Miguel Sapochnik (born 1 July 1974) is an English

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

and

television director A television director is in charge of the activities involved in making a television program or section of a program. They are generally responsible for decisions about the editorial content and creative style of a program, and ensuring the prod ...

of Argentine origin, and former

storyboard artist A storyboard artist (sometimes called a story artist or visualizer) creates storyboards for advertising agencies and film productions. Work A storyboard artist visualizes stories and sketches frames of the story. Quick pencil drawings and marke ...

. For his work as a director on the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

epic fantasy High fantasy, or epic fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy defined by the epic nature of its setting or by the epic stature of its characters, themes, or plot.Brian Stableford, ''The A to Z of Fantasy Literature'', (p. 198), Scarecrow Press, Pl ...

series ''

Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the first ...

'', he won the award for

Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series is presented to the best directing of a television drama series, usually for a particular episode.Though this category is the dominant one in which dramatic directing has been ...

at the

68th Primetime Emmy Awards The 68th Primetime Emmy Awards honored the best in U.S. prime time television programming from June 1, 2015 until May 31, 2016, as chosen by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The ceremony was held on Sunday, September 18, 2016 at the Mi ...

and

Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Drama Series The Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Series is one of the annual Directors Guild of America Awards given by the Directors Guild of America The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertain ...

at the

69th Directors Guild of America Awards The 69th Directors Guild of America Awards, honoring the outstanding directorial achievements in films, documentary and television in 2016, were presented on February 4, 2017 at the Beverly Hilton. The ceremony was hosted by Jane Lynch. The nomi ...

. Sapochnik also directed the science fiction film ''

Repo Men ''Repo Men'' is a 2010 science fiction action film directed by Miguel Sapochnik, starring Jude Law, Forest Whitaker, Liev Schreiber, Alice Braga and Carice van Houten. An American-Canadian production, it is based on the novel ''The Reposses ...

''.

Career

Born as Miguel Vicente Rosenberg-Sapochnik in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, Sapochnik began his career as a

; some of his credits include ''

Trainspotting Trainspotting may refer to: * Trainspotting (hobby), an amateur interest in railways/railroads * ''Trainspotting'' (novel), a 1993 novel by Irvine Welsh ** ''Trainspotting'' (film), a 1996 film based on the novel *** ''Trainspotting'' (soundtr ...

'' (1996, directed by

Danny Boyle Daniel Francis Boyle (born 20 October 1956) is an English director and producer. He is known for his work on films including ''Shallow Grave'', '' Trainspotting'' and its sequel ''T2 Trainspotting'', '' The Beach'', '' 28 Days Later'', '' Su ...

) and ''

The Winter Guest ''The Winter Guest'' is a 1997 drama film directed by Alan Rickman and starring Phyllida Law and Emma Thompson. Plot Set in Scotland on one wintry day, the film focuses on eight people; a mother and daughter, Elspeth (Phyllida Law) and Fra ...

'' (1997, actor

Alan Rickman Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman (21 February 1946 – 14 January 2016) was an English actor and director. Known for his deep, languid voice, he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and became a member of the Royal Shakespe ...

's directorial debut). In 2000, Sapochnik directed a 2000 short film titled ''The Dreamer'', which he wrote and directed. He also directed the "Beautiful Inside" music video for singer

Louise Louise or Luise may refer to: * Louise (given name) Arts Songs * "Louise" (Bonnie Tyler song), 2005 * "Louise" (The Human League song), 1984 * "Louise" (Jett Rebel song), 2013 * "Louise" (Maurice Chevalier song), 1929 *"Louise", by Clan of ...

. Between 2001 and 2005, he was a director of Snowflake in Hell Films Limited. Sapochnik's feature film directorial debut was ''

'' (2010), starring

Jude Law David Jude Heyworth Law (born 29 December 1972) is an English actor. He received a British Academy Film Award, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, two Tony Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards. In 2007, he received an Honorary Césa ...

and

Forest Whitaker Forest Steven Whitaker (born July 15, 1961) is an American actor. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Forest Whitaker, various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a British Academy Film Award ...

. Sapochnik has worked on American television series, directing episodes of ''

Awake Wakefulness is a daily recurring brain state and state of consciousness in which an individual is conscious and engages in coherent cognitive and behavioral responses to the external world. Being awake is the opposite of being asleep, in which ...

'' (2012), ''

Fringe Fringe may refer to: Arts * Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's largest arts festival, known as "the Fringe" * Adelaide Fringe, the world's second-largest annual arts festival * Fringe theatre, a name for alternative theatre * The Fringe, the ...

'' (2011–12), ''

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

'' (2011–12) and ''

Mind Games Playing mind games (also power games or head games) is the largely conscious struggle for psychological one-upmanship, often employing passive–aggressive behavior to specifically demoralize or dis-empower the thinking subject, making the a ...

'' (2014). In 2015, Sapochnik directed two episodes of ''

'' for the show's fifth season, " The Gift" and "

Hardhome "Hardhome" is the eighth episode of the fifth season of HBO's fantasy television series '' Game of Thrones'', and the 48th overall. It was written by the series' creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, and directed by Miguel Sapochnik. It premie ...

." He returned to direct the final two episodes of ''Game of Thrones'' sixth season, "

Battle of the Bastards "Battle of the Bastards" is the ninth and penultimate episode of the sixth season of HBO's fantasy television series ''Game of Thrones'' and its 59th episode overall. It was written by series co-creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, and dire ...

" and "

The Winds of Winter ''The Winds of Winter'' is the planned sixth novel in the epic fantasy series ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' by American writer George R. R. Martin. Martin believes the last two volumes of the series will total over 3,000 manuscript pages. Martin ...

". All of these episodes received acclaim from both critics and viewers. Sapochnik won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series at the

, for directing "Battle of the Bastards". In 2016, Sapochnik directed the series premiere of the show ''Altered Carbon'' for

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 ...

. In 2017, he directed an episode of ''Iron Fist''. In September 2017, he directed the third (" The Long Night") and fifth (" The Bells") episodes of the final season of ''Game of Thrones''. He was one of two

showrunner A showrunner (or colloquially a helmer) is the top-level executive producer of a television series production who has creative and management authority through combining the responsibilities of employer and, in comedy or dramas, typically also th ...

s of ''

House of the Dragon ''House of the Dragon'' is an American Fantasy television, fantasy drama (film and television), drama television series created by George R. R. Martin and Ryan Condal for HBO. A prequel to ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019), it is the second TV ...

'', the first season of which premiered in premiered on August 21, 2022. In August 2022, it was announced that he would be leaving the show after the first season.

Personal life

Sapochnik is of Argentine origin, and has been married to actress Alexis Raben since 2006. He is

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Filmography

Film Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sapochnik, Miguel Living people 1974 births 20th-century British Jews 21st-century British Jews British expatriates in the United States British storyboard artists English film directors English music video directors English people of Argentine descent English television directors People from Hammersmith Primetime Emmy Award winners