Charlie McDowell
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2022}}
{{Short description|American film director and screenwriter (born 1983)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Charlie McDowell
| image = Charlie_McDowell.jpg
| alt =
| caption = McDowell at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival
| birth_name = Charles Malcolm McDowell
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1983|07|10}}
| birth_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| other_names =
| known_for =
| occupation = {{hlist|Film director|screenwriter}}
| spouse = {{marriage|Lily Collins|2021}}
| children = 1
| education = AFI Conservatory
| father = Malcolm McDowell
| mother = Mary Steenburgen
| relations = Ted Danson (stepfather)
Phil Collins (father-in-law)
}}
Charles Malcolm McDowell{{cite web |title=Charles Malcolm McDowell |url=https://www.californiabirthindex.org/birth/charles_malcolm_mcdowell_born_1983_15946629 |website=California Birth Index |access-date=November 18, 2019}} (born July 10, 1983){{cite web |title=Charlie McDowell |url=http://celebrity-birthdays.org/celebrity/charlie-mcdowell |website=Celebrity-birthday.sorg |access-date=April 7, 2016 |archive-date=April 19, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160419145232/http://celebrity-birthdays.org/celebrity/charlie-mcdowell |url-status=dead }} is an American-British 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.{{cite web |last=Patches |first=Matt |date=January 8, 2014 |title=Sundance Preview: Mark Duplass is Both Mentor and Star on Set of 'The One I Love'|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/sundance-preview-mark-duplass-is-669161 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |access-date=January 16, 2016}}{{cite web |last=Smith |first=Nigel M. |date=April 18, 2015 |title=The Indiewire Springboard: Meet Twitter Sensation, Published Author and Director of 'The One I Love, Charlie McDowell |url=https://www.indiewire.com/article/the-indiewire-springboard-charlie-mcdowell-the-one-i-love |website=Indiewire |access-date=January 16, 2016}} His stepfather is actor Ted Danson, who married Steenburgen in 1995.{{Cite web |last=Mattern |first=Jessica Leigh |date=September 17, 2018 |title=How Ted Danson Found Love With Mary Steenburgen After Leaving Whoopi Goldberg |url=https://www.countryliving.com/life/entertainment/a45459/ted-danson-mary-steenburgen-marriage/ |website=Country Living |language=en-US |access-date=September 25, 2019}}
Career
In 2011, McDowell's Twitter feed, @charliemcdowell, was described by Time as "one of the most hilarious Twitter feeds out there,"{{cite magazine |author=Megan Gibson |magazine=Time |date=March 28, 2011 |access-date=January 16, 2016 |url=https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2058946_2058990_2058979,00.html |title=Charlie McDowell}} and in 2013 Three Rivers Press published McDowell's book, Dear Girls Above Me, based on his Twitter feed.{{cite web |title=Dear Girls Above Me [review] |url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-307-98633-7 |work=Publishers Weekly |date=July 1, 2013}}{{cite web |last=Bielski |first=Zosia |date=June 27, 2013 |title='Forced to listen' to the girls upstairs, Charlie McDowell took to Twitter |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/relationships/forced-to-listen-to-the-girls-upstairs-charlie-mcdowell-took-to-twitter/article12873821/ |work=The Globe and Mail |access-date=January 16, 2016}}
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.{{cite magazine |last=Bahr |first=Lindsey |date=January 22, 2014 |title=Sundance: You're not supposed to know anything about 'The One I Love' |url=https://ew.com/article/2014/01/22/sundance-2014-the-one-i-love/ |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |access-date=April 7, 2016}}{{cite web |last=Fleming |first=Mike Jr. |date=January 23, 2014 |title=Sundance: Radius-TWC Acquires 'The One I Love' |url=https://deadline.com/2014/01/sundance-radius-twc-acquires-the-one-i-love-669909/ |website=Deadline |access-date=April 7, 2016 |archive-date=April 16, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160416051232/http://deadline.com/2014/01/sundance-radius-twc-acquires-the-one-i-love-669909/ |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |last=D'Alessandro |first=Anthony |date=July 19, 2014 |title=Hot Trailer: Elisabeth Moss & Mark Duplass Get Trippy In 'The One I Love' |url=https://deadline.com/2014/07/video-the-one-i-love-trailer-elisabeth-moss-mark-duplass-806675/ |website=Deadline |access-date=April 7, 2016 |archive-date=April 16, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160416033536/http://deadline.com/2014/07/video-the-one-i-love-trailer-elisabeth-moss-mark-duplass-806675/ |url-status=dead }} In 2015, McDowell directed Sarah Silverman's untitled HBO series pilot.{{cite web |last=Andreeva |first=Nellie |date=February 13, 2015 |title=Charlie McDowell To Direct HBO's Sarah Silverman Pilot, Jeremy Garelick To Helm Fox's 'Detour' |url=https://deadline.com/2015/02/charlie-mcdowell-direct-sarah-silverman-pilot-hbo-jeremy-garelick-detour-fox-1201373434/ |website=Deadline |access-date=April 7, 2016}} The project was not picked up by the network. McDowell's next film, The Discovery, starred Rooney Mara, Jason Segel, and Robert Redford.