Scott, Ridley (1937-…), is a British motion-picture director who works primarily in Hollywood. Scott has earned an international reputation for a series of technically dazzling films. His historical epic Gladiator (2000) won the Academy Award for best picture of the year.
Scott won praise for his first feature film, The Duellists (1977), which won the Cannes Festival prize for best first motion picture by a director. Scott’s next film, Alien (1979), is a science-fiction thriller that became a major box-office success. Blade Runner (1982) is another science-fiction film, a visually striking look at a bleak world of the future. Thelma and Louise (1991) is about two women who take to the road together to flee bad relationships with men. Black Hawk Down (2001) is a realistic war film.
Scott’s other movies include Legend (1986); Someone to Watch Over Me and Black Rain (both 1987); 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992); White Squall (1996); G. I. Jane (1997); Hannibal (2001); Matchstick Men (2003); American Gangster (2007); Body of Lies (2008); and Robin Hood (2010). His later films include Prometheus (2012); The Counselor (2013); Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014); The Martian (2015); and Napoleon (2023).
Scott was born on Nov. 30, 1937, in South Shields, in northeast England. He graduated from the motion-picture school of the United Kingdom’s Royal College of Art. Scott began his film career in England in the mid-1960’s, first as a set designer and then as a director for television. He won recognition for directing technically brilliant television commercials. Scott was knighted in 2003. His younger brother, Tony Scott, was also a filmmaker.
