Directing

James Gray

Born April 14, 1969 · New York City, New York, USA (age 57)

James Gray (born April 14, 1969) is an American film director and screenwriter. Since his feature debut Little Odessa in 1994, he has made seven other features, including We Own the Night (2007), Two Lovers (2008), The Immigrant (2013), The Lost City of Z (2016), Ad Astra (2019), and Armageddon Time (2022). Five of his films have competed for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Descriptio…

Known For

The Lost City of Z

The Lost City of Z · 2017

The Lost City of Z

MovieAdventureDrama

A true-life drama in the 1920s, centering on British explorer Col. Percy Fawcett, who discovered evidence of a previously unknown, advanced civilization in the Amazon and disappeared whilst searching for it.

Ad Astra

Ad Astra · 2019

MovieScience FictionDrama

The near future, a time when both hope and hardships drive humanity to look to the stars and beyond. While a mysterious phenomenon menaces to destroy life on planet Earth, astronaut Roy McBride undertakes a mission across the immensity of space and its many perils to uncover the truth about a lost expedition that decades before boldly faced emptiness and silence in search of the unknown.

Two Lovers

Two Lovers · 2008

MovieDramaRomance

A depressed man moves back in with his parents following a recent heartbreak and finds himself with two women.

The Immigrant

The Immigrant · 2013

MovieDramaRomance

1921 New York. An immigrant woman is tricked into a life of burlesque and vaudeville until a dazzling magician tries to save her and reunite her with her sister who is being held in the confines of Ellis Island.

Blood Ties

Blood Ties · 2013

MovieThrillerCrime

Two brothers, on either side of the law, face off over organized crime in Brooklyn during the 1970s.

We Own the Night

We Own the Night · 2007

We Own the Night

MovieDramaCrime

A New York nightclub manager tries to save his brother and father from Russian mafia hitmen.

Armageddon Time

Armageddon Time · 2022

Armageddon Time

In 1980, Queens, New York, a young Jewish boy befriends a rebellious African-American classmate to the disapproval of his privileged family and begins to reckon with growing up in a world of inequality and prejudice.

I'm Still Here

I'm Still Here · 2010

MovieMusicComedy

I'm Still Here is a portrayal of a tumultuous year in the life of actor Joaquin Phoenix. With remarkable access, the film follows the Oscar-nominee as he announces his retirement from a successful film career in the fall of 2008 and sets off to reinvent himself as a hip-hop musician. The film is a portrait of an artist at a crossroads and explores notions of courage and creative reinvention, as well as the ramifications of a life spent in the public eye.

Filmography

Sort

The Lost City of Z

The Lost City of Z · 2017

The Lost City of Z

MovieAdventureDrama

A true-life drama in the 1920s, centering on British explorer Col. Percy Fawcett, who discovered evidence of a previously unknown, advanced civilization in the Amazon and disappeared whilst searching for it.

Director

Ad Astra

Ad Astra · 2019

MovieScience FictionDrama

The near future, a time when both hope and hardships drive humanity to look to the stars and beyond. While a mysterious phenomenon menaces to destroy life on planet Earth, astronaut Roy McBride undertakes a mission across the immensity of space and its many perils to uncover the truth about a lost expedition that decades before boldly faced emptiness and silence in search of the unknown.

Screenplay

Two Lovers

Two Lovers · 2008

MovieDramaRomance

A depressed man moves back in with his parents following a recent heartbreak and finds himself with two women.

Director

The Immigrant

The Immigrant · 2013

MovieDramaRomance

1921 New York. An immigrant woman is tricked into a life of burlesque and vaudeville until a dazzling magician tries to save her and reunite her with her sister who is being held in the confines of Ellis Island.

Director

Blood Ties

Blood Ties · 2013

MovieThrillerCrime

Two brothers, on either side of the law, face off over organized crime in Brooklyn during the 1970s.

Executive Producer

We Own the Night

We Own the Night · 2007

We Own the Night

MovieDramaCrime

A New York nightclub manager tries to save his brother and father from Russian mafia hitmen.

Director

Armageddon Time

Armageddon Time · 2022

Armageddon Time

In 1980, Queens, New York, a young Jewish boy befriends a rebellious African-American classmate to the disapproval of his privileged family and begins to reckon with growing up in a world of inequality and prejudice.

Writer

I'm Still Here

I'm Still Here · 2010

MovieMusicComedy

I'm Still Here is a portrayal of a tumultuous year in the life of actor Joaquin Phoenix. With remarkable access, the film follows the Oscar-nominee as he announces his retirement from a successful film career in the fall of 2008 and sets off to reinvent himself as a hip-hop musician. The film is a portrait of an artist at a crossroads and explores notions of courage and creative reinvention, as well as the ramifications of a life spent in the public eye.

