Jim Sheridan (born 6 February 1949) is an Irish filmmaker. Between 1989 and 1993, Sheridan directed three critically acclaimed films set in Ireland, My Left Foot (1989), The Field (1990), and In the Name of the Father (1993), and later directed the films The Boxer (1997), In America (2003), and Brothers (2009). Sheridan has received six Academy Award nominations for his work.Ebert, Roger. "Coach Carter" , RogerEbert.com, 14 January 2005. Retrieved on 20 August 2006.
Life and career Jim Sheridan was born in Dublin on 6 February 1949. He is the brother of playwright Peter Sheridan. The family ran a lodging house, while Anna Sheridan worked at a hotel and Peter Sheridan Snr was a railway clerk with CIÉ. Sheridan's early education was at a Christian Brothers school. In 1969 he attended University College Dublin to study English and History. In 1972, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. He became involved in student theatre there, where he met Neil Jordan, who also was later to become an important Irish film director. After graduating from UCD in 1972, Sheridan and his brother began writing and staging plays, and in the late 1970s began working with the Project Theatre Company.
In 1981, Sheridan emigrated to Canada, but eventually settled in the Hell's Kitchen section of New York City in the United States. He enrolled in the New York University Tisch School of the Arts and became the artistic director of the Irish Arts Center.
Sheridan returned to Ireland in the late 1980s. In 1989, he directed My Left Foot (with Daniel Day-Lewis and Brenda Fricker), which became a critical and commercial success and won Day-Lewis and Fricker Academy Awards. He followed that with The Field (with Richard Harris) in 1990; then with In the Name of the Father in 1993, a fictionalised re-telling of the case of the Guildford Four. The film won the Golden Bear at the 44th Berlin International Film Festival.
In 1996 he co-wrote Some Mother's Son with Terry George. The Boxer was nominated for a Golden Globe for best film drama in 1997. The film was Sheridan's third collaboration with Day-Lewis after My Left Foot and In the Name of the Father, making him the only director to work with Day-Lewis on three films. In 2003, he released the semi-autobiographical In America, which tells the story of a family of Irish immigrants trying to succeed in New York. The film received positive reviews and earned Samantha Morton and Djimon Hounsou Academy Award nominations. In 2005 he released Get Rich or Die Tryin', a film starring rap star 50 Cent.
Sheridan directed the 2009 film Brothers, starring Tobey Maguire, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Natalie Portman, which was shot in New Mexico. He also directed the thriller Dream House, which starred Daniel Craig, Naomi Watts, and Rachel Weisz.
Filmography Films +YearTitleDirectorWriterProducerNotes1989My Left Foot1990The Field1992Into the West1993In the Name of the Father1996Some Mother's Son1997The Boxer1999Agnes Browne2002In America2005Get Rich or Die Tryin'2009Brothers2011Dream House2016The Secret Scripture201711th HourShort film2025Re-creation
Executive producer Borstal Boy (2000) On the Edge (2001) Bloody Sunday (2002) Where's Daddy! (2006) (Short film) Dollhouse (2012) Omar Sharif's Tribute (2015) (Documentary) Shelter Me: Apollo House (2018) (Documentary) First Disco (2019) (Short film)
Acting credits +TitleYearRoleNotesWords Upon the Window Pane1994Jonathan Swift / Dean SwiftThe General1998CPAD LeaderThe Bridge of San Luis Rey2004The King of SpainThe Carpenter and His Clumsy WifeNarrator (voice)Short filmWhat If2006HimselfHannah Cohen's Holy Communion2012Father O'BrienThe Family Way2017Eugene
Television series +TitleYearCredited asNotesThursday Play Date1979Writer and actorEpisode "Mobile Homes"Inside Apollo House 2017 Executive producerDocumentary Murder at the Cottage: The Search for Justice for Sophie 2021 Director and executive producer Peter O'Toole: Along the Sky Road to Aqaba 2022 Director
Music video "You Made Me the Thief of Your Heart" by Sinéad O'Connor (1994)
Awards and nominations
Academy Awards Best Adapted Screenplay – My Left Foot (1990), nomination (as co-writer) Best Director – My Left Foot (1990), nomination (as director) Best Adapted Screenplay – In the Name of the Father (1994), nomination (as co-writer) Best Director – In the Name of the Father (1994), nomination (as director) Best Picture – In the Name of the Father (1994), nomination (as producer) Best Original Screenplay – In America (2004), nomination (as co-writer)
Berlin International Film Festival 1994, Golden Bear – In the Name of the Father, winner 1998, Golden Bear – The Boxer, nomination
British Academy Film Awards Best Adapted Screenplay – My Left Foot (1990), nomination (as co-writer) Best Adapted Screenplay – In the Name of the Father (1993), nomination (as co-writer)
European Film Awards European Director of the Year – My Left Foot (1989), nomination
Golden Globe Awards Best Director – The Boxer (1997), nomination Best Screenplay – In America (2002), nomination (as co-writer)
Gregory Peck Award Lifetime Achievement – Dingle International Film Festival (2009)
Independent Spirit Awards Best Director – In America (2002), nomination
National Board of Review Best Original Screenplay – In America (2002), winner (as co-writer)
Writers Guild of America Best Original Screenplay – In America (2002), nomination (as co-writer)
Awards and nominations received by Sheridan's features Year Title Academy Awards BAFTA Awards Golden Golden AwardsNominationsWinsNominationsWinsNominationsWins1989My Left Foot525221990The Field1111993In the Name of the Father7241997The Boxer32002In America322009Brothers2Total1628214
Directed Academy Award Performances Under Sheridan's direction, these actors have received Academy Award nominations and wins for their performances in these respective roles. YearPerformerFilmResultAcademy Award for Best Actor1990Daniel Day-LewisMy Left Foot1991Richard HarrisThe Field1994Daniel Day-LewisIn the Name of the FatherAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actor1994Pete PostlethwaiteIn the Name of the Father2004Djimon HounsouIn AmericaAcademy Award for Best Actress2004Samantha MortonIn AmericaAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress1990Brenda FrickerMy Left Foot1994Emma ThompsonIn the Name of the Father
See also List of Irish film directors List of Academy Award winners and nominees from Ireland
References
External links Jim Sheridan's official website Jim Sheridan's official website - Hell's Kitchen Limited
Jim Sheridan Bibliography (via UC Berkeley)