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Richard Linklater Biography

Birth Place:
Houston, Texas, United States
Profession
Director, actor, screenwriter, producer

Fast Facts

  • Earned a college baseball scholarship and played for two years before an arrhythmic heart condition ended his baseball career
  • Left college to work on an offshore oil rig
  • Is a self-taught filmmaker
  • Founded the Austin Film Society in 1985 and serves as its artistic director
  • Several of his films, including Slacker (1991) and Dazed and Confused (1993), are set in his home state of Texas
  • Founded Detour Filmproduction (a film-production company based in Austin)
  • In 2006, he became the first director to showcase two films (Fast Food Nation and A Scanner Darkly) at the Cannes Film Festival
  • The subject of his 2011 film Bernie, convicted murderer Bernie Tiede, was released from prison in 2014; one of the conditions of his release was that he had to live in Linklater's garage apartment
  • Is a vegetarian

Awards

  • 2017Emmy-Outstanding Children's Program: nominated
  • 2015BAFTA Film Awards-Best Film: winner
  • 2015David di Donatello Awards-Best Foreign Film: nominated
  • 2015Bodil Awards-American Film of the Year: winner
  • 2015Robert Awards-American Film of the Year: winner
  • 2015César Awards-Best Foreign Film: nominated
  • 2015BAFTA Film Awards-Best Director: winner
  • 2015BAFTA Film Awards-Best Original Screenplay: nominated
  • 2015Guldbagge Award-Best Foreign Movie: nominated
  • 2015Writers Guild Awards-Original Screenplay: nominated
  • 2015Producers Guild Awards-Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures: nominated
  • 2015Critics' Choice Movie Awards-Best Original Screenplay: nominated
  • 2015Critics' Choice Movie Awards-Best Director: winner
  • 2015Golden Globe-Best Screenplay - Motion Picture: nominated
  • 2015Golden Globe-Best Director - Motion Picture: winner
  • 2015Independent Spirit Awards-Best Director: winner
  • 2015Independent Spirit Awards-Best Feature: nominated
  • 2014Critics' Choice Movie Awards-Best Adapted Screenplay: nominated
  • 2014Writers Guild Awards-Adapted Screenplay: nominated
  • 2014Los Angeles Film Critics Association-Best Director: winner
  • 2014Oscar-Best Writing (Original Screenplay): nominated
  • 2014Oscar-Best Achievement in Directing: nominated
  • 2014Oscar-Best Motion Picture of the Year: nominated
  • 2014Directors Guild of America Awards-Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film: nominated
  • 2014National Society of Film Critics-Best Director: winner
  • 2014Independent Spirit Awards-Best Screenplay: nominated
  • 2014Berlin Film Festival-Silver Bear for Best Director: winner
  • 2014Robert Awards-American Film of the Year: nominated
  • 2014New York Film Critics Circle-Best Director: winner
  • 2013Independent Spirit Awards-Best Feature: nominated
  • 2013Oscar-Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay): nominated
  • 2006Austin Film Critics-Austin Film Award: winner
  • 2005Writers Guild Awards-Adapted Screenplay: nominated
  • 2005Independent Spirit Awards-Best Screenplay: nominated
  • 2004Oscar-Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay): nominated
  • 2003Tribeca Film Festival-Best Documentary Short, Special Citation: winner
  • 2002Independent Spirit Awards-Best Director: nominated
  • 2002Independent Spirit Awards-Best Screenplay: nominated
  • 2001Venice Film Festival-CinemAvvenire Award for Best Film in Competition: winner
  • 1995Berlin Film Festival-Silver Bear for Best Director: winner
  • 1992Independent Spirit Awards-Best First Feature: nominated
  • 1992Independent Spirit Awards-Best Director: nominated

Relationships