Yorgos Lanthimos

Yorgos Lanthimos (; , ; born 23 September 1973) is a Greek film and theatre director. Often described as one of the preeminent filmmakers of his generation, he has received numerous accolades including a BAFTA Award and a Golden Lion, as well as nominations for six Academy Awards and a Golden Globe Award.

Lanthimos started his career in experimental theatre before making his directorial film debut with the sex comedy My Best Friend (2001). He rose to prominence directing the psychological drama film Dogtooth (2009), which won the Un Certain Regard prize at the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Lanthimos transitioned to making English-language films with the black comedy The Lobster (2015), which earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, and the psychological horror film The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017).

Lanthimos is a frequent collaborator of actress Emma Stone, including the films The Favourite (2018), Poor Things (2023), Kinds of Kindness (2024) and Bugonia (2025). He received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Director and Best Picture for The Favourite and Poor Things, in addition to winning the Golden Lion for the latter.

Early life Lanthimos was born in the Pagrati neighbourhood of Athens on 23 September 1973, the son of shop owner Eirini and basketball player Antonis Lanthimos. His father played for Pagrati BC and the Greek national basketball team, later serving as a basketball instructor at the Moraitis School. Lanthimos was primarily raised by his mother. before eventually quitting playing.

Career 1995–2008: Rise to prominence During the 1990s, Lanthimos directed a series of videos for Greek dance-theater companies. Since 1995 he has directed TV commercials, short films, experimental theater plays and music videos (such as for Sakis Rouvas). He also worked as a photographer for the covers and interior photos of Rouvas's albums Kati Apo Mena (1998) and 21os Akatallilos (2000). In 2004, he was a member of the creative team that designed the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.

Lanthimos’s feature film career started with the 2001 mainstream Greek comedy My Best Friend, which he co-directed with Lakis Lazopoulos. Lanthimos has disavowed the film, saying he had little creative control, with Lakis Lazopoulos holding full authority.

His true artistic breakthrough came with his sophomore feature the experimental and psychological drama Kinetta, which premiered at the 2005 Toronto Film Festival. The film revolves around three nameless protagonists as they attempt to film and photograph various badly reenacted struggles between a man and a woman at a Greek hotel. The film earned mixed to negative reviews. Roger Moore of Movie Nation described it as "overtly navel-gazing, obscure to the point of suggesting obscurant. It’s a 95 minute exercise in minimalism, behavior studies, psychology and boredom." John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter wrote a positive review he stating, "The standoffish debut holds some pleasures for patient viewers" adding, "Lanthimos enjoys provoking us visually...The camera’s gaze is as idiosyncratic as the visions the Driver tries to bring to life, but unlike him, the film seems satisfied with what it creates."

In 2008 he directed a production of Natura morta in un fosso written by Fausto Paravidino at the Amore Theatre in Greece.

2009–2017: Breakthrough and acclaim

Lanthimos's third feature film, the Greek psychological drama Dogtooth, won the Un Certain Regard prize at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 83rd Academy Awards. Critic Roger Ebert praised Lanthimos for "his command of visuals and performances". The Associated Press described the film as "Disturbing and at times startlingly brutal, the film will alienate those who seek genteel fare at the art house. But its edgy integrity and distinctive atmosphere should win fans in some corners, particularly among those who admire the less tongue-in-cheek work of Lars Von Trier." In 2010, he acted in and co-produced Attenberg, a Greek drama film directed by Athina Rachel Tsangari. His fourth feature film, Alps (2011), won the Osella Award for Best Screenplay at the 68th Venice International Film Festival. A. O. Scott of The New York Times described the film as "systematically unsettling our sense of what is normal and habitual in human interactions."

Lanthimos's fifth film was the absurdist black comedy The Lobster (2015) starring Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, and John C. Reilly. The script for this film won the ARTE International Award as Best CineMart Project at the 42nd International Film Festival Rotterdam. The film was selected to compete for the at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival and won the Jury Prize. Chris Nashawatay of Entertainment Weekly praised the film, saying that "Lanthimos' films aren't for everyone. They're deadpan and almost clinically detached. At times they feel like dispatches from a distant alien planet." Lanthimos directed a video vignette for the Radiohead song "Identikit", released on their 2016 album A Moon Shaped Pool.

In 2017, Lanthimos directed the psychological horror film The Killing of a Sacred Deer starring Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman and Barry Keoghan. It premiered at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival where it competed for the . Mark Kermode of The Observer wrote: "As black comedy gives way to grand guignol, we are reminded of the tortured games that Michael Haneke once played upon his bourgeois protagonists and audiences." He also compared it to films such as Roman Polanski's Rosemary's Baby, William Friedkin's The Exorcist (1973), and Lynne Ramsay's We Need to Talk About Kevin.

