Ridley Scott

Sir Ridley Leighton Scott born 30 November 1937 is an English filmmaker He directs films in the science fiction crime and historical epic genres with an atmospheric and highly concentrated visual style He ranks among the highestgrossing directors with his films grossing a cumulative 5 billion worldwide He has received many accolades including the BAFTA Fellowship for Lifetime Achievement in 2018 two Primetime Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2003 and appointed a Knight Grand Cross by King Charles III in 2024 An alumnus of the Royal College of Art in London Scott began his career in television as a designer and director before moving into advertising as a director of commercials He made his film directorial debut with The Duellists 1977 and gained wider recognition with his next film Alien 1979 Though his films range widely in setting and period they showcase memorable imagery of urban environments spanning 2ndcentury Rome in Gladiator 2000 and its 2024 sequel 12thcentury Jerusalem in Kingdom of Heaven 2005 medieval England in Robin Hood 2010 ancient Memphis in Exodus Gods and Kings 2014 contemporary Mogadishu in Black Hawk Down 2001 futuristic cityscapes of Los Angeles in Blade Runner 1982 and extraterrestrial worlds in Alien Prometheus 2012 The Martian 2015 and Alien Covenant 2017 Scott has been nominated for three Academy Awards Directing for Thelma Louise Gladiator and Black Hawk Down Gladiator won the Academy Award for Best Picture and received a nomination in the same category for The Martian In 1995 Scott and his brother Tony received a British Academy Film Award for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Scotts films Alien Blade Runner and Thelma Louise were each selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being considered culturally historically or aesthetically significant In a 2004 BBC poll Scott was ranked 10 on the list of most influential people in British culture Scott also works in television and has earned 10 Primetime Emmy Award nominations He won twice for Outstanding Television Film for the HBO film The Gathering Storm 2002 and Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special for the History Channels Gettysburg 2011 He was Emmynominated for RKO 281 1999 The Andromeda Strain 2008 and The Pillars of the Earth 2010