Martin Campbell, a master of captivating audiences, has a remarkable track record of directing successful films that have garnered widespread acclaim and commercial success. One of his most notable achievements was directing The Mask of Zorro in 1998, which received Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations and launched the international careers of Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones.
This impressive feat was followed by his direction of Vertical Limit in 2000, which received positive reviews from critics and grossed over $200 million worldwide. Additionally, Campbell is credited with revitalizing the James Bond franchise when he directed GoldenEye in 1995, Pierce Brosnan's first outing as the iconic British spy, which went on to gross over $350 million.
Campbell's involvement with the Bond franchise didn't stop there, as he also directed Daniel Craig's debut Bond feature, Casino Royale, in 2006. Born in New Zealand, Campbell began his career as a cameraman in London, where he went on to produce the controversial British feature Scum in 1979, as well as Black Joy, which was selected for competition at the Cannes Film Festival.
Campbell made his directorial debut on the British police action series The Professionals in 1977 and continued to work on popular BBC series such as Shoestring and Thames TV's Minder. By the mid-1980s, he was considered one of the U.K.'s top directors, and he directed the highly praised British telefilm Reilly: Ace of Spies in 1983.
For his work on Edge of Darkness, a five-hour BBC miniseries about nuclear contamination in England that depicted murder and high-ranking corruption, Campbell won six BAFTA awards. Campbell's first Hollywood movie was Criminal Law in 1998, and he went on to direct Defenseless in 1991 and No Escape in 1994.
Some of his notable American credits include directing HBO's Cast a Deadly Spell in 1991 and two episodes of NBC's Homicide: Life on the Street in 1993, among others. He also directed the epic romance Beyond Borders in 2003, starring Angelina Jolie and Clive Owen.
