X

Join or Sign In

Sign in to customize your TV listings

Continue with Facebook Continue with email

By joining TV Guide, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy.

Paul Verhoeven Biography

Birth Name:Paul Verhoeven

Birth Place:Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, The Netherlands

Profession Director, Writer, Producer, Actor

Fast Facts

  • Has been nominated for more than 40 awards for his work
  • Received a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002 from the Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival
  • Graduated from the University of Leiden with degrees in physics and mathematics in 1963
  • Began making films as a hobby before being drafted into the Dutch military and making documentaries about the Marines and the Navy
  • Quote: "I can't do a script if I don't see anything personal there, and it's really my sense of reality - or creating, let's say, a certain reality that I feel is as consistent as possible - that is one of the ambitions․․․that keep me going as a filmmaker․"
  • His films often include social satire and depict hyper-realistic violence or sexual content
  • Best known for his cult science fiction films "RoboCop," "Total Recall," and "Starship Troopers․"
  • Was the first person in history to accept a Razzie Award (Worst Director and Worst Picture) in person, telling the audience he was glad to win an award in America because his movies in the Netherlands were considered "decadent, perverted and sleazy․"

Awards

  • 1979LAFCA Award-Best Foreign Film: winner
  • 1983Gold Hugo-Best Feature: nominated
  • 1983International Critics' Award-: winner
  • 1984Grand Prize-: nominated
  • 1984Special Jury Award-: winner
  • 1984LAFCA Award-Best Foreign Film: winner
  • 1985Golden Calf-Best Director of a Feature Film (Beste Regie): winner
  • 1986International Fantasy Film Award-Best Film: nominated
  • 1987Best Director-: winner
  • 1987Best Film-: nominated
  • 1988Saturn Award-Best Director: winner
  • 1988C.S.T. Award-: winner
  • 1988Grand Prize-: nominated
  • 1988Hugo-Best Dramatic Presentation: nominated
  • 1989Readers' Choice Award-Best Foreign Language Film: winner
  • 1991Saturn Award-Best Director: nominated
  • 1991Hugo-Best Dramatic Presentation: nominated
  • 1992Palme d'Or-: nominated
  • 1993Saturn Award-Best Director: nominated
  • 1996Razzie Award-Worst Director: winner
  • 1998Saturn Award-Best Director: nominated
  • 1998Hugo-Best Dramatic Presentation: nominated
  • 1999Golden Calf-Best Dutch Film of the Century (Beste Nederlandse Film van de Eeuw): winner
  • 2000Audience Award-: winner
  • 2001Video Premiere Award-Best Audio Commentary: nominated
  • 2001Daytime Emmy-Outstanding Special Class Animated Program: nominated
  • 2006Golden Calf-Best Director of a Feature Film (Beste Regie): winner
  • 2006Golden Lion-: nominated
  • 2006Young Cinema Award-Best International Film: winner
  • 2007Award of the Argentinean Academy-Best Foreign Film (Mejor Película Extranjera): nominated
  • 2007BAFTA Film Award-Best Film not in the English Language: nominated
  • 2007Capri Cult Award-: winner
  • 2007EFA People's Choice Award-Best European Film: nominated
  • 2007Rembrandt Award-Best Film (Beste Nederlandse Film): winner
  • 2007SDFCS Award-Best Screenplay, Original: nominated
  • 2007Golden Capital-Best Director: winner
  • 2008FCCA Award-Best Foreign Language Film: nominated
  • 2008INOCA-Best Non-English Language Film: nominated
  • 2008Rembrandt Award-Best DVD Release (Beste DVD uitbreng): winner
  • 2016Abraccine Award-Best International Feature Film (Melhor Longa Estrangeiro): winner
  • 2016ACCA-Best Foreign Language Film: winner
  • 2016Best Film-Official Competition: nominated
  • 2016Top 10 Film Award-Best Film: nominated
  • 2016Palme d'Or-: nominated
  • 2016CineLibri Award for Masterful Literary Adaptation-Grand Prize for the Best Literary Adaptation: nominated
  • 2016European Film Award-European Director: nominated
  • 2016European Film Award-European Film: nominated
  • 2016ICP Award-Best Director: nominated
  • 2016ICS Cannes Award-Grand Prix: winner
  • 2016NOS Audience Award-Best Film: winner
  • 2016Jaeger - LeCoultre Best Film Award-Best Film: nominated
  • 2016People's Choice Award-Best Narrative Feature: nominated
  • 2016Audience Award-: nominated
  • 2016Audience Award-City of Donostia Audience Award: nominated
  • 2017EDA Award-Best Non-English Language Film: nominated
  • 2017Gemas Award-Best Film (Mejor Película): nominated
  • 2017Cinema Brazil Grand Prize-Best Foreign-Language Film (Melhor Filme Estrangeiro): nominated
  • 2017CEC Award-Best Foreign Film (Mejor Película Extranjera): nominated
  • 2017César-Best Film (Meilleur film): winner
  • 2017César-Best Director (Meilleur réalisateur): nominated
  • 2017DFCC-Best Director: nominated
  • 2017Fotogramas de Plata-Best Foreign Film (Mejor Película Extranjera): winner
  • 2017Critics Award-Best Film: winner
  • 2017Gaudí Award-Best European Film (Millor Pel·lícula Europea): winner
  • 2017Gold Derby Film Award-Foreign Language Film: winner
  • 2017Goya-Best European Film (Mejor Película Europea): winner
  • 2017ICS Award-Best Director: nominated
  • 2017INOCA-Best Non-English Language Film: nominated
  • 2017Lumiere Award-Best Film (Meilleur film): winner
  • 2017Lumiere Award-Best Director (Meilleur réalisateur): winner
  • 2017FIPRESCI Prize-Best Foreign Language Film: nominated
  • 2017Premio Guarani-Best Foreign Film: winner
  • 2017Sant Jordi-Best Foreign Film (Millor pel·lícula estrangera): winner
  • 2017SFCS Award-Best Foreign Language Film: winner
  • 2017SFCS Award-Best Director: nominated
  • 2017The Best Film-The 50 best films of 2017 in the UK: nominated
  • 2018BAFTA Film Award-Best Film Not in the English Language: nominated
  • 2018David-Best European Film (Miglior Film dell'Unione Europea): nominated
  • 2018SNCCI Award-Best Film: winner
  • 2021Top 10 Film Award-Best Film: nominated
  • 2021Queer Palm-: nominated
  • 2021Palme d'Or-: nominated
  • 2021Sebastiane Award-Best Film: nominated
  • 2021RTVE-Otra Mirada Award-: nominated
  • 2021VHS Award-Best Director: nominated
  • 2021VHS Award-Best Adapted Screenplay: nominated