Robert Houston Eggers (born July 7, 1983) is an American filmmaker, director, and

production designer In film and television, the production designer is the individual responsible for the overall aesthetic of the story. The production design gives the viewers a sense of the time period, the plot location, and character actions and feelings. Wo ...

. He is best known for writing and directing the historical horror films ''

The Witch A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft. Witch, WITCH, or variations thereof may also refer to: Animals * Witch (lefteye flounder) (''Arnoglossus scapha''), a Pacific flatfish * Witch (righteye flounder) (''Glyptocephalus cynoglossus''), a Euro ...

'' (2015) and '' The Lighthouse'' (2019), as well as directing and co-writing the historical fiction epic film ''

The Northman ''The Northman'' is a 2022 American Epic film, epic Historical fiction, historical action thriller film directed by Robert Eggers, who co-wrote the screenplay with Sjón. Based on the legend of Amleth, the film stars Alexander Skarsgård (who ...

'' (2022). His films are noted for their

folkloric Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging fro ...

elements, as well as his efforts to ensure historical authenticity.

Early life

Eggers was born in New York City in 1983 to Kelly Houston. Eggers does not know who his biological father is. Soon after, he and his mother moved to

Laramie, Wyoming Laramie is a city in and the county seat of Albany County, Wyoming, United States. The population was estimated 32,711 in 2019, making it the third-largest city in Wyoming after Cheyenne and Casper. Located on the Laramie River in southeastern ...

where his mother met and married Walter Eggers, with whom she had twins, Max and Sam. The family then moved to

Lee, New Hampshire Lee is a town in Strafford County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,520 at the 2020 census. The town is a rural farm and bedroom community, being close to the University of New Hampshire. History Lee was first settled by Eur ...

, in 1990 when his stepfather became a provost at the

University of New Hampshire The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant college in Hanover in connection with Dartmouth College, mo ...

. He moved to New York City in 2001 to attend the

American Musical and Dramatic Academy The American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA) is a private conservatory for the performing arts located in New York City and Los Angeles, California. The conservatory offers both Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees and two-year certificates in prof ...

. Eggers was inspired by his childhood in

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

and frequently visited the

Plimoth Plantation Plimoth Patuxet is a complex of living history museums in Plymouth, Massachusetts, founded in 1947. Formerly Plimoth Plantation, it replicates the original settlement of the Plymouth Colony established in the 17th century by the English coloni ...

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, while writing his first feature.

Career

Eggers began his career as a designer and director of theatre productions in New York before transitioning to working in film. In 2015, Eggers made his directorial debut with horror film ''

'', based on his own script and starring Anya Taylor-Joy. The film premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival on January 27, 2015.

A24 A24 is an American independent entertainment company that specializes in film and television production, as well as film distribution. It is based in New York City. A24 was founded in 2012 by Daniel Katz, David Fenkel and John Hodges. Pr ...

acquired the film, and released it theatrically on February 19, 2016. Critical reception was largely positive, and the film earned over $40 million against a budget of $4 million. His follow-up film, the horror fantasy '' The Lighthouse'' (2019), also a period piece, was critically acclaimed. Eggers directed the film, and co-wrote the screenplay with his brother, Max Eggers, and it stars

Robert Pattinson Robert Douglas Thomas Pattinson (born 13 May 1986) is an English actor. Known for starring in both big-budget and independent films, Pattinson has ranked among the world's highest-paid actors. In 2010, ''Time'' magazine named him one of the 1 ...

and

Willem Dafoe Willem James Dafoe (; born July 22, 1955) is an American actor. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Willem Dafoe, various accolades, including the Volpi Cup for Best Actor, in addition to receiving nominations for ...

. In 2022, Eggers's

Amleth Amleth (; Latinized as ''Amlethus'') is a figure in a medieval Scandinavian legend, the direct inspiration of the character of Prince Hamlet, the hero of William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Hamlet, Prince of Denmark''. The chief authority for the l ...

-inspired

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

epic film Epic films are a style of filmmaking with large-scale, sweeping scope, and spectacle. The usage of the term has shifted over time, sometimes designating a film genre and at other times simply synonymous with big-budget filmmaking. Like epics in ...

