Simon Curtis

Simon Curtis (born 11 March 1960) is an English director and producer. He has worked in theatre, television and film.

Career Curtis began his career working at the Royal Court Theatre. His first job was assistant director for Caryl Churchill's Top Girls. He later became assistant director to both Danny Boyle and Max Stafford-Clark. Theatre productions Curtis has worked on include the world premiere of Road, A Lie of the Mind, Roots, Dinner with Friends and The Rise and Fall of Little Voice.

In 1996, Curtis directed episodes of the television comedy series Tracey Takes On... for HBO. He also directed the three-part television drama Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky for BBC Four in 2005. The serial is an adaptation of Patrick Hamilton's 20,000 Streets Under the Sky novels.

He directed the BBC's adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's Cranford in 2007.

In August 2008, Curtis directed the one-off television drama A Short Stay in Switzerland for the BBC. The drama, featuring Julie Walters, was based on the true story of Dr. Anne Turner, who decided to take her own life at a Dignitas clinic in 2006. A Short Stay in Switzerland was nominated for Best Single Drama at the Royal Television Society Awards and the British Academy Television Awards.

In 2004, Curtis approached producer David Parfitt about making a film based on The Prince, The Showgirl and Me and My Week with Marilyn; two diary accounts written by Colin Clark about his time with Marilyn Monroe. Adrian Hodges wrote and adapted the screenplay for the film called My Week with Marilyn. Curtis and Parfitt went to BBC Films and the UK Film Council and they put up the money for development. My Week with Marilyn was filmed in late 2010 and released in November 2011.

In 2015, Curtis directed and executive produced the biographical film Woman in Gold, starring Helen Mirren as Maria Altmann, a Holocaust survivor attempting to recover a portrait of her aunt painted by Gustav Klimt which was stolen from her family by the Nazis and had eventually become property of the government of Austria, and closely connected to Austrian identity. Curtis' wife Elizabeth McGovern has a small role as a court judge in the film.

Curtis directed the 2019 feature film adaptation of Garth Stein's The Art of Racing in the Rain, starring Milo Ventimiglia and Amanda Seyfried.

In April 2021, it was announced Curtis would direct Downton Abbey: A New Era, the sequel to the first film and television series of the same name.

Personal life Curtis was born in London. He married American actress Elizabeth McGovern in 1992. The couple have two daughters and live in Chiswick, London.

Filmography Film Year Title Director Executiveproducer 2011 My Week with Marilyn 2015 Woman in Gold 2017 Goodbye Christopher Robin 2018 The Chaperone 2019 The Art of Racing in the Rain 2022 Downton Abbey: A New Era 2025 Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale

Television Year Title Director Producer Notes 1996 Tracey Takes On... 4 episodes 2003 The Practice Episode "Blessed Are They" 2005–2006 The Virgin Queen 4 episodes 2008 Freezing 3 episodes 2009 Hunter 2 episodes 2011–2012 Threesome 14 episodes 2014 Black Box 2 episodes 2015–2016 Indian Summers 20 episodes

TV movies My Summer with Des (1998) Man and Boy (2002) A Short Stay in Switzerland (2009)

Miniseries Year Title Notes 1999 David Copperfield 2005 Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky 2007–2009 Cranford 7 episodes

Theatre As a director Year Title Playwright Venue Ref. 1986 Road Jim Cartwright Royal Court Theater, West End 1987 A Lie of the Mind Sam Shepard Royal Court Theater, West End 1988 Road Jim Cartwright Lincoln Center Theater, Off-Broadway 1993The Rise and Fall of Little Voice Steppenwolf Theater Company, Chicago 1994 Neil Simon Theater, Broadway 2001 Dinner with Friends Donald Margulies Hampstead Theatre, West End 2010 Serenading Louie Lanford Wilson Donmar Warehouse, West End

Awards and nominations Organizations Year Category Nominated work Result BAFTA Film Awards 2011 Outstanding British Film My Week with Marilyn BAFTA TV Awards 1992 Best Single Drama The Trials of Oz 1993 A Doll's House 2008 Best Drama Serial Five Days Cranford 2010 Best Single Drama A Short Stay in Switzerland Laurence Olivier Awards 1986 Best Newcomer in Theater Road Primetime Emmy Awards 2005 Outstanding Children's Program Pride