David Attenborough

Acting

David Attenborough

Born May 8, 1926 · London, England, UK (age 100)

Sir David Attenborough (born May 8, 1926) is a broadcaster and naturalist. His career as the respected face and voice of natural history programmes has endured for more than 50 years. He is best known for writing and presenting the nine "Life" series, in conjunction with the BBC Natural History Unit, which collectively form a comprehensive survey of all life on the planet. He is also a former seni…

Known For

Deep BlueDeep Blue · 2003
Deep Blue
★ 6.92003
MovieDocumentary
Deep Blue is a major documentary feature film shot by the BBC Natural History Unit. An epic cinematic rollercoaster ride for all ages, Deep Blue uses amazing footage to tell us the story of our oceans and the life they support.
Baobab: Portrait of a TreeBaobab: Portrait of a Tree · 1971
Baobab: Portrait of a Tree
★ 8.01971
MovieDocumentary
Looks at the baobab trees that grow in the dry bush country of Africa and shows the ecosystem created by them.
Attenborough and the Empire of the AntsAttenborough and the Empire of the Ants · 2017
Attenborough and the Empire of the Ants
★ 7.82017
MovieDocumentaryTV Movie
Sir David Attenborough is in the Swiss Jura Mountains to discover the secrets of a giant. Beneath his feet lies a vast network of tunnels and chambers, home to a huge empire of ants. It is believed to be one of the largest animal societies in the world, where over a billion ants from rival colonies live in peace.
Flying Monsters 3D with David AttenboroughFlying Monsters 3D with David Attenborough · 2011
Flying Monsters 3D with David Attenborough
★ 7.02011
MovieDocumentary
220 million years ago dinosaurs were beginning their domination of Earth. But another group of reptiles was about to make an extraordinary leap: pterosaurs were taking control of the skies. The story of how and why these mysterious creatures took to the air is more fantastical than any fiction. In Flying Monsters 3D, Sir David Attenborough the world’s leading naturalist, sets out to uncover the truth about the enigmatic pterosaurs, whose wingspans of up to 40 feet were equal to that of a modern day jet plane.
Attenborough's Paradise BirdsAttenborough's Paradise Birds · 2015
Attenborough's Paradise Birds
★ 7.82015
MovieDocumentaryTV Movie
David Attenborough tells the remarkable story of how these "birds of paradise" have captivated explorers , naturalists, artists, filmmakers and even royalty.
Attenborough and the Sea DragonAttenborough and the Sea Dragon · 2018
Attenborough and the Sea Dragon
★ 7.02018
MovieDocumentary
Sir David Attenborough investigates the discovery of a 200 million year old Ichthyosaur on the Jurassic Coast in southern England. Using state of the art technology and CGI David brings the story of the fossilised ichthyosaur out of the rock and shows us what this creature was really like as it lived during the Jurassic time period.
Islands of the Vampire BirdsIslands of the Vampire Birds · 1999
Islands of the Vampire Birds
★ 10.01999
MovieDocumentary
The story of Darwin's finches and their relationship with other creatures of the Galapagos; tracing their evolution, how the islands were formed and how it's main inhabitants got there.
Charles Darwin and the Tree of LifeCharles Darwin and the Tree of Life · 2009
Charles Darwin and the Tree of Life
★ 7.72009
MovieDocumentaryTV Movie
Darwin's great insight – that life has evolved over millions of years by natural selection – has been the cornerstone of all David Attenborough’s natural history series. In this documentary, he takes us on a deeply personal journey which reflects his own life and the way he came to understand Darwin’s theory.

Filmography

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Galapagos with David AttenboroughGalapagos with David Attenborough · 2013
Galapagos with David Attenborough
★ 7.22013
MovieDocumentary
Two hundred years after Charles Darwin set foot on the shores of the Galápagos Islands, David Attenborough travels to this wild and mysterious archipelago. Amongst the flora and fauna of these enchanted volcanic islands, Darwin formulated his groundbreaking theories on evolution. Journey with Attenborough to explore how life on the islands has continued to evolve in biological isolation, and how the ever-changing volcanic landscape has given birth to species and sub-species that exist nowhere else in the world. Encompassing treacherous journeys, life-forms that forge unlikely companionships, and survival against all odds, Galápagos tells the story of an evolutionary melting pot in which anything and everything is possible.