2018–present: Collaborations with Emma Stone Since 2018, Lanthimos has collaborated with Emma Stone on numerous projects including Poor Things which earned her the Academy Award for Best Actress. In 2018 he directed the period black comedy, The Favourite starring Olivia Colman, Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz. The film is a tragicomic tale of personal and political jealousy and intrigue revolving around Anne, Queen of Great Britain in 18th-century England. It made its debut at the 75th Venice International Film Festival where it won the Grand Jury Prize. The New York Times labeled the film a Critic's Pick with A.O. Scott writing, "Lanthimos, his camera gliding through gilded corridors and down stone staircases — in exquisitely patterned light and shadow, with weird lenses and startling angles — choreographs an elaborate pageant of decorum and violence, claustrophobia and release." The film went on to tie with the Alfonso Cuarón directed drama film Roma for the most nominations at 91st Academy Awards, with ten, including Best Picture and Best Director for Lanthimos (winning the Academy Award for Best Actress for Olivia Colman).

He then directed the 16mm black and white silent short Bleat (2022) starring Emma Stone and Damien Bonnard. Bleat was co-commissioned by the Greek National Opera and Athens-based cultural foundation NEON. The story, set on the Greek Cycladic island of Tinos, revolves around a woman in black who is mourning inside a simple house. The film has been described as experimental and surrealist in style and focuses on themes of loneliness, connection, death, and desire as well as human and animal interaction. The film has only been shown twice, first being at the Stavros Niarchos Hall in Athens in 2022, and the second at Alice Tully Hall at the New York Film Festival in 2023. Lanthimos designed Bleat to be screened only in theaters with a live orchestra and chorus.

In 2023, he directed and produced the coming of age dark comedy Poor Things, which is based on the 1992 novel of the same name. The film marked the third collaboration between Lanthimos and Stone, and also featured performances from Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe, and Ramy Youssef. The film premiered at the 80th Venice International Film Festival where it won the Golden Lion. Kyle Smith of The Wall Street Journal described the film as "Sumptuous, dazzling and glorious". The film earned eleven nominations at the 96th Academy Awards, winning four (including the Academy Award for Best Actress for Emma Stone) as well as seven nominations at the 81st Golden Globe Awards, where it won Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. Lanthimos published a book of behind the scenes photographs in his first photography monograph 'Dear God, the Parthenon is still broken' (Void, 2024).

For the anthology film Kinds of Kindness (2024), Lanthimos reunited with many actors he previously worked with such as Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley, and Joe Alwyn and new collaborators Jesse Plemons, Hong Chau, and Hunter Schafer. Originally titled AND, the film is centered around three separate stories, with the actors playing a different character in each. It premiered at the 77th Cannes Film Festival on 17 May 2024, and was released on 21 June 2024 by Searchlight Pictures. In January 2024, it was announced he would direct an English-language remake of the 2003 Korean science fiction comedy Save the Green Planet! with Ari Aster as co-producer; in May, it was announced that Stone and Plemons had been cast in the project, now titled Bugonia. The film premiered at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival. Also in 2025, he directed the music video "Beth's Farm" for Jerskin Fendrix also starring Stone which was released on 29 July 2025.

Lanthimos and Stone are both signatories of the Film Workers for Palestine boycott pledge that was published in September 2025. In January 2026, Lanthimos directed Stone on an ad for Squarespace for the Super Bowl.

Upcoming projects One of the longest-running projects Yorgos Lanthimos has been developing is an adaptation inspired by Daniel Defoe’s A Journal of the Plague Year. It is a contemporary story about a mysterious plague that strikes London. Lanthimos has spoken about the project over the course of several years. In a 2020 interview with filmmaker Kelly Reichardt, he confirmed that he was still working on it, noting that the COVID-19 pandemic led him to reconsider and revisit the script from a fresh perspective. Around the same time in 2020, it was reported that Lanthimos was in talks to direct adaptations of The Hawkline Monster: A Gothic Western, with Tony McNamara, the screenwriter of Poor Things, writing the script. McNamara later revealed in a late 2023 interview that he had delivered the screenplay to Lanthimos. New Regency and Vertigo Entertainment joined as co-producers, following the announcement of a Pop. 1280 project in 2019. In a 2023 interview with LiFO, Efthimis Filippou, Yorgos Lanthimos’s longtime screenwriter and regular collaborator, revealed that the two have been working for some time on adapting a prominent crime novel from the 1960s. He did not disclose the title of the book. In 2024 it was reported that Lanthimos was working on an adaptation of My Year of Rest and Relaxation together with author Ottessa Moshfegh, though he has since dropped out of the project. In February 2025, it was reported that Lanthimos would write and direct an adaptation of Jean-Patrick Manchette's thriller Fatale with James Schamus producing.

Style and themes Lanthimos has been widely described as one of the most talented and innovative auteurs of his generation.Attributed to multiple sources:

Lanthimos's films often feature uniquely framed cinematography, deadpan acting, and characters with stilted speech. Lanthimos’s films are known for mixing absurdist dark comedy with violent and sexually explicit content, as well as eccentric world-building in his films with less grounded settings. He has often explored sexually taboo subjects in his films, such as rape and incest. His films are often sociopolitical in nature, and often explore the nature of power and its impact on the people who are vying for, using, or being exploited or influenced by it.

