Sean Leland Sebastian Gullette (born June 4, 1968) is an American film director, writer, screenwriter, actor, and producer.

Personal life

Gullette was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of

Margaret Morganroth Gullette Margaret Morganroth Gullette (born 1941) is a resident scholar at the Women's Studies Research Center at Brandeis University. She is a writer of nonfiction, an essayist, and activist. Her contributions to the field of cultural studies of age incl ...

a cultural critic and writer, and David George Gullette, a professor of English.https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/25853437.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Feb+01%2C+1998&author=Peter+Brunette%2C+Globe+Correspondent&pub=Boston+Globe&desc=SIDEBAR+AND+THIS+YEAR'S+SUNDANCE+DEBUT+IS+.+.+.&pqatl=google He attended public schools and

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, where he acted in theater and films and directed plays. Gullette lives between New York City and

Tangier Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the cap ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

, and in addition to his film work is the founder of the 212 Society, a US non-profit which supports cultural and educational projects in Morocco, including the

Cinémathèque de Tanger Cinémathèque de Tanger (CDT) is an art house movie theater in Tangier, Morocco. CDT was founded by artist Yto Barrada in 2006, and is located within the restored Art Deco Cinéma Rif building in the Casbah A kasbah (, also ; ar, قَـص ...

and Darna. The 212 Society takes its name from the 212 telephone codes of its home city and adoptive country. Gullette and artist

Yto Barrada Yto Barrada (born 1971) is a Franco-Moroccan multimedia visual artist living and working in Tangier, Morocco and New York City. Barrada cofounded the Cinémathèque de Tanger in 2006, leading a group of artists and filmmakers. Barrada also wor ...

are married and have two daughters, Vega Violet Alia and Tamo Jasmin Ada.

Acting

His professional work in film began in 1998, when he co-wrote and played the lead role in the award-winning '' Pi'', directed by longtime collaborator

Darren Aronofsky Darren Aronofsky (born February 12, 1969) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. His films are noted for their surrealistic, melodramatic, and sometimes disturbing elements, often in the form of psychological fiction. Aronof ...

. He has since played principal and supporting roles in some twenty films including Brad Anderson's '' Happy Accidents'' (with

Vincent D'Onofrio Vincent Philip D'Onofrio (; born June 30, 1959) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his supporting and leading roles in both film and television. He has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. His roles include Private Leonar ...

and

Marisa Tomei Marisa Tomei ( , ; born December 4, 1964) is an American actress. She came to prominence as a cast member on ''The Cosby Show'' spin-off ''A Different World'' in 1987. After having minor roles in a few films, she came to international attention ...

) and Darren Aronofsky's ''

Requiem for a Dream ''Requiem for a Dream'' is a 2000 American psychological drama film directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, Christopher McDonald and Marlon Wayans. It is based on the 1978 novel of the same name ...

'' (with

Jennifer Connelly Jennifer Lynn Connelly (born December 12, 1970) is an American actress. She began her career as a child model before making her acting debut in the 1984 crime film ''Once Upon a Time in America''. After having worked as a model for several year ...

), the German film '' Toskana Karrussel'' (with Susanna Lothar) and as a guest actor on network TV dramas. His occasional theater work has included the lead in the New York premiere of Susan Sandler's ''If I Were a Train''. In 2010 he played principal roles in '' Blue Ridge'', directed by Vincent Sweeney, and ''

Die zwei Leben des Daniel Shore ''Die zwei Leben des Daniel Shore (The Two Lives of Daniel Shore)'' is a 2009 German film by Michael Dreher; written by him and produced by Karim Debbagh, Rüdiger Heinze, Rainer Kölmel and Stefan Sporbert. It stars Nikolai Kinski, Katharina Sc ...