Writer

Satoyama I: Japan's Secret WatergardenSatoyama I: Japan's Secret Watergarden · 1999
Satoyama I: Japan's Secret Watergarden
★ 7.01999
MovieDocumentary
Japan is a country of steep mountains surrounding wide flat plains where people have lived for thousands of years. On the largest plain lies the country's largest freshwater lake, Lake Biwa, which is not at all far from Japan's ancient, capital city of Kyoto. The slopes that stretch down towards the lake have been terraced. Here rice seedlings need shallow water in which to grow, and the neat, meticulously constructed paddy fields provide just this. Some of them have been cultivated continuously for thousands of years. Alongside them stand patches of woodland where, for centuries, the people have found their fuel and their food. This is a land that has been touched by people, yet the people tread lightly upon it. It's a land that has been ruled for centuries by the demands of the rice, yet it's still dominated by the rhythmic cycle of the seasons. Here is a landscape that the Japanese people hold so close to their hearts that they have a special word for it: Satoyama.

Narrator

Zoo Quest in ColourZoo Quest in Colour · 2016
Zoo Quest in Colour
★ 8.32016
MovieDocumentary
Thanks to a remarkable discovery in the BBC's film vaults, the best of David Attenborough's early Zoo Quest adventures can now be seen as never before - in colour - and with it the remarkable story of how this pioneering television series was made. First broadcast in December 1954, Zoo Quest was one of the most popular television series of its time and launched the career of the young David Attenborough as a wildlife presenter. Zoo Quest completely changed how viewers saw the world - revealing wildlife and tribal communities that had never been filmed or even seen before. Broadcast 10 years before colour television was seen in the UK, Zoo Quest was thought to have been filmed in black and white, until now. Using this extraordinary new-found colour film, together with new behind-the-scenes stories from David Attenborough and cameraman Charles Lagus, this special showcases the very best of Zoo Quest to West Africa, Zoo Quest to Guiana and Zoo Quest for a Dragon in stunning HD colour.

Sound Recordist

Natural WorldNatural World · 1983
Natural World
★ 7.41983
SeriesDocumentary
Natural World is a nature documentary television series broadcast annually on BBC Two and regarded by the BBC as its flagship natural history brand. It is currently the longest-running series in its genre on British television, with more than 400 episodes broadcast since its inception in 1983. Natural World is produced by the BBC Natural History Unit in Bristol, but individual programmes can be in-house productions, collaborative productions with other broadcasters or films made and distributed by independent production companies and purchased by the BBC. Natural World programmes are often broadcast as PBS Nature episodes in the USA. Since 2008, most Natural World programmes have been shot and broadcast in high definition.

Writer

Micro Monsters with David AttenboroughMicro Monsters with David Attenborough · 2013
Micro Monsters with David Attenborough
★ 7.62013
SeriesDocumentary
It s a small world after all. In this revolutionary new series, David Attenborough reveals the marvellous adaptability of the most successful group of animals on the planet. Using pioneering macroscopic filmmaking techniques, he explores in unparalleled detail the intricate, sophisticated behaviours of these fascinating creatures and the complexity of the environments they build and inhabit, in a world normally hidden from the human eye. From armies of killer ants to spiders weaving silken trap doors, ferocious scorpions with paralysing stings, beetles shooting boiling chemicals at their enemies, bees communicating with a waggle dance and assassin bugs that clothe themselves in their victims corpses; David Attenborough will as never before take viewers deep into the macroscopic world of bugs.

Presenter

Wild CityWild City · 2016
Wild City
★ 5.82016
SeriesDocumentary
Singapore: One of the fastest growing cities in the world. Once a tropical jungle, it is now 665 square kilometres of hustle, bustle, concrete and air-con. But nestled among the urban sprawl there is a wild side; - places where pangolins, crocodiles, monkeys, otters, snakes and hornbills sit right among the skyscrapers and boardwalks. This series, narrated by Sir David Attenborough, discovers how nature has evolved within this teeming city. Wild City showcases the range of different habitats found in and around the built-up urban sprawl, then journeys around the island’s hidden wildlife hotspots – from the overlooked interior to the inaccessible coastline and islands that have become unplanned sanctuaries for Singapore’s natural heritage.

Presenter