work in the thriller and horror genres, with his films frequently incorporating heavy elements of black comedy and satire.

Wheatley has received numerous accolades for his work, including an Evening Standard British Film Award, five British Independent Film Award nominations, and numerous awards and honours from film festivals including South by Southwest, Karlovy Vary, Mar del Plata, Raindance, Toronto and Cannes.

Career In 2006, Wheatley won a "Lion" award at Cannes advertising festival for directing the AMBX viral, with The Viral Factory. In July 2006 he directed live-action sections of the TV series Modern Toss ("i live ere", "Alan", "Drive by abuser", "Customer services", "Accident and emergency", "Citizens advice", "Illegal alphabet"), which was aired on Channel 4. Wheatley has also written and created clips for BBC Two's Time Trumpet, and has appeared in and directed sketches for BBC Three's Comedy Shuffle. Between 2007 and 2009 Wheatley directed series two of Modern Toss and Ideal series five and six. In 2008, Wheatley co-created and directed the sketch series The Wrong Door for BBC Three.

In May 2009, he directed the feature film Down Terrace in eight days; it won the Next Wave prize at Fantastic Fest in Austin and Best UK Feature at Raindance in London. In 2010 Wheatley completed his second feature, Kill List for Warp X. The film received critical acclaim and won Michael Smiley a British Independent Film Award for Best Supporting Actor. The movie holds a 76% rating on Rotten Tomatoes with a critic consensus describing the film as "an expertly executed slow-burn crime thriller that thrives on tension before morphing into visceral horror."

Wheatley's third film was the black comedy Sightseers, released in the UK in November 2012. It was written by its stars, Alice Lowe and Steve Oram, with additional material by Amy Jump, and was chosen for the Directors' Fortnight section of the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. Wheatley's fourth film, A Field in England was financed through the Film4 talent and ideas hub, Film4.0. It was followed in 2015 by High-Rise, an adaptation of the J. G. Ballard novel of the same name. He has also directed advertisements for Blink Productions and Moxie.

Wheatley wrote and directed Free Fire (2016), starring an ensemble cast including Cillian Murphy, Brie Larson, Armie Hammer and Sharlto Copley. His film Happy New Year, Colin Burstead was made for the BBC 2018 Christmas schedule, and remains available to watch on iPlayer.

In November 2018 Wheatley was hired to direct an adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's gothic romance novel Rebecca, a Working Title Films production. Released on Netflix in October 2020, the film stars Lily James, Armie Hammer, and Kristin Scott Thomas. It received mixed reviews, with a score of 46 on review aggregator site Metacritic.

In autumn 2019, Wheatley was announced as the director of the sequel for Tomb Raider, based on the popular video-game franchise of the same name and starring Academy Award-winning actress Alicia Vikander as Lara Croft, with Amy Jump to pen the script. However, in October 2020 it was announced that the film's March 2021 release had been delayed indefinitely, amid a series of production issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic. In January 2021, Wheatley was replaced by Lovecraft Country creator Misha Green, and the script was rewritten. The film was eventually scrapped.

In November 2020, it was announced that Wheatley had wrapped production on In the Earth, a pandemic-set horror film starring Joel Fry, Ellora Torchia, Hayley Squires and Reece Shearsmith. Neon released the film in the U.S. in 2021.

In October 2020, it was announced that Wheatley would take over the sequel to the science-fiction horror film The Meg, starring Jason Statham and Li Bingbing, based on Steve Alten's eponymous series of novels. Alten confirmed the sequel would be an adaptation of the second book of the series, The Trench.

Personal life

Wheatley was born in Billericay, Essex, England. He went to Haverstock School in North London.

Filmography Film

Feature film Year Title Director Writer Editor Notes 2009 Down Terrace Also executive producer 2011 Kill List 2012 Sightseers 2014 A Field in England 2015 High-Rise 2016 Free Fire 2018 Happy New Year, Colin Burstead 2020 Rebecca 2021 In the Earth Also executive producer 2023 Meg 2: The Trench 2025 Bulk Normal

Short film Year Title Notes 2006 Rob Loves Kerry 2012 U Is for Unearthed Segment of The ABCs of DeathAlso editor 2016 LostDogFilm Executive producer

Executive producer The Duke of Burgundy (2014) ABCs of Death 2 (2014) Aaaaaaaah! (2015) Tank 432 (2015) The Greasy Strangler (2016) The Ghoul (2016) In Fabric (2018) Klokkenluider (2022)

Television YearTitle Director Writer Notes 2006 Time Trumpet 4 episodes 2007 Comedy: Shuffle 1 episode2008 Modern Toss 12 episodes The Wrong Door 6 episodes 2009 Steve Coogan: The Inside Story Television specialCo-directed with Dave Walker 2009–2010 Ideal 14 episodes 2012 Burge & Way Television film 2014 Doctor Who Episodes "Deep Breath" and "Into the Dalek" 2018–2019 Strange Angel 3 episodes 2024 Generation Z 6 episodesAlso executive producer

Music video "Formaldehyde" by Editors (2013) "Mork n Mindy" by Sleaford Mods (2020)

Awards and nominations Year Title Award 2009 Down Terrace Fantastic Fest Next Award for Best FilmRaindance Jury Prize for Best UK FeatureNominated- Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Screenplay 2011 Kill List Nominated- British Independent Film Award for Best DirectorNominated- British Independent Film Award for Best ScreenplayNominated- BiFan Best of BucheonNominated- Evening Standard British Film Award for Best ScreenplayNominated- Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best ScreenplayNominated- SXSW Audience Award for Midnight Feature 2012 Sightseers Evening Standard Peter Sellers Award for ComedyBiFan Best of BucheonNominated- British Independent Film Award for Best DirectorNominated- Mar del Plata International Award for Best FilmNominated- Sitges Maria Award for Best Motion PictureNominated- Variety Piazza Grande Award The ABCs of Death Nominated- Golden Chicago Hugo (After Dark Competition) 2013 A Field in EnglandKarlovy Vary Special Prize of the JuryNominated- Crystal GlobeNominated- Dublin Film Critics' Circle Award for Best DirectorNominated- Sitges Maria Award for Best Motion Picture 2015 High-RiseTIFF Platform Prize 2016 Free FireTIFF People's Choice AwardNominated- British Independent Film Award for Best DirectorNominated- Mar del Plata International Award for Best FilmNominated- Rotterdam MovieZone AwardNominated- Golden San Sebastián Seashell 2018 Happy New Year, Colin BursteadNominated- British Independent Film Award for Best EditingNominated- BFI London Best Film Award 2023 Meg 2: The TrenchNominated- Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Director