Stephen Hopkins is a Jamaican-born British director and producer of film and television. He directed Predator 2, A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child, Blown Away, The Ghost and the Darkness, Lost in Space, Under Suspicion and The Life and Death of Peter Sellers. He also produced and directed several episodes of the first season of 24.
Biography
Hopkins was born in Jamaica and grew up in the USA and England, arriving in England in the 1960s. He had aspirations to be a comic book artist but said "I wasn’t really good enough I don’t think or wasn’t applied enough and it was a lonely job." He began doing story boards for rock videos for artists such as Duran Duran and became a designer for directors like Russell Mulcahy, David Mallett, Brian Grant, and Steve Barron, before moving into directing videos himself.
Russell Mulcahy invited Hopkins to direct second unit on Highlander and he directed concert films for artists such as Mick Jagger.
He went on to make Predator 2, of which he said, "I'm pretty immature, really, so it was kind of a laugh". Stephan James plays Jesse Owens, opposite Jason Sudeikis and Jeremy Irons. The film was released in February 2016.
Hopkins said that after Predator 2 he "looked around for a good film for a long time, and I couldn't get anything I wanted to do... I didn't realise the Hollywood trick. In American action movies, people get shot to death and their arms are blown off, and they get up and they're fine. These films are supposed to be fun things that people can laugh at. I always thought, 'That's wrong, that's not what violence is like.' I took these films too seriously and tried to add profound depths, and that's not what's wanted. You either do that film or you do the other one, but I kept mixing the two up, and probably unsuccessfully.'"
in 2019 Hopkins directed the pilot episode for a potential The Dark Tower series for Amazon. However Amazon passed on the series.
In 2023 Hopkins directed the 6 episode globe trotting spy thriller Liaison starring Vincent Cassel and Eva Green. He is also a producer on the series.
Filmography
Film
{| class="wikitable"
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! Year
! Title
! Director
! Producer
! Writer
! Notes
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| 1987
| Dangerous Game
|
|
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| 1989
| A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child
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|
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| 1990
| Predator 2
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| 1993
| Judgment Night
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|
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| 1994
| Blown Away
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|
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|-
| 1996
| The Ghost and the Darkness
|
|
|
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|-
| 1998
| Lost in Space
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|
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|-
| 1999
| Tube Tales
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|
|
| Segment "Horny"
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| 2000
| Under Suspicion
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|-
| 2007
| The Reaping
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| 2016
| Race
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| 2019
| Seberg
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|}
Television
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Director
! Executive<br>Producer
! Notes
|-
| 1991-94
| Tales from the Crypt
|
|
| 3 episodes
|-
| 2001-02
| 24
|
|
| 13 episodes
|-
| 2007-13
| Californication
|
|
| 3 episodes
|-
|rowspan=2|2009
| The Unusuals
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|
| Episode "Pilot"
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| In Plain Sight
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|
| Episode "Gilted Lily"
|-
| 2011
| Shameless
|
|
| Episode "Aunt Ginger"
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| 2012-14
| House of Lies
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|
| 24 episodes
|-
| 2016-17
| 24: Legacy
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|
| 3 episodes
|-
| 2019
| The Dark Tower
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|
| Unsold pilot
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| 2020
| The Fugitive
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|
| 14 episodes
|-
| 2023
| Liaison
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| 6 episodes
|}
TV movie
- The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (2004)
Miniseries
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Director
! Executive<br>Producer
! Notes
|-
| 2004
| Traffic
|
|
| Co-directed with Eric Bross
|-
| 2010
| Thorne
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|
| 3 episodes
|-
| 2016
| Houdini & Doyle
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|
| Episodes "The Maggie's Redress" and "A Dish of Adharma"
|}
Awards and nominations
Fantasporto
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Category
! Result
|-
|rowspan=2|1989
|rowspan=2|A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child
| Critics Award
|
|-
|rowspan=2|Best Film
|
|-
| 1990
| Predator 2
|
|}
Primetime Emmy Awards
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Category
! Result
|-
|rowspan=2|2001-02
|rowspan=2|24
| Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series
|
|-
| Outstanding Drama Series
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|-
|rowspan=2|2004
| Traffic
| Outstanding Miniseries or Movie
|
|-
| The Life and Death of Peter Sellers
| Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special
|
|}
Cannes Film Festival
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Category
! Result
|-
| 2004
| The Life and Death of Peter Sellers
| Palme d'Or
|
|}
Directors Guild of America
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Category
! Result
|-
| 2001
| 24
| Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Series
|
|-
| 2004
| The Life and Death of Peter Sellers
| Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television
|
|}
Gemini Awards
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Category
! Result
|-
| 2010
| Thorne
| Best Direction in a Dramatic Program or Miniseries
|
|}