Robert Bella

Robert Bella is an American filmmaker, best known for his work as a television Director, Writer & Producer on shows such as The Rookie, The Rookie: Feds, Castle and The Following. Bella has also worked on over 100 plays as an actor, director, producer and writer. He is a co-author of Training of the American Actor, and he wrote the stage adaptation of the film Stand and Deliver.

Early life Bella was born in Brooklyn, New York. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, where he studied acting with Stella Adler, David Mamet and William H. Macy.

Career When he was 23 years old, Bella became an NYU adjunct faculty member. By the time he was 25, he was teaching Master Classes around the world, on subjects such as directing, script analysis, performance technique, on-camera acting and audition skills. His former acting students include Jessica Alba, Rose Byrne, Heather Burns, Eddie Cahill, Justin Chatwin, Abbie Cornish, Peter Facinelli, Matthew Fox, Bryan Greenberg, Simon Helberg, Diane Neal, Jason Ritter, Gina Rodriguez, Shaun Sipos, and Skeet Ulrich.

Bella became one of the founding members the Atlantic Theater Company, where he served as the managing director, Associate Artistic Director and executive Director of the Atlantic Acting School. It was shot on 35mm in New York City. The budget was $150,000, and the film was shot in 14 days. It had its World Premiere in Dramatic Competition at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival. The film won awards at numerous film festivals, including the Austin Film Festival, WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival and the Long Island Film Festival,

Personal life Bella is currently resides in Los Angeles, California.

Filmography YearFilm & TelevisionCredited asNotes Director Executive producer Producer Post production Writer Actor Role 1988 Things Change Bellboy #1 Written and Directed by David Mamet. 1991 Homicide Bodyguard Written and Directed by David Mamet. 1993 Hitsville Mick Written and Directed by Peter Biegen. 1993 Amid Summer's Night Dreams Skip Written and Directed by Glen Gers. 1993 The Contenders Skip Written and Directed by Tobias Meinecke. 1993 Money for Nothing Junior Bookie Written and Directed by Ramón Menéndez. 1997 Colin Fitz Lives! Pepe In 2010, IFC Films released the film as part of: Sundance Selects – Colin Fitz Lives!. 1997 Gerald's Farm Chris Short Film. Written and Directed by Jonathan Abrahams. 1999 Magnolia Detective #2 (uncredited) Written and Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. 2004 Spartan Davio Written and Directed by David Mamet. 2005 This Revolution Bob Kramer Written and Directed by Stephen Marshall. 2006 Knot Dad Short film. 2006 Doogal aka The Magic Roundabout US Voice Director for The Weinstein Company. 2006 Penelope Post Production Supervisor for Summit Entertainment and The Weinstein Company. 2006 Factory Girl Post Production Supervisor for The Weinstein Company. 2007 Elite Squad Post Production Supervisor for The Weinstein Company. 2008 The Promotion Post Production Supervisor for Dimension Films. 2008 Revengers, Inc. Mr. G NYU UG Drama Department film project. 2009 Fanboys Post Production Supervisor for The Weinstein Company. 2009 Road Kill: A Day in the Life of Henry David Road Henry David Road World Premiere at the 2009 Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films. 2009 Fighting Post Production Supervisor for Relativity Media and Rogue Pictures. 2010 My Soul To Take Post Production Supervisor for Relativity Media and Rogue Pictures. Written and Directed by Wes Craven. 2011 I Am Number Four Post Production Supervisor for Bay Films and DreamWorks Pictures. Produced by Michael Bay. Directed by D. J. Caruso. 2011 The Help Post Production Supervisor for DreamWorks Pictures. Written and Directed by Tate Taylor. 2011 Real Steel Post Production Consultant for DreamWorks Pictures. Produced and Directed by Shawn Levy. Starring Hugh Jackman. 2011 War Horse Post Production Consultant for DreamWorks Pictures. Produced and Directed by Steven Spielberg. 2012 Lincoln Post Production Consultant for DreamWorks Pictures. Produced and Directed by Steven Spielberg. 2013 Best Friends Forever World Premiere at the 2013 Slamdance Film Festival. Directed by Brea Grant. 2013 Delivery Man Post Production Supervisor for DreamWorks Pictures. Written and Directed by Ken Scott. 2014 Need for Speed Post Production Consultant for DreamWorks Pictures. Directed by Scott Waugh. 2014 The Hundred-Foot Journey Post Production Consultant for DreamWorks Pictures. Directed by Lasse Hallström. 2015 The Following Staff Writer (Season 3) for Warner Bros. Television. Created by Kevin Williamson. 2015–2016 Castle Staff Writer (Season 8) for ABC. Created by Andrew W. Marlowe. 2018– The Rookie Director/Writer/Producer (Seasons 1–4) for ABC. Created by Alexi Hawley. 2022–2023 The Rookie: Feds Director; 2 episodes

