Ridley Scott

One of the more respected and prolific filmmakers in modern cinema, director-producer Ridley Scott amassed a portfolio containing some of the most critically and commercially successful movies of all time. Emerging from the world of television commercial production, Scott was nearly 40 years old by the time he helmed his first feature "The Duellists" (1977). Its lackluster reception left audiences ill-prepared for the massive impact that came next with the classic science-fiction/horror film "Alien" (1979). Although a commercial disaster at the time, "Blade Runner" (1982) would later be regarded as one of the most influential sci-fi movies ever made, while Scott's on-set behavior during production earned him a lasting reputation as an exceptionally stubborn and difficult director. The years that followed were marked by the ebb and flow of disappointment and triumph, as illustrated by efforts like "Legend" (1985), "Thelma & Louise" (1991), "White Squall" (1996) and "Gladiator" (2000). Remarkably, Scott moved into the next millennium with an even steadier output of work that included such highlights as "Black Hawk Down" (2001), "Kingdom of Heaven" (2005), "American Gangster" (2007), the "Alien" prequel-of-sorts "Prometheus" (2012) and the Academy Award-nominated science fiction comedy-thriller "The Martian" (2015). Having settled into a more efficient and actor-friendly style of filmmaking during the second half of his career, Scott enjoyed the luxury of tackling themes of personal interest on film projects endowed with budgets less-proven directors could only dream of.