'', with

Nikolai Kinski Nanhoï Nikolai Kinski (born July 30, 1976) is a French-American film actor, who has also done work in television and on stage. He was born in Paris, and grew up in California. Currently residing in Berlin, he has acted primarily in American and ...

and

Morjana Alaoui Morjana Alaoui ( ar, مرجانة العلوي; born November 30, 1982) is a Moroccan- French actress. She is best known for her starring roles in director Laila Marrakchi's ''Marock'' and ''Rock the Casbah,'' films which dealt with sexual taboo ...

, directed by Michael Dreher. In 2015 he played supporting roles in the film '' Zanj Revolution'', by Tariq Teguia and in 2013 ''

Rock the Casbah "Rock the Casbah" is a song by the English punk rock band The Clash, released in 1982. The song was released as the second single from their fifth album, ''Combat Rock''. It reached number eight on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in the US (t ...

'' by Laila Marrakshi. Gullette performs spoken word pieces on the songs "Song of Alice" from Israeli-French singer Keren Ann's fourth album, ''Nolita'' on Blue Note/Capitol/EMI Records and on

Northern Irish Northern Irish people is a demonym for all people born in Northern Ireland or people who are entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence. Most Northern Irish people either identify as Northern ...

DJ and musician David Holmes's album '' Bow Down to the Exit Sign''.

Screenwriting

His feature film screenwriting projects have included ''Trinity'', ''Conviction'', ''Monopolis'' and ''Kilroy''. He wrote and is a producer of ''Thanksgiving'', starring

Yolonda Ross Yolonda Ross is an American actress, writer and director. Life and career Ross was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska. She began her acting career in New York, appearing in the episodes of television series ''New York Undercover'' and ''Third Wa ...

James Urbaniak James Christian Urbaniak (born September 17, 1963) is an American character actor. He is best known for his roles as Simon Grim in three Hal Hartley films: ''Henry Fool'' (1997), ''Fay Grim'' (2006) and ''Ned Rifle'' (2014), Robert Crumb in ''Ame ...

and

Seymour Cassel Seymour Joseph Cassel (January 22, 1935 – April 7, 2019) was an American actor who appeared in over 200 movies and television shows, and had a career that spanned over 50 years. Cassel first came to prominence in the 1960s in the pioneering in ...

. He wrote "New York Stories" for

Donna Karan Donna Karan (, born Donna Ivy Faske), also known as "DK", is an American fashion designer and the creator of the Donna Karan New York and DKNY clothing labels. Early life Karan was born Donna Ivy Faske to mother Helen "Queenie" Faske (née Rabin ...

's DKNY, and directed the "Von Hummer the 1st" series of promotional spots for VH1, starring James Urbaniak. He produced Nicole Zaray's gender-inverted short film ''Joe's Day'', featuring

Deborah Harry Deborah Ann Harry (born Angela Trimble; July 1, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Blondie. Four of her songs with the band reached on the US charts between 1979 and 1981. Born in ...

. He has also consulted on screenplays for

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...

, and independent productions. IMDB reports Gullette as the screenwriter of the upcoming

Olivier Megaton Olivier is the French form of the given name Oliver (given name), Oliver. It may refer to: * Olivier (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Olivier (surname), a list of people * Château Olivier, a Bordeaux winery *Olivier, Loui ...

film '' Land of the Living''.

Film Directing

Gullette is slated to direct ''Upland'', adapted from the novel ''Nip the Buds, Shoot the Kids'' by Nobel Prize–winning Japanese author

Kenzaburō Ōe is a Japanese writer and a major figure in contemporary Japanese literature. His novels, short stories and essays, strongly influenced by French and American literature and literary theory, deal with political, social and philosophical issues, i ...

