DIRECTOR · BORN 1937
Ridley Scott
- Born
- 30 November 1937, South Shields, County Durham, England, UK
- Known for
- Alien (1979), Titanic (1997), Blade Runner (1982)
50 archived facts 7 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026
Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is a director best known for Alien, Titanic and Blade Runner.
Ridley Scott over the years
50 Interesting Facts About Ridley Scott
Interesting Facts (7)
- #001
He has worked with three Aragorns. His first theatrical film, The Duellists (1977), featured Sir Robert Stephens, who played Aragorn in the BBC radio adaptation. His breakthrough film, Alien (1979), featured John Hurt, who voiced the character in Ralph Bakshi's animated film The Lord of the Rings (1978). G.I. Jane (1997) featured Viggo Mortensen, who played the part in Peter Jackson's live-action adaptation.
- #002
He directed a Maxwell House coffee commercial starring Shakira Caine. Sir Michael Caine saw the commercial and was so taken by her beauty that he desperately searched for her. They have been married since 1973.
Ridley Scott: conversation sceneImage: Wikimedia Commons · Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 - #003
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Production Story (14)
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In 1994, he was slated to direct "Hot Zone" from a screenplay by James V. Hart, based on the 1992 New Yorker article "Crisis in the Hot Zone" by Richard Preston. The film was to star Robert Redford and Jodie Foster, and was based on the true story of the discovery of the deadly Ebola virus. Some of Scott's regular collaborators slated to work on the film included cinematographer Hugh Johnson and production designer Ken Davis. Various factors, including the development of the similarly-plotted Outbreak (1995), led to the project being canceled. The very day this happened, Scott was given a copy of the script to White Squall (1996) and decided to direct it. "Crisis in the Hot Zone" was eventually adapted as the National Geographic TV miniseries The Hot Zone (2019), with Scott serving as an executive producer.
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He was originally set to direct Dune (1984), but left the production after his older brother suddenly passed away. Scott wanted to start working as soon as possible, but Dune would take far too long to reach production. Scott decided to leave the project in favor of Blade Runner (1982), which was ready to start production immediately.
- #012
In late 2005, he was preparing to direct "The Invisible World" from a screenplay by Dana Stevens based on a treatment by Washington Post correspondent David Ignatius. The film was to star Angelina Jolie and was based on the abduction of a female journalist in Iraq. However, Jolie's pregnancy at the time halted production, putting off the project altogether. This sudden opening in Scott's schedule allowed him to direct American Gangster (2007) the following year.
- #013
Scott had already shot the footage for his first short film while studying at the Royal College of Art in 1961. It was titled Boy and Bicycle (1965). It was funded with £65 (film and processing) and a Bolex 16mm camera (for a month-long free use) by the RCA. The film would finally be completed (with music, soundtrack and titles) and copyrighted in 1965 with a £250 grant from the British Film Institute.
- #014
He disowned the theatrical cut of Kingdom of Heaven (2005) and named the Director's Cut as the definitive version. During the TIFF press conference for The Martian (2015), he said that re-editing the film was the only regret he's made in his career.
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- #021
Said that Peter Watkins's The War Game (1966), about London being nuclear-bombed had an impact on him: "I thought about it for a week after seeing it." And The Road (2009), based on Cormac McCarthy's post-apocalyptic novel: "That's really scary. I think there's a degree of uneasy accuracy. (...) We don't want to even consider that." [2016].
Behind the Scenes (3)
- #022
The famous Superbowl television commercial "1984" that Scott directed for the launch of Apple's Macintosh was filmed on Stage H at Shepperton Studios, where Scott had earlier filmed his exterior landscapes for Alien (1979). Apple paid an estimated $1 million for the one-off telecast of the commercial during Superbowl XVIII, where the Los Angeles Raiders defeated the Washington Redskins 38-9. Scott estimated a budget of approximately $350,000 for the commercial.
- #023
Coming from an army and fine arts background, he is an inveterate stickler for detail who tackles each movie project with the vehemence of a general with a battle plan. His persistent scrutiny of minutiae on the Alien (1979) shoot prompted Sigourney Weaver to complain that he cared more about his props and sets than he did about his cast.
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Characters & Cast (4)
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Of all the professional actors he has hired or worked with for his films, over 50% come from elite drama schools and the theatre, such as the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford Upon Avon, The Globe Theatre, The Old Vic and the National Theatre in London, which he feels brings as large a presence to the screen as the actors do to the stage.
- #026
Coming from an army and fine arts background, he is an inveterate stickler for detail who tackles each movie project with the vehemence of a general with a battle plan. His persistent scrutiny of minutiae on the Alien (1979) shoot prompted Sigourney Weaver to complain that he cared more about his props and sets than he did about his cast.
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Deeper Meaning (2)
- #029
He said that Peter Watkins's The War Game (1966), about London being nuclear-bombed, had an impact on him: "I thought about it for a week after seeing it." He also commented on The Road (2009), based on Cormac McCarthy's post-apocalyptic novel: "That's really scary. I think there's a degree of uneasy accuracy. (...) We don't want to even consider that." [2016]
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Career & Awards (12)
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He received a TCL Chinese Theatre handprint ceremony on May 17, 2017. His hands and feet were encased in cement outside the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California. He first set foot on the famous sidewalk in 1960, when he had no intention of entering the movie business. He was 22, fresh out of college, and after working in New York for nine months, he saved enough money to travel to L.A. on a Greyhound bus. "One of the big deals for me was to come to Hollywood," Scott remembered. "I stayed in a boarding house nearby and walked to Hollywood Boulevard. I remember standing outside and staring at the footprints. Never, ever, would I have thought that this would happen."
- #033
On 3 July 2015, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Royal College of Art in a ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall in London, at which he described how he still keeps on his office wall his school report placing him 31st out of 31 in his class, and how his teacher encouraged him to pursue what became his passion at art school.
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He directed seven actors in Oscar-nominated performances: Geena Davis, Susan Sarandon, Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Ruby Dee, Matt Damon and Christopher Plummer. Crowe won for his performance in Gladiator (2000).
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He and Michael Mann have both directed a Hannibal Lecter film. They have also both worked frequently with an actor who has played Jack Crawford. Mann directed Dennis Farina's first film, Thief (1981), and he also used him on Miami Vice (1984). Scott cast Harvey Keitel in The Duellists (1977) and Thelma & Louise (1991). Keitel went on to play Jack Crawford in Red Dragon (2002).
Ridley Scott: a sceneImage: Wikimedia Commons · Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0
Life & Family (8)
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He has dedicated several of his films to the memory of his family: Blade Runner (1982) to his brother Frank, Black Hawk Down (2001) to his mother, and The Counselor (2013) and Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014) to his brother Tony. Ridley also paid tribute to his late brother Tony at the 2016 Golden Globes, after The Martian (2015) won Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy.
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Related pages
- Matchstick Men — Ridley Scott comes up in the facts on that page
- Dolph Lundgren — Ridley Scott comes up in the facts on that page
- Irrfan Khan — Ridley Scott comes up in the facts on that page
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
- Wikipedia
- IMDb
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