The rest of his childhood was spent in Newcastle upon Tyne, where he was educated at Kenton Comprehensive School (the musicians Ian Carr and John Walters were among his teachers there).

After working in theatre (he was a musician and performer in the experimental group People Show)[1] Figgis made his feature film debut with the low budget Stormy Monday in 1988.

His next Hollywood feature, Mr. Jones, was misunderstood by the studio, who attempted to market the downbeat story as a feelgood film, resulting in a box office flop.

He followed this up with the romantic drama One Night Stand, starring Wesley Snipes and Nastassja Kinski, but the movie received a poor response from critics and was a commercial failure.

In 2007, Figgis shot Love Live Long set between Istanbul and Bratislava on the infamous Gumball 3000 Rally, starring Sophie Winkleman and Daniel Lapaine.

[6] Figgis, since 2008, has been professor of film studies at the European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland, where he conducts intensive summer seminars.