John Butler (director)

{{Infobox person

| name = John Butler

| image = John Butler at JDIFF 2014.jpg

| alt =

| caption = Butler at JDIFF 2014

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1972|7|4|df=y}}

| birth_place = Dublin, Ireland

| nationality = Irish

| occupation = Director, screenwriter, novelist

| years_active =

| known_for =

| notable_works =

}}

John Butler (born 4 July 1972) is an Irish director, screenwriter, and novelist. in 2011, Picador published his novel "The Tenderloin". His Television credits include the sketch show Your Bad Self, which won an IFTA for best entertainment show, plus writing and directing on The Outlaws (2021), which starred Stephen Merchant and Christopher Walken, and films directed are The Stag, Handsome Devil, and Papi Chulo. Other writing has appeared in The Irish Times, the Dublin Review and elsewhere.

Early life

Butler was born 4 July 1972,{{cite web|title=Beginner's Pluck: John Butler|url=http://www.irishexaminer.com/viewpoints/books/beginners-pluck-john-butler-156730.html|work=Irish Examiner|accessdate=13 January 2018|archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20180113171643/http://www.irishexaminer.com/viewpoints/books/beginners-pluck-john-butler-156730.html |archivedate=13 January 2018|url-status=live|date=4 June 2011}} in Dublin, Ireland. He attended Blackrock College, an all-boys Catholic school in Dublin.{{cite web |last1=Roy |first1=David |title=Back to school: Director John Butler on bringing Handsome Devil to Belfast Film Festival |url=https://www.irishnews.com/arts/2017/03/31/news/back-to-school-director-john-butler-on-bringing-handsome-devil-to-belfast-film-festival-982521/ |website=irishnews.com|date=31 March 2017 }} He then went to University College Dublin, obtaining a bachelor's degree in English Greek and Roman, and a master's degree in Film Studies.{{cite web |title=BEGINNER'S PLUCK: John Butler |url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/viewpoints/books/beginners-pluck-john-butler-156730.html |website=Irish Examiner|date=4 June 2011 }}

Career

in 2011, Picador published his novel "The Tenderloin". His TV work includes sketch show Your Bad Self (which won an IFTA for best entertainment show). His feature films are The Stag,{{cite web|last=McNeil|work=The Matinee|url= http://www.thematinee.ca/tiff2013stag/|title=THE STAG plays TIFF 2013|first=Ryan|date=15 September 2013|accessdate=3 December 2014}} about a group of former boarding schoolfriends on a stag weekend, and Handsome Devil (2016),{{cite web|accessdate=23 August 2016|url=http://www.scannain.com/irish/handsome-devil-preview|title=Irish Film Preview: John Butler's Handsome Devil|work=scannain|date=20 January 2016 }} which was featured at the Belfast Film Festival, and the Dublin International Film Festival.{{cite web|url=http://www.diff.ie/news/article/irish-premiere-of-handsome-devil-announced-as-closing-night-gala-at-adiff17|date=15 December 2016|title=Irish premiere of Handsome Devil announced as Closing Night Gala at ADIFF17|accessdate=30 May 2017|archive-date=3 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170203112108/http://www.diff.ie/news/article/irish-premiere-of-handsome-devil-announced-as-closing-night-gala-at-adiff17|url-status=dead}} and Papi Chulo. Other writing has appeared in The Irish Times, the Dublin Review and elsewhere. In 2022, he wrote and directed an episode of BBC One's The Outlaws (2022), which starred Stephen Merchant, Eleanor Tomlinson and Christopher Walken.{{cite web|url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0c70xw3 |title= BBC One The Outlaws -Series 2 Episode 1 of 6 |publisher= BBC |date= 5 June 2022}}

Personal life

Butler is gay.{{Cite web|url=https://www.joe.ie/movies-tv/star-director-handsome-devil-chat-man-united-choreography-odriscoll-lgbt-2017-ireland-586005|title=The star & director of Handsome Devil chat choreography with Brian O'Driscoll, LGBT in 2017 Ireland & inverting film stereotypes|date=21 April 2017|website=JOE.ie}} He is a supporter of Liverpool FC.

Filmography

= Films =

== As director ==

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
style="background:#ccc; text-align:center;" !scope="col"\| Title !scope="col"\| Year !scope="col" class="unsortable" \| Notes ! scope="col" class="unsortable" \| {{Tooltip\|Ref.\|Reference}}
scope=row\| George \| 2005 \| Short film; also writer \|
scope=row\| The Ballad of Kid Kanturk \| 2009 \| Short film \|
scope=row\| The Stag \| 2013 \| Also writer \|
scope=row\| Handsome Devil \| 2016 \| Also writer \|
scope=row\| Papi Chulo \| 2018 \| Also writer \|

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

style="background:#ccc; text-align:center;"

!scope="col"| Title

!scope="col"| Year

!scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes

! scope="col" class="unsortable" | {{Tooltip|Ref.|Reference}}

scope=row| George

| 2005

| Short film; also writer

scope=row| The Ballad of Kid Kanturk

| 2009

| Short film

scope=row| The Stag

| 2013

| Also writer

scope=row| Handsome Devil

| 2016

| Also writer

scope=row| Papi Chulo

| 2018

| Also writer

= Television =

== As director ==

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
style="background:#ccc; text-align:center;" !scope="col"\| Title !scope="col"\| Year !scope="col" class="unsortable" \| Notes ! scope="col" class="unsortable" \| {{Tooltip\|Ref.\|Reference}}
scope=row\| The Million Dollar Deal \| 1999 \| Documentary \|
scope=row\| Your Bad Self \| 2010 \| Director and Writer (6 episodes) \|
scope=row\| Immaturity for Charity \| 2012 \| Television film \|
scope=row\| The Outlaws \| 2021 \| Television series. Director (5 episodes) and writer (2 episodes) \|

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

style="background:#ccc; text-align:center;"

!scope="col"| Title

!scope="col"| Year

!scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes

! scope="col" class="unsortable" | {{Tooltip|Ref.|Reference}}

scope=row| The Million Dollar Deal

| 1999

| Documentary

scope=row| Your Bad Self

| 2010

| Director and Writer (6 episodes)