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Person

Guy Ritchie

Director / Writer / Producer

2 titles

  • Date of Birth: 1968-09-10 (age 58)
  • Nationality: United KingdomUnited Kingdom
  • Place of birth: Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Mini Bio

Guy Stuart Ritchie (born 10 September 1968) is an English film director, producer and screenwriter. His work includes British gangster films and the Sherlock Holmes films starring Robert Downey Jr. Ritchie left school at the age of 15. He worked in entry-level jobs in the film industry before directing television commercials. In 1995, he directed a short film, The Hard Case, followed by the crime comedy Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels(1998), his feature-length directorial debut. He gained recognition with his second film, Snatch (2000), which was found to be critical and commercially successful. Following Snatch, Ritchie directed Swept Away (2002), a critically panned box-office bomb starring Madonna, to whom Ritchie was married between 2000 and 2008. He went on to direct Revolver (2005) and RocknRolla (2008), which were less successful and received mixed reviews. In 2009 and 2011, he directed the box-office hits Sherlock Holmes and its sequel, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. The former was nominated for Academy Awards in Best Original Score and Best Art Direction. His other directed films include The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015), based on the 1960s television series King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017), and Aladdin (2019), Disney's live-action adaptation of their 1992 animated film which grossed over $1 billion worldwide, becoming one of the highest-grossing films in 2019 and the highest-grossing film of Ritchie's career. In 2019, he returned to crime comedy with The Gentlemen (2019), which was mainly well-received and a commercial success. He subsequently reteamed with Jason Statham on the action films Wrath of Man (2021) and Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre (2023). His second film of 2023, The Covenant, received generally positive reviews.

Backstage

  • Guy Ritchie at an event for RocknRolla (2008)
  • Holds a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
  • Dropped out of school when he was 15.
  • Was first introduced to his wife Madonna by Sting & Trudie Styler at their country estate. Sting was later made godfather of their first-born son, Rocco Ritchie.
  • Robbie Williams' song, "She's Madonna," is about him and how he broke up with his former partner to be with Madonna.
  • Has a stepdaughter: Lourdes Leon (b. October 14, 1996) with ex-wife, Madonna.
  • He has expressed a desire to direct the sequel to Suicide Squad (2016).
  • During the MTV Movie Awards, Will Smith arrived on a horse to perform the
  • Attended the wedding of Catherine Princess of Wales and Prince William of Wales.
  • Has 5 children: son, Rocco Ritchie (b. August 11, 2000) & adoptive son, David Banda Mwale Ciccone Ritchie (b. September 24, 2005) with ex-wife, Madonna and son, Rafael Ritchie (b. September 5, 2011), daughter, Rivka Ritchie (b. November 29, 2012) & son, Levi Ritchie (b. June 8, 2014) with wife, Jacqui Ainsley.
  • Matthew Vaughn was best man at his wedding to Madonna.
  • He is an avid martial artist who holds black belts in Shotokan Karate, Judo and Brazillian Jiu Jitsu.
  • Ritchie is one of only two directors with films on both the IMBb Top 250 and Bottom 100. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) and Snatch (2000) are on the Top 250, while Swept Away (2002) is the on the Bottom 100. The only other director to accomplish this feat is John McTiernan.
  • Gwyneth Paltrow was the maid of honor at his wedding to Madonna.
  • He and wife Madonna adopted a boy from Malawi, David Banda Mwale Ciccone Ritchie (born September 24, 2005). They filed the adoption papers on October 10, 2006, and the adoption was finalized on May 28, 2008.
  • Was originally set to direct Layer Cake (2004), but dropped out due to other commitments. It was directed by his previous collaborator Matthew Vaughn.
  • Godfather of his son David is Rupert Everett.
TV Series

TV Series

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