Charlie McDowell explained

Charlie McDowell
Birth Name:Charles Malcolm McDowell
Birth Date:10 July 1983
Birth Place:Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Education:AFI Conservatory
Father:Malcolm McDowell
Mother:Mary Steenburgen

Charles Malcolm McDowell[1] (born July 10, 1983)[2] is an American film director and screenwriter. McDowell made his directorial film debut with the romantic thriller The One I Love (2014). He has since written and directed the Netflix drama films The Discovery (2017) and Windfall (2022).

Early life

McDowell was born on July 10, 1983, in Los Angeles, California to English actor Malcolm McDowell and American actress Mary Steenburgen. He has an older sister named Lilly (born January 22, 1981) and three younger half-brothers from his father's marriage to Kelley Kuhr.[3] [4] His stepfather is actor Ted Danson, who married Steenburgen in 1995.[5]

Career

In 2011, McDowell's Twitter feed, @charliemcdowell, was described by Time as "one of the most hilarious Twitter feeds out there,"[6] and in 2013 Three Rivers Press published McDowell's book, Dear Girls Above Me, based on his Twitter feed.[7] [8]

His debut film, The One I Love, starring Mark Duplass and Elisabeth Moss had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2014, where shortly after it was acquired by RADiUS-TWC and released in August 2014.[9] [10] [11] In 2015, McDowell directed Sarah Silverman's untitled HBO series pilot.[12] The project was not picked up by the network. McDowell's next film, The Discovery, starred Rooney Mara, Jason Segel, and Robert Redford.[13] [14] The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was acquired by Netflix for a global release in 2017.[15]

In March 2017, filmmaker McDowell announced he was adapting author Don DeLillo's novel Zero K as a limited series for FX with Noah Hawley and Scott Rudin producing.[16] McDowell previously directed an episode of Hawley's television series Legion, also for FX.

In 2019, McDowell directed the first and last episodes of the Showtime series On Becoming a God in Central Florida and also served as an executive producer. He also directed episodes of Silicon Valley, Dear White People, Tales from the Loop, and Dispatches from Elsewhere.

His next film, Gilded Rage, will be based on the infamous murder of investment banker Thomas Gilbert Sr. Bill SkarsgÄrd and Christoph Waltz are set to portray the character in different periods of his life. Lily Collins is also set to star in the film.[17]

Personal life

Since 2014, McDowell has had a running joke at his mother Mary Steenburgen's expense, claiming on numerous occasions on social media that his mother is actually actress Andie MacDowell.[18]

McDowell dated Emilia Clarke from 2018 to 2019.[19] In 2019, McDowell began a relationship with actress Lily Collins, the daughter of English drummer and singer Phil Collins. In September 2020, they announced their engagement.[20] They were married on September 4, 2021, in Dunton Hot Springs, Colorado.[21]

Filmography

Short film

Feature film

YearTitleDirectorProducerWriter
2014The One I Love
2017The Discovery
2022Windfall

Television

YearTitleNotes
2016Silicon Valley2 episodes
Untitled Sarah Silverman ProjectTV movie
2017-2018Dear White People2 episodes
2018LegionEpisode "Chapter 15"
2019On Becoming a God in Central Florida2 episodes;
Also executive producer
2020Tales from the LoopEpisode "Parallel"
Dispatches from ElsewhereEpisode "The Boy"

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Charles Malcolm McDowell . California Birth Index . November 18, 2019.
  2. Web site: Charlie McDowell . Celebrity-birthday.sorg . April 7, 2016 . April 19, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160419145232/http://celebrity-birthdays.org/celebrity/charlie-mcdowell . dead .
  3. Web site: Patches . Matt . January 8, 2014 . Sundance Preview: Mark Duplass is Both Mentor and Star on Set of 'The One I Love'. The Hollywood Reporter . January 16, 2016.
  4. Web site: Smith . Nigel M. . April 18, 2015 . The Indiewire Springboard: Meet Twitter Sensation, Published Author and Director of 'The One I Love, Charlie McDowell . Indiewire . January 16, 2016.
  5. Web site: Mattern . Jessica Leigh . September 17, 2018 . How Ted Danson Found Love With Mary Steenburgen After Leaving Whoopi Goldberg . Country Living . en-US . September 25, 2019.
  6. Megan Gibson . Time . March 28, 2011 . January 16, 2016 . Charlie McDowell.
  7. Web site: Dear Girls Above Me [review] ]. Publishers Weekly . July 1, 2013.
  8. Web site: Bielski . Zosia . June 27, 2013 . 'Forced to listen' to the girls upstairs, Charlie McDowell took to Twitter . The Globe and Mail . January 16, 2016.
  9. Bahr . Lindsey . January 22, 2014 . Sundance: You're not supposed to know anything about 'The One I Love' . Entertainment Weekly . April 7, 2016.
  10. Web site: Fleming . Mike Jr. . January 23, 2014 . Sundance: Radius-TWC Acquires 'The One I Love' . Deadline . April 7, 2016 . April 16, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160416051232/http://deadline.com/2014/01/sundance-radius-twc-acquires-the-one-i-love-669909/ . dead .
  11. Web site: D'Alessandro . Anthony . July 19, 2014 . Hot Trailer: Elisabeth Moss & Mark Duplass Get Trippy In 'The One I Love' . Deadline . April 7, 2016 . April 16, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160416033536/http://deadline.com/2014/07/video-the-one-i-love-trailer-elisabeth-moss-mark-duplass-806675/ . dead .
  12. Web site: Andreeva . Nellie . February 13, 2015 . Charlie McDowell To Direct HBO's Sarah Silverman Pilot, Jeremy Garelick To Helm Fox's 'Detour' . Deadline . April 7, 2016.
  13. Web site: McNary . Dave . October 27, 2015 . Nicholas Hoult, Rooney Mara Starring in Romance 'The Discovery' . Variety . January 16, 2016.
  14. Web site: Busch . Anita . March 9, 2016 . Robert Redford & Jason Segel Join Rooney Mara In 'The Discovery' . Deadline . April 7, 2016.
  15. Web site: Jafaar . Ali . June 13, 2016 . Netflix Acquires The World On 'The Discovery' With Rooney Mara, Robert Redford And Jason Segel. Deadline . June 16, 2016.
  16. Web site: The Discovery: A Big Premise Character Piece. Swinson. Brock. March 30, 2017. Creative Screenwriting. March 30, 2017.
  17. Web site: Sneider . Jeff . May 20, 2019 . Jake Gyllenhaal, Conde Nast Team to Produce True-Crime Movie 'Gilded Rage' . Collider . June 10, 2020.
  18. Web site: October 8, 2020 . All the times Mary Steenburgen's son Charlie McDowell trolled her by pretending actress Andie MacDowell was his mother . October 11, 2020 . Celebrity.
  19. Web site: Bonner . Mehera . December 22, 2020 . Here's What You Need to Know About Emilia Clarke's Dating Life . Cosmopolitan . August 12, 2022.
  20. Web site: Flanagan . Hanna . October 1, 2020 . Lily Collins Is Engaged to Charlie McDowell: See Her Unique Diamond Ring . People . en-US . September 7, 2021.
  21. Web site: Adams . Abigail . September 7, 2021 . Lily Collins and Charlie McDowell Are Married: 'We Officially Became Each Other's Forever' . People . en-US . September 7, 2021.