Stephen Poliakoff

Stephen Poliakoff was born in London on the 1^st December 1952 and was educated at Westminster School and King’s College, Cambridge.

Stephen Poliakoff began his career in the theatre becoming resident playwright at the National Theatre in London at the age of 22.  He won the Evening Standard Most Promising Playwright Award in 1976 for his plays HITTING TOWN and CITY SUGAR and has since written over 20 plays all of which were premiered in Britain’s major theatres including four at the Royal National Theatre, four at The Royal Shakespeare Company and three in the West End.

Among his other plays are CLEVER SOLDIERS, STRAWBERRY FIELDS, SHOUT ACROSS THE RIVER, AMERICAN DAYS, BREAKING THE SILENCE, PLAYING WITH TRAINS, SWEET PANIC, TALK OF THE CITY and BLINDED BY THE SUN which won the Critic Circle Best Play Award in 1997.

At the same time as his career in the theatre, Stephen began an extremely successful career writing for British television, working with such leading directors as Michael Apted, Stephen Frears and Peter Hall. In 1986 he moved into movies and wrote and directed his first film, HIDDEN CITY which was selected for the Venice Film Festival in 1987. For both his television work and his movies Stephen has won a long list of international awards.  His major credits for television and movies include CAUGHT ON A TRAIN (1980, BAFTA award for Best Single Drama), BLOODY KIDS (1980, New York Film Festival), SHE’S BEEN AWAY (1989, winner of five awards at the Venice Film Festival), CLOSE MY EYES (1991) starring Alan Rickman and Clive Owen (winner of the Best British Film of the Year Award and selected for the Berlin Film Festival), CENTURY (1994) starring Clive Owen and Miranda Richardson, SHOOTING THE PAST (1999) which won the Prix Italia and the Royal Television Society Best Drama Award, PERFECT STRANGERS (2001) which won Best Writer and Best Serial at the Royal Television Awards, and the Dennis Potter BAFTA award, THE LOST PRINCE (2003) which was Golden Globe nominated and winner of three primetime Emmys including Outstanding Mini Series, FRIENDS AND CROCODILES (2006) and GIDEON’S DAUGHTER (2006) starring Bill Nighy, Miranda Richardson and Emily Blunt which won two Golden Globe Awards, JOE’S PALACE (2007) starring Michael Gambon,  CAPTURING MARY (2007) starring Maggie Smith, the feature film GLORIOUS 39 starring Bill Nighy, Romola Garai, Julie Christie, Eddie Redmayne, David Tennant, Charlie Cox, Jeremy Northam and Christopher Lee, and most recently the six part drama DANCING ON THE EDGE (2013) staring Chiwetel Ejiofor and John Goodman, which was nominated for three Goldon Globes; Best TV Film/Mini-series, Best Actor in a TV Film/Mini-series (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Best Supporting Actress in a TV Film/Mini Series, which Jacqueline Bisset won; it won Best Miniseries or TV Film at the Satellite Awards; was nominated for two Critic's Choice Awards - Best Mini-series and Chiwetel Ejiofor for Best Actor in a Movie or Miniseries; and Chiwetel Ejiofor won Outstanding Actor in a TV Movie or Miniseries at the Black Reel Awards.  Outstanding Lead Actor In A Miniseries Or A Movie - 2014 Nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor, as Louis Lester