RATINGS: Cast & Crew

DOB: May 2, 1960

Background: Daldry was born in Dorset, England. Following his father's death from cancer when Stephen was fourteen, he joined a youth theatre group in Taunton, and when he was eighteen he received a Royal Air Force scholarship to the University of Sheffield to study English. There he became chairman of the Sheffield University Theatre Company.

Filmography: He got his start as a theater director and made his feature directing debut with "Billy Elliot" in 2000. He has directed two morre films since -- "The Hours" (2002) and "The Reader" (2008) -- and he has impressively received Oscar nominations for directing all three. He is also a two-time Tony-winner, receiving directing prizes for the play "An Inspector Calls" in 1994 and the musical adaptation of "Billy Elliot" in 2009. His next film is "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close," a 9/11-themed drama adapted from the Jonathan Safran Foer novel.

Academy Awards:

Best Director nominations:
- "The Reader" (2008); lost to Danny Boyle ("Slumdog Millionaire")
- "The Hours" (2003); lost to Roman Polanski ("The Pianist")
- "Billy Elliot" (2001); lost to Steven Soderbergh ("Traffic")

Tony Awards: Wins - Best Director of a Musical ("Billy Elliot," 2009); Best Director of a Play ("An Inspector Calls," 1994)