Nicolas Winding Refn does on 29th September - check out my tribute to this Director, Writer and Producer Birthday Boy turning 47, at the end of this feature.
Do you also share your birthday with a well known, highly regarded & famous Actor or Actress; share your special day with a Director, Producer, Writer, Cinematographer, Singer/Songwriter or Composer of repute; or share an interest in whoever might notch up another year in the coming seven days? Then, look no further! Whilst there will be too many to mention in this small but not insignificant and beautifully written and presented Blog, here are the more notable and noteworthy icons of the big screen, and the small screen, that you will recognise, and that you might just share your birthday with in the week ahead. If so, Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online!
Sunday 24th September
- Brad Bird - Born 1957, turns 60 - Writer | Director | Producer
- Kevin Sorbo - Born 1958, turns 59 - Actor | Producer | Director
Monday 25th September
- Michael Douglas - Born 1944, turns 73 - Actor | Producer
- Pedro Almodovar - Born 1949, turns 68 - Writer | Director | Producer | Singer | Songwriter
- Mark Hamill - Born 1951, turns 66 - Actor | Producer | Singer
- Michael Madsen - Born 1957, turns 60 - Actor | Producer | Writer
- Jason Flemyng - Born 1966, turns 51 - Actor | Producer | Director
- Will Smith - Born 1968, turns 49 - Actor | Producer | Writer | Singer | Songwriter | Composer
- Heather Locklear - Born 1961, turns 56 - Actress | Producer
- Catherine Zeta-Jones - Born 1969, turns 48 - Actress | Singer
Tuesday 26th September
- Olivia Newton-John - Born 1948, turns 69 - Actress | Singer | Songwriter | Producer
- Linda Hamilton - Born 1956, turns 61 - Actress
- Jim Caviezel - Born 1968, turns 49 - Actor
Wednesday 27th September
- Meat Loaf (aka Marvin Lee Aday) - Born 1947, turns 70 - Singer | Actor | Producer
- Denis Lawson - Born 1947, turns 70 - Actor | Director | Writer
- Gwyneth Paltrow - Born 1972, turns 45 - Actress | Producer | Singer |
Thursday 28th September
- Brigitte Bardot - Born 1934, turns 83 - Actress | Singer
- Mira Sorvino - Born 1967, turns 50 - Actress | Producer
- Naomi Watts - Born 1968, turns 49 - Actress | Producer
- John Sayles - Born 1950, turns 67 - Writer | Director | Actor | Producer | Editor | Songwriter
Friday 29th September
- Ian McShane - Born 1942, turns 75 - Actor | Producer
- Luke Goss - Born 1968, turns 49 - Actor | Producer | Writer | Director
- Nicolas Winding Refn - Born 1970, turns 47 - Writer | Director | Producer
Saturday 30th September
- Ian Ogilvy - Born 1943, turns 74 - Actor
- Eric Stoltz - Born 1961, turns 56 - Actor | Director | Producer
- Ezra Miller - Born 1992, turns 25 - Actor
- Angie Dickinson - Born 1931, turns 86 - Actress
- Victoria Tennant - Born 1950, turns 67 - Actress | Writer | Producer
- Fran Drescher - Born 1957, turns 60 - Actress | Writer | Producer | Director
- Monica Bellucci - Born 1964, turns 53 - Actress
- Marion Cotillard - Born 1975, turns 42 - Actress | Singer | Writer | Director
Nicolas Winding Refn was born in Copenhagen, Denmark to mother Vibeke Winding, a cinematographer and father Andres Refn, an accomplished and acclaimed Danish film Director and Editor whose works span over fifty years taking in over seventy feature films. At the age of eleven the family relocated to New York where the young Nicolas remained until the age of seventeen before moving back to Denmark to finish off his high school education. Upon doing this he promptly moved back to New York to attend The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Manhattan where he was subsequently expelled for throwing a table against a wall. He then applied to the Danish Film School in Copenhagen for which he was accepted, but prior to his commencement, he dropped out. He grew up in a family entrenched in the world of cinema, and in particular French New Wave cinema that his parents were especially attuned to. Rebelling against his parents he was inspired by American Horror movies, and cites Tobe Hooper's 1974 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' as his inspiration to become a film maker.