Theater YearPlayCredited asNotes Theatre Director Theatrical producer Playwright Actor Role 1985 The Water Engine Mr. Wallace, Understudy Presented by The Goodman Theatre. Written by David Mamet. 1985 Home Free! Lawrence Written by Lanford Wilson. 1986 Been Taken Presented by The Atlantic Theater Company. Directed by William H. Macy. 1986 After Magritte Presented by The Atlantic Theater Company. Written by Tom Stoppard. 1986 A Night Out Presented by The Atlantic Theater Company. Written by Harold Pinter. 1987 Knuckle Presented by The Atlantic Theater Company. Written by David Hare. 1987 The Woods Presented by The Atlantic Theater Company. Written by David Mamet. 1987 Audrey's Complaint World Premiere. Presented by The Atlantic Theater Company. Written by Tom Donaghy. Directed by Clark Gregg. 1987 Reckless Presented by The Atlantic Theater Company. Written by Craig Lucas. 1987 Boys' Life Don, Understudy World Premiere. Presented by The Atlantic Theater Company. Written by Howard Korder. Directed by William H. Macy. Off-Broadway Premiere presented by The Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. 1989 True West Off-Off Broadway. Written by Sam Shepard. 1989 Measure for Measure Varrius Presented by The Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Starring: Kate Burton and Campbell Scott. 1989 Julius Caesar Off-Off Broadway. Written by William Shakespeare. 1990 Spike Heels Off-Off Broadway. Written by Theresa Rebeck. 1991 Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters Solyony Presented by The Atlantic Theater Company. Adapted by David Mamet. Directed by William H. Macy. 1991 The Virgin Molly Pvt. Molly Peterson Presented by The Atlantic Theater Company. 1992 Mad Forest Off-Off Broadway. Written by Caryl Churchill. 1994 The Crucible Off-Off Broadway. Written by Arthur Miller. 1994 Stand and Deliver Adapted from the film Stand and Deliver. 1995 Oleanna John, Understudy. National Tour. Written by David Mamet. 1995 J. B. Priestley's Dangerous Corner Gordon Presented by The Atlantic Theater Company. Adapted and Directed by David Mamet. 1997 Trust Roy Sydney, Australia. Written by Steven Dietz. 2001 The Front Page Off-Off Broadway. Written by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur. 2001 The Dog Problem The Priest Presented by The Atlantic Theater Company. Written by David Rabe. 2002 Balm in Gilead Off-Off Broadway. Written by Lanford Wilson. 2004 Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love Off Broadway. Written by Brad Fraser.

Awards and nominations Film Festival Awards Gold Award: Won, 1997, for Comedy Grand Jury Prize: Nomination, 1997, for Dramatic Best of Fest: Won, 1997, for Feature Film Competition Grand Jury Award: Nomination, 1997, for Narrative Feature Film Award: Nomination, 1997 (shared with Tom Morrissey) Feature Film Award: Won, 1997, for Best Feature Audience Award: Won, 1997.