Hiro Murai

Hiro Murai (born 1983) is a Japanese filmmaker based in Los Angeles. He is best-known for music videos for Childish Gambino, Earl Sweatshirt, Chet Faker and others. His music video and television work has received widespread acclaim, and garnered him a Primetime Emmy Award (for his work as an executive producer on the Hulu series The Bear) and a Grammy Award (for his work on "This Is America").

He rose to prominence with his work on the FX series Atlanta (2016–2022), created by and starring frequent collaborator Donald Glover, on which he served as a director and producer. For his work on the series, he received four Primetime Emmy Award nominations. He would also serve as a director on four episodes on the HBO comedy-drama series Barry (2018–2023), and as a director and executive producer on the HBO limited series Station Eleven (2021–2022), the latter of which also garnered him a further Primetime Emmy Award nomination. He directed five episodes of the 2026 horror comedy drama series Widow's Bay, starring Matthew Rhys.

Early life and education Hiro Murai was born in 1983 to Japanese popular music composer . He moved to Los Angeles, California, when he was nine years old. He graduated with a degree from the USC School of Cinematic Arts.

Career After graduation, Murai turned to freelance work as the director of photography for numerous music videos, as well as VFX and storyboarding, most notably for Ace Norton. He has directed music videos for Childish Gambino, Earl Sweatshirt, Chet Faker, and others.

In 2013, he directed the short film Clapping for the Wrong Reasons, a companion piece for Childish Gambino's second studio album, Because the Internet, and its attached screenplay. In the same year, he created a multi-panel video set for Frank Ocean's performance at the Grammys.

Murai directed several episodes of the comedy-drama Atlanta, collaborating again with Donald Glover (aka Childish Gambino). For his work on the show, he has received three nominations for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series.

He directed the music video for Childish Gambino's "This Is America", released on May 5, 2018, which was described as "the most talked-about music video of recent memory", and which Billboard critics ranked 10th among the "greatest music videos of the 21st century." In 2019, Murai won the Grammy Award for Best Music Video for directing the video.

In June 2018, it was announced that he would direct a science fiction feature film, Man Alive, written by David Robert Mitchell.

In November 2018, the trailer for his debut feature film Guava Island, starring Donald Glover and Rihanna, premiered at the Pharos Festival in New Zealand. Guava Island was released on April 13, 2019, by Amazon Studios through Amazon Prime Video. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 74% based on reviews from 43 critics, with an average rating of 6.60/10. On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 64 out of 100, based on 8 reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

In 2021, Murai directed the first and third episodes of the science fiction miniseries Station Eleven for HBO Max, which garnered him a Primetime Emmy Award nomination.

Murai directed the first two episodes of the 2024 action comedy drama Mr. & Mrs. Smith, starring Donald Glover and Maya Erskine.

In 2026 he directed five episodes of the horror comedy drama series Widow's Bay.

Filmography Short film Clapping for the Wrong Reasons Sea Oak TV pilot Snowfall Episode "Trauma" 2018–2019 Barry 4 episodes 2021–2022 Station Eleven 2 episodes 2024 Mr. & Mrs. Smith 2 episodes TBA The Marriage Plot miniseries Music video

Director YearTitleArtist Notes 2005 "Small Apartment Party Epiphany" Make Believe Co-directed with Steve Drypolcher andBrandon Driscoll-Luttringer2009 "Signs (Armand Van Helden Remix)" Bloc Party "Me-Time" Busdriver "Heartless" The Fray "Unbalanced Pieces" Soulsavers "Staying In Love" Raphael Saadiq 2010 "Airplanes" B.o.B featuring Hayley Williams "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love" Usher featuring Pitbull "The Show Goes On" Lupe Fiasco 2011 "Stereo Hearts" Gym Class Heroes featuring Adam Levine 2012 "Shady Love" Scissor Sisters vs. Krystal Pepsy "Mind Control" Friends "It's Only Life" The Shins "She Wolf (Falling to Pieces)" David Guetta featuring Sia "Chum" Earl Sweatshirt "Cheerleader" St. Vincent 2013 "Hive" Earl Sweatshirt "High Road" Cults "3005" Childish Gambino 2014 "Smooth Sailing" Queens of the Stone Age "Sweatpants" Childish Gambino "Do You" Spoon "Gold" Chet Faker "#CAKE" Shabazz Palaces "Never Catch Me" Flying Lotus "Telegraph Ave"Childish Gambino 2015 "Sober" "Grief" Earl Sweatshirt 2016 "Take It There" Massive Attack "Day Ones" Baauer "Black Man in a White World" Michael Kiwanuka 2017 "Dis Generation" A Tribe Called Quest 2018 "This Is America" Childish Gambino 2020 "sad day" FKA Twigs 2024 "Little Foot Big Foot" Childish Gambino

Director of photography YearTitleArtist 2006 "Crooked Teeth"Death Cab for Cutie "Someday You Will Be Loved" "Cobrastyle" Teddybears 2007 "Living a Lie" Aqueduct 2009 "Submarine Symphonika" The Submarines

Awards and nominations (2009) MVPA Award for Best Video under $25K. The Fray "Heartless" (2012) Best Music Video Lists: Pitchfork / BuzzFeed / Consequence of Sound / Video Static / Co.Create / NPR Music - for St. Vincent "Cheerleader" and Earl Sweatshirt "Chum" (2013) MVPA Best Electronic Video: David Guetta - "She Wolf" (2014) UKMVA Director of the Year / Best Rock / Indie Video International QOTSA for Smooth Sailing. (2014) Best Music Videos Lists: The Verge, Pitchfork, IMVDB, Stereogum

Organizations Year Category Work Result Ref. BAFTA TV Awards 2023 Best International Programme The Bear Directors Guild of America Awards 2018 Outstanding Directing – Comedy Series Atlanta (episode: "Teddy Perkins") 2021 Outstanding Directing – Miniseries or TV Film Station Eleven (episode: "Wheel of Time") Gotham Awards 2022Breakthrough Series Station Eleven 2023 Mr. & Mr. Smith Grammy Awards 2019 Best Music Video "This Is America", Childish Gambino Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards 2022 Best Directing for a Limited Series or Movie Station Eleven (episode: "Wheel of Fire") Best Directing for a Comedy Series Atlanta (episode: "New Jazz") Independent Spirit Awards 2021 Best New Non-Scripted or Documentary Series The Choe Show 2022Best New Scripted Series The Bear Station Eleven MTV Video Music Awards 2015 Best Direction "Sober", Childish Gambino 2018 "This Is America", Childish Gambino Peabody Award 2016 Entertainment Atlanta (season one) 2024 Atlanta (season four) Primetime Emmy Awards 2017 Outstanding Comedy Series Atlanta (season one) 2018 Outstanding Comedy Series Atlanta (season two) Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series Atlanta (episode: "Teddy Perkins") 2022 Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series Atlanta (episode: "New Jazz") Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series or Movie Station Eleven (episode: "Wheel of Fire") 2023Outstanding Comedy Series The Bear (season one) 2024 Outstanding Comedy Series The Bear (season two) Outstanding Drama Series Mr. & Mrs. Smith Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series Mr. & Mrs. Smith (episode: "First Date") Producers Guild of America Awards 2016 Best Episodic Comedy Atlanta (season 1) 2018 Atlanta (season 2) 2022 The Bear (season 1) 2023 The Bear (season 2) UK Music Video Awards 2016 Best Director Himself