Gareth Huw Evans (born April 1980) is a Welsh film director, screenwriter, editor, and action choreographer. He is best known for the

Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...

action crime Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

films ''

Merantau ''Merantau'', released in some countries as ''Merantau Warrior'', is a 2009 Indonesian martial arts action film written, directed and edited by Gareth Huw Evans, and starring Iko Uwais. The film, which marks Uwais' debut as an actor, is the f ...

'' (2009), '' The Raid'' (2011), and ''

The Raid 2 ''The Raid 2'' ( id, The Raid 2: Berandal, lit=thug; ja, ザ・レイド Gokudo, lit=gangster), also known as ''The Raid: Retaliation'', is a 2014 Indonesian action thriller film written, directed and edited by the Welsh filmmaker Gareth Evan ...

'' (2014), and for bringing the Indonesian martial art of pencak silat into

world cinema World cinema is a term in film theory that refers to films made outside of the American motion picture industry, particularly those in opposition to the aesthetics and values of commercial American cinema.Nagib, Lúcia. "Towards a positive de ...

through these films. He is also known for creating the action

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

television series '' Gangs of London'' (2020).

Early life

Evans was born and raised in Hirwaun,

Cynon Valley Cynon Valley () is a former coal mining valley in Wales. Cynon Valley lies between Rhondda and the Merthyr Valley and takes its name from the River Cynon. Aberdare is located in the north of the valley and Mountain Ash is in the south of t ...

. He graduated from the

University of Glamorgan , image_name = University of Glamorgan arms.png , image_size = 220px , caption = University of Glamorgan coat of arms , motto = Success Through Endeavour , established = , closed = , administrative_staff = , chancellor = John Morris ...

(now the

University of South Wales The University of South Wales ( cy, Prifysgol De Cymru) is a public university in Wales, with campuses in Cardiff, Newport and Pontypridd. It was formed on 11 April 2013 from the merger of the University of Glamorgan and the University of Wal ...

) with an MA in screenwriting.

Career

After directing a small-budget film called ''Footsteps'', Evans was hired as a freelance director for a documentary about the Indonesian martial art pencak silat. He became fascinated with it, and discovered Indonesian martial artist

Iko Uwais Uwais Qorny (), known professionally as Iko Uwais, is an Indonesian actor, stuntman, fight choreographer, and martial artist. He is best known for acting in the action films '' Merantau'' (2009), '' The Raid'' (2011), '' The Raid 2'' (2014), ...

, who was working as a deliveryman for a phone company. Evans cast Uwais in his 2009 film ''

''. He planned to produce a larger action film, but scaled the production budget down and created an action film called '' The Raid'' (2011). After the success of ''The Raid'', the larger action film eventually became the basis for its sequel, '' The Raid 2: Berandal'' (2014). In late 2016, Evans started working on his next film, ''

Apostle An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...

'', which stars

Dan Stevens Daniel Jonathan Stevens (born 10 October 1982) is a British actor and writer. He first drew international attention for his role as Matthew Crawley in the ITV acclaimed period drama series ''Downton Abbey'' (2010–2012). He also starred as D ...

. The film was released by

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

on 12 October 2018. In October 2017, ''

TheWrap ''TheWrap'' is an American online news website covering the business of entertainment and media via digital, print and live events. It was founded by journalist Sharon Waxman Sharon I. Waxman (born c.1963) is an American author, journalist, ...

'' reported that Evans had pitched his idea for a ''

Deathstroke Deathstroke (Slade Joseph Wilson) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez, the character debuted in '' The New Teen Titans'' #2 in December 1980 as Deathstroke the ...

'' solo film and is in early talks to write and direct. Evans also passed on directing a ''

Justice League Dark The Justice League Dark, or JLD, is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team would make their debut appearance in ''Justice League Dark'' #1 (September 2011). The Justice League Dark team features some ...

'' film. However, in April 2020, Evans said that the film had been delayed and that he was no longer actively involved with the project.

Personal life

Evans lived in

Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...

with his wife, Maya, and their daughter, until the family moved back to Wales in 2015.

Filmography

Film

Executive producer * '' Killers'' (2014)

Short film

Television

Awards

In November 2011, '' The Raid'' won the Midnight Madness Award at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...

in 2011.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Gareth 1980 births Living people Date of birth missing (living people) Alumni of the University of Glamorgan Maya Award winners People from Hirwaun Welsh emigrants to Indonesia Welsh film directors Welsh screenwriters Action film directors