David L. Williams is a British-American film director, writer, and producer living in London. An active film campaigner in Rwanda (Genocide) and Liberia (Deforestation), his commercial work with the UK production house Shooting Pictures has led to collaborations with comedians including

Dom Joly Dominic John Romulus Joly (; born 15 November 1967) is an English comedian and writer. He is best known as the star of ''Trigger Happy TV'' (2000–2003), a hidden camera prank show that was broadcast in over 70 countries worldwide. Early life ...

Russell Brand Russell Edward Brand (born 4 June 1975) is an English comedian and actor known for his flamboyant, loquacious style and manner. Brand has received three British Comedy Awards: Best Newcomer (2006), Best Live Stand-Up (2008), and the award for ...

, and

Alistair McGowan Alistair Charles McGowan (born 24 November 1964) is an English impressionist, comic, actor, singer and writer best known to British audiences for ''The Big Impression'' (formerly ''Alistair McGowan's Big Impression''), which was, for four years ...

. His debut cinema feature, the Arctic comedy ''

Beyond the Pole ''Beyond the Pole'' is a 2009 British mockumentary adapted from the cult BBC radio series of the same name. It received its UK cinema release in 2010. Directed and produced by David L. Williams ''Beyond the Pole'' was shot on floating sea ice ...

'', was his first attempt to fuse comedy with his campaigning work and was supported by

Friends of the Earth Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) is an international network of environmental organizations in 73 countries. The organization was founded in 1969 in San Francisco by David Brower, Donald Aitken and Gary Soucie after Brower's split with ...

. In November 2010 Williams collaborated with members of

The Fast Show ''The Fast Show'', known as ''Brilliant'' in the US, is a BBC comedy sketch show that ran from 1994 to 1997, with specials in 2000 and 2014. The show's central performers were Paul Whitehouse, Charlie Higson, Simon Day, Mark Williams (actor), M ...

team to campaign for the Sustainable Livestock Bill, legislation designed to protect the Amazonian rainforest and support more local, planet friendly farming.

Career

Williams began his career as an actor, working regularly with theatre director Matthew Lloyd at the

Almeida Theatre The Almeida Theatre, opened in 1980, is a 325-seat producing house with an international reputation, which takes its name from the street on which it is located, off Upper Street, in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre produces a diver ...

, Leicester Haymarket and

Glasgow Citizens Theatre The Citizens Theatre, in what was the Royal Princess's Theatre, is the creation of James Bridie and is based in Glasgow, Scotland as a principal Producing house, producing theatre. The theatre includes a 500-seat Main Auditorium, and has also i ...

, where he met his partner,

Helen Baxendale Helen Victoria Baxendale (born 7 June 1970) is an English actress of stage and television, known for her roles as Rachel Bradley in the British comedy drama '' Cold Feet'' (1997–2003), and Emily Waltham in the American sitcom '' Friends'' (19 ...

. Television and film roles included playing opposite

Michael Elphick Michael John Elphick (19 September 1946 – 7 September 2002) was an English film and television actor. He played the eponymous private investigator in the ITV series ''Boon'' and Harry Slater in BBC's ''EastEnders''. He was nominated for ...

, and

Tom Hollander Thomas Anthony Hollander (; born 25 August 1967) is an English actor. As a child Hollander trained with the National Youth Theatre and was later involved in stage productions as a member of the Footlights and was president of the Marlowe Soci ...

in the BBC's "Harry", and a lead for two series in

Russell T Davies Stephen Russell Davies (born 27 April 1963), better known as Russell T Davies, is a Welsh screenwriter and television producer whose works include '' Queer as Folk'', '' The Second Coming'', ''Casanova'', the 2005 revival of the BBC One scie ...

BAFTA winning, "The Ward". Moving behind the camera Williams founded Shooting Pictures in 2000 with Baxendale, and has since led more than a 100 shoots across 5 continents. His television comedy, Flyfishing, starring

Frances Barber Frances Barber (née Brookes, born 13 May 1958) is an English actress. She received Olivier Award nominations for her work in the plays '' Camille'' (1985), and ''Uncle Vanya'' (1997). Her film appearances include three collaborations with Gar ...

and

Kate Ashfield Kate Ashfield (born 28 May 1972) is an English actress, who has appeared in stage, TV and film roles, most famously in her role as Liz in the 2004 zombie comedy ''Shaun of the Dead''. She is the co-writer of the 2017 TV series ''Born to Kill''. ...

, sold to over 30 countries. In 2009 Williams directed, produced and co-wrote the multi-award-winning Arctic comedy, ''

'', for Shooting Pictures. Premiering in the Best of British strand at the Glasgow International Film Festival, ''Beyond the Pole'' went on to win 9 awards on the festival circuit in America and Europe, before its UK cinema release. Starring

Stephen Mangan Stephen James Mangan (born 16 May 1968) is an English actor, comedian, presenter and writer. He has played Guy Secretan in ''Green Wing'', Dan Moody in '' I'm Alan Partridge'', Seán Lincoln in ''Episodes'', Bigwig in ''Watership Down'', Postma ...

, Rhys Thomas,

Mark Benton Mark Benton (born 16 November 1965) is an English actor and television presenter known for his roles as Eddie in ''Early Doors'', Howard in '' Northern Lights'' and Martin Pond in '' Barbara''. Benton has also starred in the BBC One school-based ...

and

Alexander Skarsgard Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

, the film was shot on floating sea ice off the coast of

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...

.. URL retrieved on 26 July 2010

Personal life

Williams has been with his girlfriend

since the early to mid-1990s. The couple have three children, including actress

Nell Williams Nell Marmalade Baxendale-Williams (born 13 September 1998), known as Nell Williams, is an English actress. In 2015 she portrayed a teen version of Cersei Lannister (portrayed by Lena Headey as an adult) in flashback sequences of the opening epis ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, David L. Living people English film directors English screenwriters English male screenwriters American film directors Place of birth missing (living people) American male screenwriters Year of birth missing (living people)