Nimród E. Antal (; born November 30, 1973) is a

Hungarian-American Hungarian Americans ( Hungarian: ''amerikai magyarok'') are Americans of Hungarian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau has estimated that there are approximately 1.396 million Americans of Hungarian descent as of 2018. The total number of people wit ...

film director,

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

and actor.

Life and career

Antal was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, California, to parents of Hungarian descent. In 1991, following his father's advice, Antal moved to Hungary to study at the Hungarian Film Academy. After graduating he began work in the film and television industry; in 2005, he returned to Los Angeles and continued to work in the film and television industry in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

Directing

Antal wrote and directed the Hungarian-language film '' Kontroll'' (2003), which won numerous awards, including the Award of the Youth at the

2004 Cannes Film Festival The 57th Cannes Film Festival started on 12 and ran until 23 May 2004 in film, 2004. The Palme d'Or went to the United States, American film ''Fahrenheit 9/11'' by Michael Moore. The festival opened with ''Bad Education (2004 film), La mala educa ...

and the main prize at the

Chicago International Film Festival The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964 by Michael Kutza, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America. Its logo is a stark, black and white close up of the comp ...

, as well as a European Film Award nomination for Best Director and being selected as Hungary's submission to the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. The backdrop of the film is the

Budapest Metro The Budapest Metro ( hu, Budapesti metró) is the rapid transit system in the Hungarian capital Budapest. It is the world's oldest electrified underground railway system, and the second oldest underground railway system with multiple stations, ...

subway system. ''Kontroll'', refers to the act of ticket inspectors checking to ensure a rider has paid their fare. Antal's first American feature film, '' Vacancy'', starring

Kate Beckinsale Kathrin Romany Beckinsale (born 26 July 1973) is an English actress and model. After some minor television roles, her film debut was ''Much Ado About Nothing'' (1993) while a student at the University of Oxford. She appeared in British costume ...

and

Luke Wilson Luke Cunningham Wilson (born September 21, 1971) is an American actor known for his roles in films such as '' Bottle Rocket'' (1996), '' Rushmore'' (1998), ''My Dog Skip'' (2000), ''Legally Blonde'' (2001), ''The Royal Tenenbaums'' (2001), ''Id ...

, was released on April 20, 2007. His second American film, ''

Armored Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat Co ...

'', was released in December 2009.

Robert Rodriguez Robert Anthony Rodriguez (; born June 20, 1968) is an American filmmaker, composer, and visual effects supervisor. He shoots, edits, produces, and scores many of his films in Mexico and in his home state of Texas. Rodriguez directed the 1992 ac ...

hired him to direct the film ''

Predators Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill the ...

''. He directed the Metallica 3D concert movie/narrative story titled: ''

Metallica Through the Never ''Metallica: Through the Never'' is a 2013 American thriller concert film featuring American heavy metal band Metallica. Its title is derived from the song " Through the Never", from the band's self-titled 1991 album. It follows young roadie T ...

'' (2013). Antal began shooting a biopic about infamous Hungarian

bank robber Bank robbery is the criminal act of stealing from a bank, specifically while bank employees and customers are subjected to force, violence, or a threat of violence. This refers to robbery of a bank Branch (banking), branch or Bank teller, tell ...

Attila Ambrus Attila Ambrus (born October 6, 1967), alias The Whiskey Robber, is a Hungarian bank robber and professional ice hockey player. He became notorious during the 1990s for committing a string of undercover "gentleman robberies" in and around Budapest, ...

in 2016; the film, called '' A Viszkis'', was released in 2017. Antal has directed for three television series, two of which were executive produced by M. Night Shyamalan - first, as a guest director on ''

Wayward Pines ''Wayward Pines'' is an American mystery science fiction television series based on the ''Wayward Pines'' novels by Blake Crouch. Developed for television by Chad Hodge, the pilot was directed by M. Night Shyamalan, with both as executive prod ...

'', then as a regular director for ''

Servant A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...

''. In 2022 he directed two episodes of ''

Stranger Things ''Stranger Things'' is an American science fiction horror drama television series created by the Duffer Brothers, who also serve as showrunners and are executive producers along with Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen. Produced by Monkey Massacre Prod ...

'' season 4.

Acting

Antal has appeared in acting roles in some Hungarian films, the most known among these are ''András Salamons ''Közel a szerelemhez'' (1999) and ''Balra a nap nyugszik'' (2000), directed by ''András Fésös''. Antal had major supporting parts in both of these films. He also had a cameo in Robert Rodriguez's 2010 film ''

Machete Older machete from Latin America Gerber machete/saw combo Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San Agustín de las Juntas, Oaxaca">San_Agustín_de_las_Juntas.html" ;"title="Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San Agustín de las Juntas">Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San ...

''.

Filmography

Film *'' Kontroll'' (2003) *'' Vacancy'' (2007) *''

'' (2009) *''

'' (2010) *'' Metallica: Through the Never'' (2013) *''

The Whiskey Bandit ''The Whiskey Bandit'' ( hu, A Viszkis) is a 2017 Hungarian action film about Attila Ambrus, a famous Hungarian bank robber. Cast * Bence Szalay - Attila Ambrus * - young Attila Ambrus * - Det. Bartos * - Kata * - Géza Bota * - Bota * Jud ...

'' (2017) *'' Retribution'' (TBA) Television

References

External links

*
Nimród Antal on IGN
{{DEFAULTSORT:Antal, Nimrod 1973 births American people of Hungarian descent Hungarian film directors Living people Science fiction film directors American male screenwriters Film directors from Los Angeles Screenwriters from California Horror film directors Action film directors