Alex Proyas is an Australian film director, screenwriter and producer. Alex is best known as the director of the films Dark City, I, Robot, Knowing, and Gods of Egypt. Alex is also known as the director of the 1994 film The Crow, his directorial debut.
Early Life[]
Alexander Proyas was born in Alexandria, Egypt to Greek parents. When he was three years old he moved with his family to Sydney Australia. When he was 17, Alex attended the Australian Film, Television, and Radio School.
Career[]
After graduating from school, Alex started directing music videos. He eventually moved to the United States to further his career and he began working on MTV music videos and TV commercials after moving to Los Angeles, California. The first film that Alex directed was the independent sci-fi thriller Spirits of the Air, Gremlins of the Clouds which have been nominated for two Australian Film Institute Awards in 1988 and won a Special Prize at the 1990 Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival.
In 1994, Alex directed The Crow, a film starring Brandon Lee. Unfortunately, a few days before filming finished, Brandon was killed in an on-set accident on March 31, 1993. Alex was faced with the decision to either complete the film without Brandon or leave it unfinished. However, with the support of Brandon’s mother and fianceé, Alex opted to finish the film, having the incomplete scenes re-written, and filming the rest of the film using stunt doubles and special-effects. The film was released in May 1994 to critical and commercial success.
In 1998, Alex wrote, directed and produced the sci-fi thriller Dark City which received critical acclaim and won several awards but was a commercial failure. In 2004, Alex directed I, Robot, another sci-fi film which was a box office success but had mixed reviews. He also directed the film Knowing which was released in Melbourne, Australia in March 2008 and opened in North America in March 2009.
Alex was planning to direct an action oriented adaptation of John Milton’s poem Paradise Lost starring Bradley Cooper, but the project was cancelled due to budget concerns.
More recently, Alex directed the 2016 film Gods of Egypt starring Nikolaj Coster- Waldau. The film was a critical and commercial failure and was nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award for worst picture and Alex was nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award for worst director.
Personal Life[]
Alex has long been married to actress Cathy Linsley. Cathy worked in the art department for Alex’s first feature film.
Trivia[]
- Alex Proyas is bilingual and can speak English and fluent Greek
- Has his own production company in his own country of Australia
- Is vocal about his distaste for a sequel for The Crow