Thanks

The Rover

The Rover · 2014

MovieCrimeDrama

Ten years after a severe economic collapse in the western world, lawlessness reigns and life is cheap. Eric is a lone drifter, and his car is his only possession. When a gang steals it, Eric comes across the injured Rey, left behind by the car thieves. The pair form an unlikely and uneasy alliance.

Thanks

Paper Tiger

Paper Tiger · 2026

MovieCrimeDrama

Two brothers become entangled in a scheme that turns out to be too good to be true. As they try to navigate their way through the dangerous world of the Russian mafia, family bonds begin to fray with life-altering consequences.

Director

The Yards

The Yards · 2000

MovieCrimeDrama

In the rail yards of Queens, contractors repair and rebuild the city's subway cars. These contracts are lucrative, so graft and corruption are rife. When Leo Handler gets out of prison, he finds his aunt married to Frank Olchin, one of the big contractors; he's battling with a minority-owned firm for contracts.

Director

Little Odessa

Little Odessa · 1994

MovieDramaCrime

Long separated from his family, hitman Joshua returns to Brighton Beach for a contract killing for the Russian Mafia. His abusive father, Arkady, banned him from returning after Joshua committed his first murder. He takes up residence in a hotel, and soon everyone knows he has returned. He goes home to visit his dying mother, Irina, and prepares for the assassination, getting drawn back into the criminal community he left behind.

Director

Windfall

Windfall · 2022

MovieThrillerCrime

In an opulent vacation home, a mysterious intruder is forced to kidnap the property owners -- a wealthy CEO and his wife -- when they arrive unexpectedly.

Thanks

Le Nozze di Figaro

Le Nozze di Figaro · 2019

Le Nozze di Figaro

MovieMusicDocumentary

In this new "Marriage of Figaro", Jérémie Rhorer revisits this composer and US film director James Gray makes his first foray into opera. This opera is recorded for broadcast by Louise Narboni.

Stage Director

Afro-Woman: 2016 CE

Afro-Woman: 2016 CE · 2016

Afro-Woman: 2016 CE

MovieDramaFantasy

A dark, strange psychological trip following a woman fighting two different versions of herself.

Thanks

Diane

Diane is a devoted friend and caretaker, particularly to her drug-addicted son. But as those around her begin to drift away in the last quarter of her life, she is left to reckon with past choices and long-dormant memories.

Thanks

Short Cuts: James Gray's "We Own the Night"

Short Cuts: James Gray's "We Own the Night" · 2026

Short Cuts: James Gray's "We Own the Night"

"We Own the Night" by James Gray, animated in one minute by Martin Bonnin.

Original Film Writer

Mr. Petrified Forrest

Mr. Petrified Forrest · 1992

Mr. Petrified Forrest

MovieDramaComedy

A passport photographer named Steven Forrest is petrified of death following the sudden demise of his fearless buddy in a martini accident.

Editor

Cowboys and Angels

Cowboys and Angels · 1991

Cowboys and Angels

A private investigator is hired to bring a man's 16-year-old runaway daughter back home, but has second thoughts about his job when he sees the man beat his daughter. This is James Gray's student thesis film from the University of Southern California.

Director

Swift Current

Swift Current · 2016

MovieDocumentary

Former NHL hockey player Sheldon Kennedy was sexually abused by his junior hockey coach, and has since become one a leading advocate for victims of child abuse. During a speaking engagement at a University in Ontario, Canada, Sheldon met two students who disclosed the sexual abuse they had suffered as children to Sheldon and the audience. The film tells the story of these victims and the challenges they face while attempting to recover from the trauma they suffered as children.

Executive Producer

The Red Road

The Red Road · 2014

SeriesCrimeDrama

Lines will be crossed when tragedy forces two men, a mesmerizing ex-con and an embattled local cop, to face the secrets of their past. As these two men find themselves increasingly compromised by one another, the lives of both quickly unravel.

Director

Digging for Britain

Digging for Britain · 2010

Digging for Britain

SeriesDocumentary

Dr Alice Roberts follows a year of British archaeology, joining up the results of digs and investigations the length of the country.

Director

A Timewatch Guide

A Timewatch Guide · 2015

A Timewatch Guide

SeriesDocumentary

Series looking at how the BBC has revealed and interpreted monumental moments in our history. Using the BBC archive, the programmes examine changes in research covered in documentary television.

Director