Refn burst onto the screen with his Written and Directing debut crime thriller 'Pusher' in 1996 starring Mads Mikkelsen about a drug pusher, a botched deal and a large debt needing to be repaid. Refn went onto Write and Direct two follow-up films 'Pusher II : With Blood on my Hands' in 2004 starring Mads Mikkelsen again, and in 2005 'Pusher III : I'm the Angel of Death'. The first two films picked up four award wins and fifteen nominations collectively between them. The opening film in the franchise was remade in 2012 on which Refn took a Producer credit only.
Crime drama 'Bleeder' followed in 1999 starring many of the cast from the first 'Pusher' film including Mads Mikkelsen. The film had some awards success around the festival circuit. 2003 saw the thriller 'Fear X' starring John Turturro, Deborah Kara Unger and James Remar. Up next for Refn was a slight change of pace and genre as he Directed two episodes of 'Agatha Christie's Marple' television series in 2007 - 'Miss Marple : Nemesis' and 'Towards Zero'.
'Bronson' was released in 2008 as Written and Directed by Refn about the notorious British career criminal Michael Gordon Peterson who changed his name to Charles Bronson as suggested by his fight promoter during the period when he was released from prison. This biographical crime film is loosely based on Bronson's life and was portrayed with critical acclaim by Tom Hardy. The film made US$2.3M off the back of a budget investment of just US$230K and it picked up three award wins and six nominations including a Best Actor win for Tom Hardy and a Best Film win for Refn.
'Valhalla Rising' saw out the decade in 2009 with Mads Mikkelsen again starring in this historical adventure drama set in the eleventh century Viking era. The film garnered generally positive press, picking up four award wins and nine other nominations from around the festival circuit, but it recovered only US$31K from its US$5.7M budget outlay.
Next up for Refn was his breakout movie lunching him firmly into Hollywood with 'Drive' a neo-noir crime thriller about a Hollywood stunt driver moonlighting as a getaway driver. Starring Ryan Gosling in the lead role with Carey Mulligan, Albert Brooks, Bryan Cranston, Oscar Isaac, Ron Perlman and Christina Hendricks the film recovered US$78M from its US$15M budget and was nominated for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe and four BAFTA's from its total awards haul of 77 wins and 171 other nominations. The film was both a critical and commercial success, and was screened at the Cannes Film Festival in competition for the Palme d'Or where it received a standing ovation, going on to win Refn the Best Director's Award.
'The Neon Demon' was to be Refn's next feature film and his last one to date, which again he wrote the Screenplay for too based on his own story. This psychological horror film divided audiences and received mixed critical response. It too was screened at the Cannes Film Festival in competition for the Palme d'Or, marking Refn's third film in succession to do so. Starring Elle Fanning, Jena Malone, Abbey Lee, Christina Hendricks and Keanu Reeves, this film recovered just US$3.5M from its US$7M budget and collected sixteen award wins and 33 nominations.
In between time Refn Directed an extended commercial for 'Gucci' featuring Actress Blake Lively, he has also Directed a series of advertisements for the 'Lincoln Motor Company' featuring Matthew McConaughey, and a commercial for 'Hennessy X.O.', and in 2015 Refn's wife, Actress Liv Corfixen wrote and Directed a documentary titled 'My Life Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn' chronicling the 'behind the scenes' experiences of filming 'Only God Forgives' when their whole family had to relocate to Thailand for the shoot.Next up for Refn and both in pre-production stage is planned crime thriller television series 'Les Italiens' charting the lives of an Italian/French Police squad operating in Paris; and crime drama television series 'Too Old To Die Young' exploring the criminal underside of LA, and to which Miles Teller is attached.
All told Refn has twelve Writing credits to his name, fifteen as Director and nine as Producer. He has so far been the recipient of 28 award wins and another 49 nominations. In 2008 he co-founded the Production Company 'Space Rocket Nation' - a Copenhagen based company.
Nicolas Winding Refn - is colour blind, dyslexic, teetotal, failed his driving test eight times, didn't learn to read until aged thirteen and is an avid collector of toys. Shoots his films in chronological order, without rehearsal, often using acts of extreme violence, and often films using handheld cameras. Is considered the 'Wild Child' back in his native Denmark and has an uncompromising style all of his own, and as such we look forward with eager anticipation to your next feature film and what you'll pull out of your bag of tricks for that. Happy Birthday to you in the meantime Nicolas, from Odeon Online.
-Steve, at Odeon Online-
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