Thomas Otto Shankland (born 7 May 1968) is an English film and television director and

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. ...

. He is known for directing the horror films ''

WΔZ ''WΔZ'' (pronounced ''double-u delta zed'') is a 2007 British crime horror thriller film directed by Tom Shankland and starring Stellan Skarsgård, Melissa George, Selma Blair and Tom Hardy. The film was released in the United States with the ...

'' (2007) and '' The Children'' (2008), and television series such as ''

The Fades The Fades are an English indie rock band from London, England, comprising Dave Lightfoot on guitar and vocals, James Lightfoot on bass, Jonathan "Jonny" Barnard on guitar and Alastair "Flash" Thorpe on drums. History The Fades were formed 2 ...

'' (2011), ''

Ripper Street ''Ripper Street'' is a British mystery drama television series set in Whitechapel in the East End of London starring Matthew Macfadyen, Jerome Flynn, Adam Rothenberg, and MyAnna Buring. It begins in 1889, six months after the infamous Jack the ...

'' (2012), and '' The Missing'' (2014); for the latter, he was nominated for the 2015

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special This is a list of the winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. Chronology of category names Over the years, the scope of this award has evolved and the name with which ...

. He has also been nominated for the

BAFTA Award for Best Short Film This page lists the winners and nominees for the BAFTA Award for Best British Short Film for each year. The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), is a British organisation that hosts annual awards shows for film, television, child ...

twice, for ''Bait'' (1999) and ''Going Down'' (2000).

Background and education

Shankland's father taught at Durham University, establishing the Italian department. His mother is Scandinavian. The family watched Italian and Scandinavian film. He went to school at St Margaret’s Primary School and Framwellgate Moor Comprehensive. He first gained visibility with a short film for Channel 4 called Bait in 1999.https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/whats-on/film-news/north-east-director-behind-hit-8319704

Filmography

Film

* ''Bubbles'' (1998; short) * ''Bait'' (1999; short) * ''Going Down'' (2000; short) * ''

'' (2007) * '' The Children'' (2008)

Television

* ''

Hearts and Bones ''Hearts and Bones'' is the sixth solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Paul Simon. It was released in 1983 by Warner Bros. Records. Background The album was originally intended to be called ''Think Too Much'', but Mo Ostin, president ...

'' (2000; episode: "Once There Was a Way to Get Back Home") * ''

Clocking Off ''Clocking Off'' is a British television drama series which was broadcast on BBC One for four series from 2000 to 2003. It was produced for the BBC by the independent Red Production Company, and created by Paul Abbott. It was effectively an ant ...

'' (2001; 3 episodes) * ''

No Night Is Too Long ''No Night Is Too Long'' is a 2002 BBC dramatisation based on the 1994 novel of the same name by Barbara Vine (a pseudonym of Ruth Rendell), with a screenplay by Kevin Elyot. The title comes from a line in Richard Strauss's opera ''Der Rosen ...

'' (2002; television film) * ''

Family Business A family business is a commercial organization in which decision-making is influenced by multiple generations of a family, related by blood or marriage or adoption, who has both the ability to influence the vision of the business and the willingn ...

'' (2004; episode "1.01") * ''

Jericho Jericho ( ; ar, أريحا ; he, יְרִיחוֹ ) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank. It is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It is the administrative seat of the Jericho Gove ...

'' (2005; episode: "The Hollow Men") * ''

Agatha Christie's Marple ''Agatha Christie's Marple'' (or simply ''Marple'') is a British ITV (TV network), ITV television programme loosely based on the books and short stories by British crime novelist Agatha Christie. The title character was played by Geraldine McEw ...

'' (2006–10; 2 episodes) * ''

'' (2011; 3 episodes) * ''

Dirk Gently Dirk Gently (born Svlad Cjelli, also known as Dirk Cjelli) is a fictional character created by English writer Douglas Adams and featured in the books '' Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency'', ''The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul'' and '' T ...

'' (2012; 3 episodes) * ''

'' (2012; 4 episodes) * '' The Missing'' (2014; 8 episodes) * '' Wicked City'' (2015; episode: "Pilot") * '' The Leftovers'' (2015; 1 episode) * ''

House of Cards A house of cards (also known as a card tower or card castle) is a structure created by stacking playing cards on top of each other, often in the shape of a pyramid. "House of cards" is also an expression that dates back to 1645 meaning a structu ...

'' (2016; 1 episode) * '' Iron Fist'' (2017; 1 episode) * ''

The Punisher The Punisher (Francis "Frank" Castle, born Castiglione) is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru. The Punisher made ...

'' (2017; 2 episodes) * ''

The City and the City ''The City & the City'' is a novel by British author China Miéville that follows a wide-reaching murder investigation in two cities that occupy the same space simultaneously, combining weird fiction with the police procedural. It was written ...

'' (2018; miniseries) * ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original ...

'' (2018; miniseries) * '' The Serpent'' (2021; miniseries) * '' SAS: Rogue Heroes'' (2022; miniseries)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shankland, Tom 1968 births Living people English film directors English screenwriters English male screenwriters English television directors People from Durham, England