Sir Stephen Arthur Frears (born 20 June 1941) is a British director and producer of film and television, often depicting real life stories as well as projects that explore social class through sharply-drawn characters.

[2] Born in Leicester and educated at Gresham's School and Trinity College, Cambridge, Frears started his career working as an assistant director in theatre and film while directing many television plays.

He directed the Jeremy Thorpe BBC One biographical miniseries A Very English Scandal (2018), for which he earned a Primetime Emmy Award nomination.

[4] His mother, Ruth M. (née Danziger), was a social worker, and his father, Russell E. Frears, was a general practitioner and accountant.

[3] At the University of Cambridge, Frears was assistant stage manager for the 1963 footlights Revue, which starred Tim Brooke-Taylor, John Cleese, Bill Oddie and David Hatch.

[10] With Finney's company Memorial Productions, Frears made The Burning,[10] a 31-minute adaptation of a short story by Roland Starke.

Frears worked with Adrian Edmondson on Mr Jolly Lives Next Door, a 45-minute programme starring Peter Cook in The Comic Strip Presents television comedy series that aired on Channel Four in 1988.

The film was shot in France, with a cast that included Americans Glenn Close, John Malkovich, and Michelle Pfeiffer, and Uma Thurman.

Based on the late 18th-century French novel of romantic game-playing and adapted by Christopher Hampton, the film received seven Academy Award nominations.

In 1990, Frears directed the neo-noir crime thriller The Grifters, starring John Cusack, Anjelica Huston, and Annette Bening.

The critical consensus states: "The deft hand of director Stephen Frears and strong performances by the ensemble cast combine to tell an entertaining story with a rock-solid soundtrack.

In 2003, Frears was attached to direct the James Bond spin-off Jinx, featuring Halle Berry as her character from Die Another Day (2002) co-starring with Michael Madsen and Javier Bardem.

However, the project was cancelled due to "creative differences" between Eon Productions and MGM, and in order to focus on the reboot of the series with Casino Royale (2006).

In 2005, Frears directed the British theatre comedy Mrs Henderson Presents starring Judi Dench, Bob Hoskins.

This explored the story of Philomena Lee's 50-year search for her son, who was taken from her when she was a young unwed mother at a Catholic convent, and adopted by an American family.

The same year, HBO released Frears's television drama Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight, starring Christopher Plummer and Frank Langella.

It explores the United States Supreme Court deliberation over banning Muhammad Ali from boxing for refusing to serve in the US Army during the Vietnam War.

Frears directed a biopic of cycling champion Lance Armstrong, The Program, starring Ben Foster, which premiered in the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival.

[18] National Life Stories conducted an oral history interview (C1316/07) with Stephen Frears in 2008 for its The Legacy of the English Stage Company collection held by the British Library.

The series stars Hugh Grant as the politician Jeremy Thorpe, and Ben Whishaw as his lover Norman Scott.

Rotten Tomatoes's critical consensus reads, "Hugh Grant and Ben Whishaw impress in A Very English Scandal, an equally absorbing and appalling look at British politics and society".

[21] An adaptation by Christopher Hampton of the novel Mr Wilder and Me (2020) by Jonathan Coe, the film is scheduled to begin shooting in early 2025, produced by Jeremy Thomas.

[25] A convinced republican,[26] in April 2015, Frears was one of several celebrities who endorsed the parliamentary candidacy of Caroline Lucas at the 2015 general election, but not other Green Party candidates.

[27] In December 2019, along with 42 other leading cultural figures, Frears signed a letter endorsing the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership in the 2019 general election.

At the Primetime Emmy Awards, he was nominated for Fail Safe (2000), Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight (2013), and A Very English Scandal (2019), before winning for State of the Union (2019).