Sean McNamara

Sean Patrick Michael McNamara (born May 9, 1962) is an American film director, producer, actor, and screenwriter. Originally a producer for the children's television series Kids Incorporated (1984–1994), he made his directorial debut with the independent film Hollywood Chaos. McNamara later produced the Nickelodeon science fiction series The Secret World of Alex Mack (1994–1998).

McNamara gained recognition for serving as executive producer and directing episodes of the Disney Channel comedy series Even Stevens (2000–2003), as well as directing the television film The Even Stevens Movie (2003), which won him a BAFTA Award and earned him nominations for three Daytime Emmy Awards and three Directors Guild of America Awards. He later directed his first widely released film in Raise Your Voice (2004) and earned a Primetime Emmy Award nomination in 2005 for his work on the Disney Channel sitcom That's So Raven (2003–2006).

McNamara became more prolific as a film director starting in the late 2000s, directing Bratz (2007); Soul Surfer (2011), which is his highest-grossing release; Spare Parts (2015); The Miracle Season (2018); The King's Daughter (2022); and Reagan (2024).

Life and career

McNamara was born in Burbank, California. He is best known for his feature films Soul Surfer and The Miracle Season. In the pre-teen film market he worked with Jessica Alba, Hilary Duff, Shia LaBeouf, Christy Carlson Romano, and Raven-Symoné. McNamara and David Brookwell are the founders of the Brookwell McNamara Entertainment production company. McNamara has continued to produce and create shows for MTV, The N, Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, and Cartoon Network. He collaborated with Shin Sang-ok to make Galgameth and 3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain, starring Hulk Hogan.

McNamara briefly appeared as the singing cowboy in the Even Stevens musical episode "Influenza: The Musical", and as an alleged alien abductee in the episode "Close Encounters of the Beans Kind". McNamara also had a cameo appearance on That's So Raven, appearing as a plumber in the episode "Out of Control".

In 2016, McNamara was hired to direct the biopic of President Ronald Reagan titled Reagan. The film was released in 2024.

McNamara's 2026 film Home, filming in Vancouver, Canada, took its inspiration from the life of George Müller, and cast Lincoln Fox in his first feature acting role, as an immigrant child, Gustavo; Fox was featured in Bad Bunny's Super Bowl LX halftime show.

Filmography Film Year Title Director Producer Writer 1989 Hollywood Chaos 1996 Galgameth 1998 3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain P.U.N.K.S. 1999 Treehouse Hostage 2001 Race to Space 2004 Raise Your Voice 2007 Bratz 2011 Soul Surfer 2013 Space Warriors Robosapien: Rebooted 2015 Spare Parts Hoovey Field of Lost Shoes 2018 The Miracle Season Orphan Horse 2020 Mighty Oak 2020 Aliens Stole My Body 2022 The King's Daughter Dangerous Game: The Legacy Murders 2023 On a Wing and a Prayer Vindicta 2024 Bau: Artist at War Reagan 2025 Soul on Fire

Direct-to-video Year Title Director Producer 1997 Casper: A Spirited Beginning 1998 Casper Meets Wendy 2006 The Cutting Edge: Going for the Gold 2009 Legally Blondes Into the Blue 2: The Reef Bring It On: Fight to the Finish 2013 Baby Geniuses and the Mystery of the Crown Jewels 2014 Baby Geniuses and the Treasures of Egypt 2018 Aliens Ate My Homework 2020 Cats & Dogs 3: Paws Unite!

Television

TV movies Year Title Director Producer Writer 1999 Wild Grizzly 2000 The Trial of Old Drum 2003 The Even Stevens Movie 2005 Abe & Bruno 2011 The Suite Life Movie 2012 Shmagreggie Saves the World 2016 Just in Time for Christmas Love in Paradise 2018 Christmas in Evergreen: Letters to Santa 2019 Christmas in Evergreen: Tidings of Joy 2020 JL Family Ranch: The Wedding Gift 2021 Sister Swap: A Hometown Holiday Sister Swap: Christmas in the City

TV specials Year Title Director ExecutiveProducer 2019 Roseanne Barr & Rabbi Shmuley Show 2021 Butch Bradley: From Las Vegas

Personal life McNamara is Catholic. He's the godfather of actress Christy Carlson Romano.

Awards and nominations