Duncan Hamish Kenworthy OBE (born 1949) is a British film and television producer, and co-founder of the production company

DNA Films DNA Films is a British film production company founded by Andrew Macdonald and Duncan Kenworthy in 1997. They also have a television division with Walt Disney Television called DNA TV Limited. Location DNA Films has been one of the most succ ...

. He is currently a producer at Toledo Productions.

Early life

Kenworthy was educated at Rydal Mount School,

Colwyn Bay Colwyn Bay ( cy, Bae Colwyn) is a town, community and seaside resort in Conwy County Borough on the north coast of Wales overlooking the Irish Sea. It lies within the historic county of Denbighshire. Eight neighbouring communities are incorpo ...

North Wales , area_land_km2 = 6,172 , postal_code_type = Postcode , postal_code = LL, CH, SY , image_map1 = Wales North Wales locator map.svg , map_caption1 = Six principal areas of Wales common ...

, which is now

Rydal Penrhos Rydal Penrhos School is an independent day school in Colwyn Bay, North Wales. It is the only Methodist school in the independent sector in Wales. It is located on multiple sites around the town with a site in the neighbouring village of Rhos-on-S ...

School, an independent international boarding school. The school renovated the sixth form social space in 2018 and, after a generous donation from Kenworthy during the campaign to all alumni for support, it named the study room in his honour, as The Kenworthy Study Room. He later attended

Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 170 graduate students. The college was founded by William Byngham in 1437 as ...

, a constituent college of the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, from 1968, graduating in 1971 with a first class degree in English. He then studied as a postgraduate in the

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

at the Annenberg School of Communications at the University of Pennsylvania.

Career

After finishing his education in the US, he remained there, working with

Jim Henson James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, cartoonist, actor, inventor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notice as the creator of The Muppets and '' Fraggle Rock'' (1983–1987) and ...

. On returning to the UK, he became an independent producer, with credits including ''

Four Weddings and a Funeral ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' is a 1994 British romantic comedy film directed by Mike Newell. It is the first of several films by screenwriter Richard Curtis to feature Hugh Grant, and follows the adventures of Charles (Grant) and his circle ...

'' (1994), ''

Lawn Dogs A lawn is an area of soil-covered land planted with grasses and other durable plants such as clover which are maintained at a short height with a lawnmower (or sometimes grazing animals) and used for aesthetic and recreational purposes. L ...

'' (1995), ''

Notting Hill Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a cosmopolitan and multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting Hill Carnival and Portobello Road M ...

'' (1999), ''

Love Actually ''Love Actually'' is a 2003 Christmas romantic comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis. It features an ensemble cast, composed predominantly of British actors, many of whom had worked with Curtis in previous film and television proje ...

'' (2003) and ''

The Eagle The eagle is a large bird of prey. Eagle or The Eagle may also refer to: Places England * Eagle, Lincolnshire, a village United States * Eagle, Alaska, a city * Eagle Village, Alaska, a census-designated place * Eagle, Colorado, a statuto ...

'' (2011). His television productions include Jim Henson's '' The Storyteller'' and the 1996 version of ''

Gulliver's Travels ''Gulliver's Travels'', or ''Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships'' is a 1726 prose satire by the Anglo-Irish writer and clergyman Jonathan ...

''. He was also co-creator of ''

Fraggle Rock ''Fraggle Rock'' (also known as ''Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock'' or ''Fraggle Rock with Jim Henson's Muppets'') is a children's musical fantasy comedy puppet television series about interconnected societies of Muppet creatures, created by Jim H ...

''. Appears in photographs in the credits of ''

'' (although uncredited) as "Matthew's Gorgeous New Boyfriend". He is currently the Vice President of BAFTA, having previously held the position of chairman (2004–06).

Selected filmography

* 1994: ''

'' * 1997: ''

'' * 1999: ''

'' * 2001: ''

The Parole Officer ''The Parole Officer'' is a 2001 British comedy film, directed by John Duigan. The film follows a diverse group of former criminals as they assist their probation officer in proving his innocence after a murder accusation. Plot Simon Garden i ...

'' * 2003: ''

'' * 2011: ''

'' * 2016: '' The Pass'' * 2018: '' The Children Act''

Awards

In February 2015, the

National Film and Television School The National Film and Television School (NFTS) is a film, television and games school established in 1971 and based at Beaconsfield Studios in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England. It is featured in the 2021 ranking by ''The Hollywood Repor ...

's Board of Governors bestowed an Honorary Fellowship on Kenworthy."Duncan Kenworthy OBE, Bestowed an Honorary Fellowship at NFTS Grad Show"
, NFTS.

References

External links

* 1949 births Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge British film producers British television producers Living people Filmmakers who won the Best Film BAFTA Award Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Rydal Penrhos {{UK-film-producer-stub