Xavier Gens

Xavier Gens (; born on ) is a French film director, screenwriter and producer.

Career Gens directed three short films in his native language, BTK – Born to Kast (2000), Au petit matin (2005) and Sable noir (2006), before being hired by 20th Century Fox to direct his debut English-language film, Hitman (2007). The same year, he directed his first French-language feature, Frontier(s).

In October 2007, a few weeks before the film's release, reports came in that Fox had turned down the version that Gens submitted to them. Nicolas de Toth was brought in to edit the film for commercial purposes and the studio ordered reshoots. While the studio denied claims that Gens had been fired due to the extreme violence in his cut, and insisted that he was still on the project, some reports stated that Gens was not even in the country as these reshoots were being made. Despite being critically panned, Hitman was a success with a gross of $92 million, Gens' most successful film.

He narrated and produced the French zombie film La Horde, directed by Yannick Dahan and Benjamin Rocher. The film was released in 2009 and distributed by IFC Films. Gens directed The Divide (initially titled The Fallout), his second English-language film, which features Michael Biehn in the lead role.

On television, he has directed episodes of Crossing Lines (2014), Gangs of London (2020), Mortel (2021) and Lupin (2023).

In 2024, his Netflix shark-themed film, Under Paris, became what was described as "the popcorn film of the summer". The same year, alongside Vincent Roget and Eric Lavaine's banner Sameplayer, Gens launched a new production company called Good Players.

Filmography Short films Year Title Director Writer Notes 2000 BTK – Born to Kast 2005 Au petit matin 2006 Sable noir 2012 X Is for XXL Segment of The ABCs of Death

Feature films Year Title Director Writer2007 Frontier(s) Hitman 2011 The Divide 2017 Cold Skin The Crucifixion 2018 Budapest 2023 Mayhem! 2024 Under Paris

Acting roles Le Bon, la Brute et les Zombies (2004) Lady Blood (2008) La Horde (2009, voice only)

Television Year Title Notes 2006 Sable noir Episode "Fotografik" 2014 Crossing Lines 3 episodes 2020 Gangs of London 3 episodes 2021 Mortel 3 episodes 2023 Lupin 3 episodes

Other credits