'' was released, starring

Alexander Skarsgård Alexander Johan Hjalmar Skarsgård (; born August 25, 1976) is a Swedish actor. Born in Stockholm, he began acting at age seven but quit at 13. After serving in the Swedish military, Skarsgård returned to acting and gained his first role in th ...

Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an American and Australian actress and producer. Known for her work across various film and television productions from several genres, she has consistently ranked among the world's highest-paid act ...

, Anya Taylor-Joy,

Ethan Hawke Ethan Green Hawke (born November 6, 1970) is an American actor and film director. He has been nominated for four Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award. Hawke has directed three feature films, three off-Broadway plays, and a doc ...

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...

, and

. In July 2015, it was reported that Eggers would write and direct a

remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same ...

of the 1922 silent film ''

Nosferatu ''Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror'' (German: ''Nosferatu – Eine Symphonie des Grauens'') is a 1922 silent German Expressionist horror film directed by F. W. Murnau and starring Max Schreck as Count Orlok, a vampire who preys on the wife ...

'', based on the

Dracula ''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking ...

mythology. The film is set to be produced by Jay Van Hoy and

Lars Knudsen Lars Ramkilde Knudsen (born 21 February 1962) is a Danish researcher in cryptography, particularly interested in the design and analysis of block ciphers, hash functions and message authentication codes (MACs). Academic After some early work ...

for Studio 8. In November 2016, Eggers expressed surprise that the ''Nosferatu'' remake was going to be his second film, saying, "It feels ugly and blasphemous and egomaniacal and disgusting for a filmmaker in my place to do ''Nosferatu'' next. I was really planning on waiting a while, but that's how fate shook out." Eggers had previously directed his high school's performance of the ''Nosferatu'' play, and was hired to direct a professional version of the play due to his work. Eggers credited this as the event that inspired him to pursue a career in filmmaking. Eggers eventually opted to delay his version of the film, going on to direct ''The Lighthouse'' and ''The Northman'' first. Taylor-Joy and

Harry Styles Harry Edward Styles (born 1 February 1994) is an English singer, songwriter, and actor. His musical career began in 2010 as a solo contestant on the British music competition series ''The X Factor (UK TV series), The X Factor''. Following hi ...

were attached to the cast, but both dropped out in 2022. In September 2022, it was reported that the film will star

Bill Skarsgård Bill Istvan Günther Skarsgård (; born 9 August 1990) is a Swedish actor, producer, director, writer, voice actor, and model. He is best known for portraying Pennywise the Dancing Clown in the supernatural horror films '' It'' (2017) and ''It C ...

in the titular role alongside

Lily-Rose Depp Lily-Rose Melody Depp (born 27 May 1999) is a French-American actress and model. Depp began her acting career with a small role in ''Tusk'' (2014), and went on to star in the period drama '' The Dancer'' (2016), in which she played Isadora Dunc ...

. Eggers plans to make ''Nosferatu'' his fourth film. Eggers is currently developing a

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...

based on the life of

Rasputin Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin (; rus, links=no, Григорий Ефимович Распутин ; – ) was a Russian mystic and self-proclaimed holy man who befriended the family of Nicholas II, the last Emperor of Russia, thus ga ...

. He also developed a medieval film called ''The Knight,'' that was ultimately not produced.

Personal life

Eggers is married to Dr. Alexandra Shaker, a

clinical psychologist Clinical psychology is an integration of social science, theory, and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-being and persona ...

whom he has known since childhood. They have a son, Houston (born 2018/19). They reside in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York City.

Filmography

Short films Feature films Production designer

Collaborators

Eggers works with several actors multiple times.

Reception

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Eggers, Robert 1983 births Living people People from Lee, New Hampshire American male screenwriters Sundance Film Festival award winners Horror film directors Film directors from New Hampshire Screenwriters from New Hampshire American production designers Film producers from New York (state) Film directors from New York City Screenwriters from New York (state) 21st-century American screenwriters Screenwriters from Wyoming Film directors from Wyoming