Richard Linklater

Richard Stuart Linklater (ˈlɪŋkleɪtər; born July 30, 1960) is an American filmmaker, screenwriter, and actor. Linklater is mostly known for his realistic and natural humanist films which mainly revolve around suburban culture and the effects of the passage of time. Some notable films of his include the observational comedy film Slacker (1991), the coming-of-age comedy Dazed and Confused (1993), the romantic drama film trilogy Before Sunrise (1995), Before Sunset (2004), and Before Midnight (2013); the music-themed comedy School of Rock (2003), and the rotoscope animated Waking Life (2001) and A Scanner Darkly (2006). In 2002 he began filming Boyhood (2014), a passion project which took over twelve years to finish. The film was premiered in 2014 to critical acclaim. Linklater won the Golden Globe, Critics' Choice Movie Awards and BAFTAs for Best Director and Best Picture. He also received his first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Director, along with nominations for Original Screenplay and Picture. In 2015, Time magazine named Linklater one of the 100 most influential people in the world on the annual Time 100 list. Many of his films are noted for their loosely structured narrative; two of his projects – the Before... films and Boyhood – feature the same actors filmed over an extended period of years. He is also known for loyalty to his actors, having worked with Ethan Hawke and Matthew McConaughey in many of his films.