Activism In 2023, Lanthimos along with Costa-Gavras, was part of a campaign aiming to save historic cinemas in Athens from demolition. He said: “We should be able to understand the value of the historical cinemas of Athens for society and culture. I plead with those in charge and those with real power to do what is necessary,”

At the 82nd Venice International Film Festival in August 2025, Lanthimos wore a Palestinian flag pin during the press conference and the premiere of his film Bugonia.

In September 2025, Lanthimos signed the Film Workers for Palestine letter pledging that he would not work with Israeli film institutions implicated in the genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people.

In January 2026, Lanthimos was among 800 Hollywood professionals who signed a statement condemning the Iranian regime for its atrocities during the 2025–2026 Iranian protests, where civilians were protesting against repression.

Personal life While working as an actor and producer on Attenberg (2010), Lanthimos met and began dating the film's star, Greek/French actress Ariane Labed. They married in 2013. They lived in London from 2011 until 2021, and now primarily reside in Athens.

Filmography Feature films Year Title Director Producer Writer 2001 My Best Friend 2005 Kinetta 2009 Dogtooth 2011 Alps 2015 The Lobster 2017 The Killing of a Sacred Deer 2018 The Favourite 2023 Poor Things 2024 Kinds of Kindness 2025 Bugonia

Short films Year Title Director Writer Producer 1995 O viasmos tis Hlois 1995 The Rape of Chloe 2001 Uranisco Disco 2013 Necktie 2019 Nimic 2022 Bleat

Theatre Year Title Notes 2002 D.D.D Theatro tou Notou (Amore-Dokimes) 2004 Bluebeard Theatro Porta 2008 Natura morta in un fosso Theatro tou Notou (Amore) 2011 Platonov National Theatre of Greece

Music videos Title Year Artist Album "I paramythenia" 1996 Katerina Kyrmizi Kontsérto Gia Sokoláta Kai Triantáfylla "Deka Entoles" 1998 Despina Vandi Deka Entoles "Theleis I Den Theleis" Sakis Rouvas Kati Apo Mena "Tora Mou Milaei" Apofasismeni "I Kardia Mou" Sakis Rouvas Kati Apo Mena "Den Ehi Sidera I Kardia Sou"1999 "Ipirhes Panda" "Andexa" 200021os Akatallilos "Delfinaki" "Andexa" (Club Mix) 2001 "Irthes" 2009 Irthes "Identikit" 2020 "Ageless"TENA 2025 "Ritual Identities"Prada 2026 "Unavailable"Squarespace

Recurring collaborators

Accolades

+ Major awards and nominations received by Yorgos Lanthimos Organizations Year Category Work Result Academy Awards 2017 Best Original Screenplay The Lobster 2019 Best Director The Favourite Best Picture 2024 Best Director Poor Things Best Picture 2026 Best Picture Bugonia British Academy Film Awards 2016 Best British Film The Lobster 2019 Best British Film The Favourite Best Director Best Film 2024 Best British Film Poor Things Best Film 2026 Best Director Bugonia Golden Globe Awards 2019 Best Picture Musical/Comedy The Favourite 2024 Best Picture Musical/Comedy Poor Things Best Director 2026 Best Picture Musical/Comedy Bugonia Producers Guild of America Awards 2019 Best Picture The Favourite 2024 Best Picture Poor Things 2026 Best Picture Bugonia Directors Guild of America Awards 2024 Best Director Poor Things Critics Choice Awards 2016 Best Original Screenplay The Lobster 2019 Best Picture The Favourite Best Director Best Comedy 2024 Best Picture Poor Things Best Director Best Comedy 2026 Best Picture Bugonia European Film Awards 2015 Best European Film The Lobster Best European Director People's Choice Award Best European Screenwriter 2017 Best European Director The Killing of a Sacred Deer Best European Screenwriter 2019 Best European Film The Favourite Best European Director People's Choice Award Best European Comedy 2026 Best European Director Bugonia Venice Film Festival 2011 Golden Lion Alps Best Screenplay 2018 Golden Lion The Favourite Grand Special Jury Prize Queer Lion 2023 Golden Lion Poor Things UNIMED Award 2025 Golden Lion Bugonia Green Drop Award Cannes Film Festival 2009 Un Certain Regard Award Dogtooth Award of the Youth 2015 Palme d'Or The Lobster Jury Prize Queer Palm 2017 Palme d'Or The Killing of a Sacred Deer Best Screenplay 2024 Palme d'Or Kinds of Kindness

According to IMDb*

Directed Academy Award performances Under Lanthimos' direction, these actors have received Academy Award wins and nominations for their performances in their respective roles.