Otto Bathurst | |
|---|---|
 Bathurst in 2015 | |
| Born | Otto Benjamin Charles Bathurst[1] 18 January 1971[1] Hammersmith, London England[2] |
| Occupations |
|
| Children | Three[3] |
Otto Benjamin Charles Bathurst (born 18 January 1971)[1] is a British television and film director. In 2014, he won a BAFTA for his work on BBC drama Peaky Blinders.[4][5] He was also previously BAFTA nominated for his work on BBC series Criminal Justice and Five Days.[6]
Bathurst was born on 18 January 1971,[1] the son of Elizabeth Mary (Thompson)[7] and Christopher Bathurst, 3rd Viscount Bledisloe.[8] He grew up in Dudley and Bridgnorth.[9] He began to study engineering at university, but dropped out to move to London and work in film.[9]
Bathurst lives in Somerset, England. He has three children, the first, Eric, was born in 2006 and the second, Ursula, in 2008.[10][11] The Bathurst family has resided in the town of Bath, Somerset since 2013,[3][12][11] Otto enjoys cooking and his favourite restaurant serves classic Indian cuisine.[13]
The Bathursts are followers of the “socially dangerous” Universal Medicine cult and dedicated to its leader, Serge Banhayon’s teachings. [14][10][12][15] Based in Frome, Somerset, the sect is reportedly popular with middle-class professionals and in 2019 it was ruled as a "socially harmful cult" by the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The Times reported that Bathurst "is the best known of the group's British adherents" and first identified him as a follower.[16][14]
Bathurst began his career in editing and then worked on commercials, before moving into television.[17] He has taught filmmaking at Oxford and London universities.[15]
In 2009, Bathurst directed Margot, a biopic of Margot Fonteyn starring Anne-Marie Duff, which focused upon the relationship between Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev.[18]
In 2011, he directed "The National Anthem", the first episode of the anthology television series Black Mirror.[19]
He has also directed episodes of Urban Gothic, Teachers, and Hustle. In 2013, he was described by Express & Star as "Britain's most exciting director".[9]
In 2018, he made his feature film directorial debut with Robin Hood.[20] It starred Jamie Dornan as Will Scarlett, Jamie Foxx as Little John, Tim Minchin as Friar Tuck, Eve Hewson as Maid Marian, and Taron Egerton as the eponymous hero.[21] The film was universally panned[22] and was estimated to have lost the studio US$83.7 million.[23]
Feature film
Television
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2000-2001 | Urban Gothic | 4 episodes |
| 2003 | Teachers | 3 episodes |
| 2005-2006 | Hustle | 4 episodes |
| 2007 | Five Days | 3 episodes |
| 2008 | Criminal Justice | 3 episodes |
| 2009 | Margot | TV movie |
| 2011 | Black Mirror | Episode "The National Anthem" |
| 2013 | Peaky Blinders | 3 episodes |
| 2014 | Hysteria | Unaired pilot |
| 2019 | His Dark Materials | Episodes "Armour" and "The Lost Boy"; Also executive producer |
| 2022 | Halo | 2 episodes |
| Billy the Kid | 2 episodes |
