His major successes as director include Miss Saigon, The History Boys and One Man, Two Guvnors.
He is also known for directing films such as The Madness of King George (1994), The Crucible (1996), The History Boys (2006), and The Lady in the Van (2015).
[5] He attended Manchester Grammar School[7][6][8] and went to university at Trinity Hall, Cambridge,[7] where he studied English.
[6] He also did some directing, including a production of Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill's Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny.
[3] After leaving Cambridge, Hytner's first "proper paid job" was as assistant to Colin Graham at English National Opera.
[8][10] He then directed a series of productions at the Leeds Playhouse, including The Ruling Class by Peter Barnes, an adaptation of Tom Jones and a musical version of Alice in Wonderland.
[2] Hytner was hired by producer Cameron Mackintosh to direct Miss Saigon, the next work from Les Misérables creators Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg.
"I had seen several of Nick's opera productions – Handel's 'Xerxes' and Mozart's 'Magic Flute' – as well as some of his classical plays, and he has a marvellously visual point of view," Mackintosh said.
[14] Hytner was on a percentage for both London and New York productions, allowing him (then aged 34) to never need worry about money again.
Hytner directed more films: The Crucible (1996) with Daniel Day-Lewis, The Object of My Affection (1998) and Center Stage (2000).
He also spent 15 months developing a film of the musical Chicago, to star Madonna, but the project foundered and was later made with a different director and cast.
[17] When Trevor Nunn announced that he would be leaving the National Theatre, Hytner "really felt that this time I had a strong sense of what the NT should be doing under a new Director.
These included a redefinition of how it might be possible to use the theatre spaces and opening up the NT to new audiences by lowering prices for some performances.
[21] The reduced price seasons were credited with achieving high usage for the Olivier auditorium – between 90% and 100% full during the summer months compared to a historic average of 65%, with no loss in overall income,[2] and with encouraging a younger and more diverse audience.
"[20] Hytner's latest innovation is NT Future, a £70 million scheme (of which £59 million had been raised at October 2012)[21] to open up the National's building and to contribute to the regeneration of the South Bank, to transform facilities for education and participation, and to keep ahead of new technologies and the changing needs of theatre artists and audiences.
[22][23] In his role as Director of National Theatre, he appeared on the Cultural Exchange as part of the Radio Four programme Front Row, where he chose The Marriage of Figaro by Mozart as his work of art.
[5] Although brought up in a Jewish household, Hytner said in 2010, "I'm not a believer, but I do think it is a significant part of my adventure and it fascinates me.
[59] He was elected an Honorary Fellow of Trinity Hall, Cambridge, in 2005,[60] and was Visiting Professor of Contemporary Theatre at Oxford University in 2000–01.