, for an upcoming international co-production. Attached cast include

Forrest Goodluck Forrest Goodluck (born August 6, 1998) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Hugh Glass's son Hawk in the 2015 film '' The Revenant'', and for his supporting role as Adam Red Eagle, a two-spirit teenager sent to a conversion therap ...

and

Paul Sparks Paul Sparks (born October 16, 1971) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as gangster Mickey Doyle in the HBO period drama series ''Boardwalk Empire'', writer Thomas Yates in the Netflix political drama series ''House of Cards (Americ ...

with Lisa Wolofsky and Pierre Even as lead producers. In 2019, Gullette directed two episodes of the ABC Television series ''1969''. Gullette wrote that "Was quite an adventure to direct this hour for ABC TV, which aired in the spring and is now streaming. Thanks to EP Jeanmarie Condon, my segment producers Jesse Rosen and Jackie Filer, senior producer Erica Salit, editors Doug Quade and Alessandro Barnett and the team at Lincoln Square Productions. Despite the title, everyone signed on to resist the grotesque Manson Industry and instead listen closely to the stories of two fascinating — and very different — women who joined the group. Both Dianne Lake and

Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme Lynette Alice "Squeaky" Fromme (born October 22, 1948) is an American criminal who was a member of the Manson family, a cult led by Charles Manson. Though not involved in the Tate–LaBianca murders for which the Manson family is best known, ...

sat for powerful, revealing interviews. Our re-reading of the Manson myth is also carried by

Peter Fonda Peter Henry Fonda (February 23, 1940 – August 16, 2019) was an American actor. He was the son of Henry Fonda, younger brother of Jane Fonda, and father of Bridget Fonda. He was a prominent figure in the counterculture of the 1960s. Fond ...

, rock author Lizzy Goodman, VIBE editor Desiree Thompson, Woodstock founder Michael Lang,

John Fogerty John Cameron Fogerty (born May 28, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. Together with Doug Clifford, Stu Cook, and his brother Tom Fogerty Thomas Richard Fogerty (November 9, 1941 – September 6, 1990) was an American mu ...

of Creedence, and

Tariq Trotter Tariq Luqmaan Trotter (born October 3, 1973), better known as Black Thought, is an American rapper, actor and the lead MC of the Philadelphia-based hip hop group the Roots, which he co-founded with drummer Questlove (Ahmir Thompson). Regarded ...

of The Roots." In 2014, Gullette's first feature film, ''Traitors'', starring Chaimae Ben Acha, Soufia Issami, Mourade Zeguindi,

Driss Roukhe Driss Roukhe (born July 5, 1968) is a Moroccan actor and director. Early life Roukhe was born in Dyour Jdad B’ni M’Hamed, a poor neighborhood of Meknes, and lost his father when he was 7. He practiced theater in high-school and with various ...

and Saleh Bensaleh was released internationally. The film was shot on locations in Tangier, Morocco and the hashish producing Rif mountains. It made its world premiere at the 2013

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...

, and screened in competition at the

Stockholm Film Festival The Stockholm International Film Festival ( sv, Stockholms filmfestival, italic=no) is an annual film festival held in Stockholm, Sweden. It was launched in 1990 and has been held every year since then during the second half of November. The w ...

and at the

Marrakech International Film Festival The Marrakech International Film Festival (FIFM) ( ar, المهرجان الدولي للفيلم بمراكش, Amazigh ⴰⵏⵎⵓⴳⴳⴰⵔ ⴰⴳⵔⴰⵖⵍⴰⵏ ⵏ ⵍⴼⵉⵍⵎ ⴳ ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ ) is an international film festi ...

, the

Dubai Film Festival The Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF, ar, مهرجان دبي السينمائي الدولي) is the leading film festival in the Arab region. The 12th edition of DIFF took place from December 9 – 16, 2015. In 2018, the DIFF announce ...

, and the

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by TriBeCa Productions, Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive progra ...

. The film was distributed by Rezo Films, Paris and in the US by Film Movement. ''Traitors'' received positive reviews from critics and has a "Fresh" rating of 88% on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average score of 7.1/10. Gullette was announced at the Cannes Film Festival as the writer-director of ''Tangier'', a film in-development set to star

Kristin Scott Thomas Dame Kristin Ann Scott Thomas (born 24 May 1960) is a British actress who also holds French citizenship. A five-time British Academy Film Awards, BAFTA Award and Laurence Olivier Award, Olivier Award nominee, she won the BAFTA Award for Best ...

and

Jeremy Irons Jeremy John Irons (; born 19 September 1948) is an English actor and activist. After receiving classical training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Irons began his acting career on stage in 1969 and has appeared in many West End theatre ...