{{cite web |last=McNary |first=Dave |date=October 27, 2015 |title=Nicholas Hoult, Rooney Mara Starring in Romance 'The Discovery' |url=https://variety.com/2015/film/news/nicholas-hoult-rooney-mara-romance-the-discovery-1201628279/ |work=Variety |access-date=January 16, 2016}}{{cite web |last=Busch |first=Anita |date=March 9, 2016 |title=Robert Redford & Jason Segel Join Rooney Mara In 'The Discovery' |url=https://deadline.com/2016/03/robert-redford-jason-segel-rooney-mara-sci-fi-movie-the-discovery-1201716937/ |website=Deadline |access-date=April 7, 2016}} The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was acquired by Netflix for a global release in 2017.{{cite web |last=Jafaar |first=Ali |date=June 13, 2016 |title=Netflix Acquires The World On 'The Discovery' With Rooney Mara, Robert Redford And Jason Segel|url=https://deadline.com/2016/06/netflix-global-rights-the-discovery-rooney-mara-robert-redford-jason-segel-1201771642/ |website=Deadline |access-date=June 16, 2016}}
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.{{cite web|url=https://creativescreenwriting.com/discovery/|title=The Discovery: A Big Premise Character Piece|last=Swinson|first=Brock|date=March 30, 2017|publisher=Creative Screenwriting|access-date=March 30, 2017}} 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, was based on the infamous murder of investment banker Thomas Gilbert Sr. Bill Skarsgård and Christoph Waltz were set to portray the character in different periods of his life. Lily Collins was also set to star in the film.{{cite web |last=Sneider |first=Jeff |date=May 20, 2019 |title=Jake Gyllenhaal, Conde Nast Team to Produce True-Crime Movie 'Gilded Rage' |url=https://collider.com/jake-gyllenhaal-gilded-rage-charlie-mcdowell-conde-nast/ |website=Collider |access-date=June 10, 2020}}
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.{{cite web |date=October 8, 2020 |title=All the times Mary Steenburgen's son Charlie McDowell trolled her by pretending actress Andie MacDowell was his mother |url=https://celebrity.nine.com.au/latest/mary-steenburgens-son-charlie-mcdowell-trolls-andie-macdowell-explainer/a514b51f-ab56-43b1-a490-801e4ac8e8c9 |access-date=October 11, 2020 |website=Celebrity}}
McDowell dated Emilia Clarke from 2018 to 2019.{{cite web |last=Bonner |first=Mehera |date=December 22, 2020 |title=Here's What You Need to Know About Emilia Clarke's Dating Life |url=https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/a26713204/emilia-clarke-boyfriend-relationship-status/ |website=Cosmopolitan |access-date=August 12, 2022}} 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.{{Cite web |last=Flanagan |first=Hanna |date=October 1, 2020 |title=Lily Collins Is Engaged to Charlie McDowell: See Her Unique Diamond Ring |url=https://people.com/style/lily-collins-engaged-to-charlie-mcdowell/ |website=People |language=en-US |access-date=September 7, 2021}} They were married on September 4, 2021, in Dunton Hot Springs, Colorado.{{cite web |last=Adams |first=Abigail |date=September 7, 2021 |title=Lily Collins and Charlie McDowell Are Married: 'We Officially Became Each Other's Forever' |url=https://people.com/tv/lily-collins-charlie-mcdowell-are-married/ |website=People |language=en-US |access-date=September 7, 2021}} In 2025, Collins announced on Instagram that their first child was born via surrogacy.{{cite news|url = https://www.instagram.com/p/DFgdk4hOU10/?igsh=cGNyeXN2aGY1MjBz|title = Welcome to the center of our world Tove Jane McDowell. Words will never express our endless gratitude for our incredible surrogate and everyone who helped us along the way. We love you to the moon and back again…}}
Filmography
Short film
| class="wikitable"
! Year ! Title ! Director ! Writer |
| 2006
| Bye Bye Benjamin | {{Yes}} | {{Yes}} |
Feature film
| class="wikitable"
!Year !Title !Director !Producer !Writer |
| 2014
| {{Yes}} | {{Yes|Executive}} | {{no}} |
| 2017
| {{Yes}} | {{Yes}} | {{Yes}} |
| 2022
| Windfall | {{Yes}} | {{yes}} | {{Yes}} |
| 2024
| {{Yes}} | {{yes}} | {{no}} |
| 2025
| Lurker | {{no}} | {{yes}} | {{no}} |
Television
| class="wikitable"
!Year !Title !Notes |
| rowspan=2|2016
|2 episodes |
| Untitled Sarah Silverman project
|TV pilot |
| 2017-2018
|2 episodes |
| 2018
|Episode: "Chapter 15" |
| 2019
|On Becoming a God in Central Florida |2 episodes; |
| rowspan=2|2020
|Episode: "Parallel" |
| Dispatches from Elsewhere
|Episode: "The Boy" |
Awards and nominations
| class="wikitable" | ||||
| Year
! Association ! Category ! Title ! Result | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | San Francisco Film Critics Circle | Special Citation | The One I Love | {{won}} |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|1660595|Charlie McDowell}}
- [https://books.google.com/books?id=N6XSSXsi23MC Dear Girls Above Me] (Google Books)
- {{cite web |url=http://www.glamour.com/sex-love-life/blogs/smitten/2010/06/love-letters-to-charlie-mcdowe |title=Love Letters to Charlie McDowell of Dear Girls Above Me |author=Rosemary Brennan |date=June 21, 2010 |access-date=January 16, 2016 |work=Glamour}}
{{Charlie McDowell}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:McDowell, Charlie}}
Category:AFI Conservatory alumni
Category:American male screenwriters
Category:American people of Dutch descent
Category:American people of English descent
Category:American people of Scottish descent
Category:American people of Welsh descent
Category:Collins family (show business)