DIRECTOR · BORN 1970
M. Night Shyamalan
- Born
- 6 August 1970
36 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Sep 2026
20 Interesting Facts About M. Night Shyamalan
- #003
By the age of 17, M. Night Shyamalan had completed 45 homemade films.
- #004
M. Night Shyamalan's three supernatural thrillers The Sixth Sense (1999), Unbreakable (2000) and Signs (2002) grossed more than 1.3 billion dollars worldwide.
- #006
In his youth M. Night Shyamalan shot many films using a video camera. When his theatrical films are released on DVD, he includes a scene from one of his childhood films, marking his first attempt at the same genre. The Sixth Sense (1999) includes the ghost story Nightmare on Old Gulf, Unbreakable (2000) includes the action film Millionaire, Signs (2002) includes the monster film Pictures, and The Village includes an untitled period piece.
- #007
M. Night Shyamalan keeps his offices and screening room in a converted barn in a Philadelphia suburb.
- #009
Wide Awake (1998) was one of the lowest-grossing and least profitable films of its year; by contrast, The Sixth Sense (1999) was the number 2 box-office phenomenon of 1999, surpassed only by Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999).
- #011
M. Night Shyamalan is an avid comic book fan, something also clearly visible in his film Unbreakable (2000).
- #014
The inspiration for The Sixth Sense (1999) was based on an episode of The Tale of the Dream Girl (1994) directed by David Winning.
- #015
Beginning with his first feature film Praying with Anger (1992), M. Night Shyamalan has appeared on screen in many of his own films, including subsequent supporting and minor roles in The Sixth Sense (1999), Unbreakable (2000), Signs (2002), The Village (2004) and Lady in the Water (2006).
- #016
M. Night Shyamalan was offered the chance to direct The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) but turned it down.
- #017
M. Night Shyamalan's name is pronounced "SHAH-ma-lawn."
- #020
M. Night Shyamalan was offered the chance to write and direct new versions of both Spider-Man (around 2000) and Superman or Batman (around 2002), but turned them down because he had already directed his own superhero project with Unbreakable (2000).
- #022
Shyamalan lives in Wayne, Pennsylvania, part of Philadelphia's affluent "Main Line" suburban area.
- #023
One of the first scripts he sold was titled "Labor of Love," about a man who travels across the country to prove his love for his recently deceased wife. As of January 2017 it had still not been made.
- #026
On the bonus disc of Unbreakable (2000), it is said that the film was made from what began as only the first third of the original screenplay. He said he felt no connection to the final two-thirds of the text and decided to discard them.
- #029
The Episcopal Academy that Shyamalan attended is in fact a private academy affiliated with the Episcopal Church. It is a private school located in Lower Merion, Pennsylvania, one of the wealthiest suburbs in the United States, which has at times been home to names such as Kobe Bryant and Blythe Danner.
- #031
He appeared in "The Guru," an NYU short film written and directed by Rob Schneider.
- #032
He ranked 21st on Premiere's 2003 annual Power 100 List. In 2002 he was 64th.
- #034
He ranked 30th on Premiere's 2005 Power 50 List. In 2004 he was 23rd.
- #035
He lives on the same street as Allen Iverson.
- #036
After attending the private Waldron schools and then the Episcopal Academy, he received that school's Distinguished Alumni Award in 2001.
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