John Irvin

John Charles Greenway Irvin (7 May 1940 – 11 August 2026) was an English film and television director. A three-time BAFTA Award nominee, he began his career by directing a number of documentaries and television works, including the BBC adaptation of John le Carré's Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. He made several Hollywood films in the 1980s, including The Dogs of War, Ghost Story (1981), Raw Deal (1986), and Hamburger Hill (1987).

Early life and education John Charles Greenway Irvin was born in Wallasey, Merseyside, on 7 May 1940, to Charles and Elsie Winifred (neé Bending) Irvin. He directed documentary short subjects Gala Day (1963), Carousella (1965), and the made-for-TV East of Howard (1966). His 1967 short Mafia No!, about Italian social activist Danilo Dolci, was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Short Film.

British television In the 1970s, Irvin directed exclusively for television, including drama episodes and made-for-TV films. In the mid-1970s, he made Possessions (1974) and Haunted (1974) and the pilot for The Nearly Man (1974) and seven episodes in 1975. In 1977, he directed an episode for ITV Playhouse and did an adaptation of Charles Dickens's Hard Times. In 1977, he directed the BBC miniseries adaptation of John le Carré's Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, which was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Drama Series and a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited Series.

Hollywood In the 1980s, Irvin made The Dogs of War (1980), starring Christopher Walken, which depicted a mercenary team attacking an African country. After that, Irvin made the horror film Ghost Story (1981), an adaptation of Peter Straub's novel. Irvin's other films from that period include Champions (1984), starring John Hurt and Turtle Diary (1985),

Filmography

Film

Documentary works Television

Documentary works Awards and nominations