. ''Tangier'' will be produced by

's Protozoa Pictures. Gullette produced ''The 8'' with Sarah Riggs and Blaire Dessent; the film was selected for the 2010

Berlin Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...

. He directed several short films from his own scripts. He produced ''False Start'' by Yto Barrada which premiered at the

Toronto Film Festival Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor ...

and went on to win a Tiger Award at the 2016

Rotterdam Film Festival The International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) is an annual film festival held at the end of January in various locations in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Since its foundation in 1972, it has maintained a focus on independent and experimental fi ...

and ''Tree Identification for Beginners'' also by Barrada which premiered at Rotterdam 2018.

Other writing

Gullette's essays, journalism and fiction have been published in magazines including ''

The Face The face is a part of the body, the front of the head. Face may also refer to: Film * ''The Magician'' (1958 film) or ''The Face'' * ''The Face'' (1996 film), an American television film * ''Face'' (1997 film), a British crime drama by Antonia ...

'', ''

Spy Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...

'', ''

Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

'', '' Bidoun'', ''Brill's Content'', ''Gear'', ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'', ''Nejma'', and ''KGB'' magazine (which he founded as editor and publisher in 1991.) His essay "Mile High" appears in the NYU Press' book ''110 Stories: New York Writes After September 11'', and his essay "Notes" appears in the Springer-Verlag anthology ''Art, Technology, and Cinema.'' Gullette has ghostwritten for visual artists, and edited texts for the walls and publications of MoMA, the Whitney Biennial, the Tate Modern, and the Centre Pompidou, Paris.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

Rotterdam International Film Festival Nominated, Tiger Award 2014 Cyprus Film Days International Festival Nominated, Glocal Images Best Film Award for Traitors (2013) Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival Won, Spirit of the Independent Award Feature Film for Traitors (2013) Gijón International Film Festival Won, "Rellumes" Prize 2014 Philadelphia Independent Film Festival, US Nominated, Best Feature Film 2013 Bratislava International Film Festival Nominated, Grand Prix 2013 Marrakech International Film Festival Nominated, Best Director Nominated, Golden Star Best Feature Film for Traitors (2013) 2013 Stockholm Film Festival Nominated, Bronze Horse Best Film for Traitors (2013) 2013 Venice Film Festival Nominated, Fedeora Award Best Film (Venice Days) for Traitors (2013) Won, Lina Mangiacapre Award - Special Mention 1999 Online Film & Television Association Nominated, OFTA Film Award Best Breakthrough Performance: Male for Pi (1998) Nominated, OFTA Film Award Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror Actor for Pi (1998)

References

External links

*
IndieWire - An Interview with Darren Aronofsky and Sean Gullette of ‘Pi

Variety - ‘Pi’ Star Sean Gullette Talks About Making ‘Traitors’ in Morocco and His Sophomore Project

Hollywood Reporter - ‘Traitors: Venice Review

Filmmaker Magazine - 5 Questions for Traitors Director Sean Gullette

PopOptiq - Tribeca 2014: Interview with ‘Traitors’ director Sean Gullette

TRAITORS - Official U.S. Trailer

Traitors Reviews - Rotten Tomatoes

Hollywood Reporter - 'Colombiana' Director Takes on 'Land of the Living'

The Playlist - Details On Sean Gullette’s ‘Tangier’; Kristen Scott Thomas, Jeremy Irons & Tony Shalhoub Joining Cast

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gullette, Sean 1968 births Male actors from Boston American male film actors Harvard University alumni Living people American expatriates in Morocco American essayists American male screenwriters Writers from Boston Film producers from Massachusetts 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male essayists Screenwriters from Massachusetts