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Stephen Woolley

Stephen Woolley

Producer, also director · Born September 3, 1956 (70) · Marylebone, London, England, UK

2 BAFTA Awards · Oscar nominee · 2 other major award bodies

Stephen Woolley is an English film producer and director, whose prolific career has spanned over four decades, for which he was awarded the prestigious BAFTA award for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema in February 2019. As a producer he has been Oscar-nominated for The Crying Game (1992), and has also produced multi-Academy Award-nominated films including Mona Lisa (1986), Little Voice (1998), Michael Collins (1996), The End of the Affair (1999), Interview with a Vampire (1993), Carol (2016) and Living (2022). He runs the production company Number 9 Films with his partner Elizabeth Karlsen. Woolley's first film as a producer was The Company of Wolves (1984), but his career began earlier in 1976 as an usher at London's art-house cinema The Screen on the Green in Islington. He then joined the exhibition arm of film collective The Other Cinema in the West End of London, before going on to own and run his own ground breaking legendary repertory cinema, The Scala Cinema, on the same premises which later moved to Kings Cross. In the early 1980s, he established Palace Video in partnership with Nik Powell to distribute the types of cult cinema and international art films that had been the core of his Scala cinema programs. Palace Video titles included David Lynch's Eraserhead (1977), Derek Jarman's The Tempest (1979), and Werner Herzog's Fitzcarraldo (1982). It later grew into a theatrical distribution company, re-titled Palace Pictures, where Woolley was behind the UK releases of French cult film Diva (1981), Sam Raimi's The Evil Dead (1981), Nagisa Oshima's Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983), Wim Wenders' Paris, Texas (1984), the Coen brothers' Blood Simple (1984), Rob Reiner's When Harry Met Sally (1988) - as well as films by John Cassavetes, John Waters, Mike Leigh, Ken Loach, Peter Greenaway, Fassbinder, and Bertolucci. Palace Pictures moved into film production in 1984 with its first feature The Company of Wolves - directed by Neil Jordan (the first of many films Woolley and Jordan would later make together). Many of Palace Pictures projects were first supported by Channel 4, and Woolley also helped establish many first-time directors . Powell and Woolley established an association with Miramax, which distributed a number of Palace films in the United States, including Scandal (1989), A Rage in Harlem (1991), Hardware (1990) and The Crying Game (1992). Woolley had established his reputation with a series of low budget but high production value releases but began developing more ambitious projects. After the closure of Palace Pictures in 1992, Woolley and Powell went on to found Scala Pictures, where they made Backbeat (1994), Neon Bible (1995) Fever Pitch (1997) Little Voice (1998), Twenty Four Seven (1997), and a series of low budget UK features. Simultaneously, Woolley made three Studio pictures with Warner Brothers, and with Neil Jordan after their worldwide box office hit of Interview with the Vampire (1994) starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt and Michael Collins (1996 ) with Liam Neeson (which won the Golden Lion at Venice), Woolley and Jordan formed a company, Company of Wolves, funded by DreamWorks, with which they produced In Dreams (1999), The Actors (2003), Intermission (2003), and Not I (2000). Number 9 Films was set up in 2002, with longstanding producing partner Elizabeth Karlsen. Their films include When Did You Last See Your Father (2007) Breakfast on Pluto (2005), How to Lose Friends and Alienate People (2008), Made in Dagenham (2010), Byzantium (2012 ), Great Expectations (2012), Hyena (2014) Their Finest (2015),Carol (2015), Youth ( 2015 ) The Limehouse Golem (2016), On Chesil Beach (2017), Mothering Sunday (2021) and Living (2022). For 2024 Woolley and Karlsen have produced films The Salt Path which stars Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs and The Assessment starring Alicia Vikander Elizabeth Olsen and Himesh Patel, and are also in production for the upcoming UK/Japanese feature A Pale View of Hills. Reuniting once again with Kazou Ishiguro. Woolley made his directorial debut the 2005 film Stoned, a biopic of Brian Jones. And is the recipient of the highly prestigious PGA (Producers Guild Award) for the Crying Game.

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Biography from IMDb.

Born
September 3, 1956 (70)
From
Marylebone, London, England, UK
Works as
Producer, also director
Titles
60 on MovieCove · 70 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 155 days to Oct 26Up 12% in 30 days

What are Stephen Woolley's films like?

Across their 56 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Bonds.

Genres

Drama19 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 63rd percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Drama movies
Comedy14 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 74th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Comedy movies
Crime8 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 51st percentile
: browse their Crime movies
Biography6 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 70th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Biography movies
Action3 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 55th percentile
: browse their Action movies
Horror2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 49th percentile
: browse their Horror movies
Thriller2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 62nd percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Thriller movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Self
24%
Bonds
22%
Survival
15%
Morality
14%
Power
11%
Society
9%
Ideas
5%
Romantic love14 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity13 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds11 titles, browse their movies with this themeSurvival10 titles, browse their movies with this themePurpose6 titles, browse their movies with this themeJustice5 titles, browse their movies with this themeRedemption7 titles, browse their movies with this themeFreedom8 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 56 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Serious: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their serious movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 13 · Serious 15 · Dark 28

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 16 · Stylized 28 · Heightened 12

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 3 · Charged 31 · Intense 22

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 17 · Shifting 28 · Whiplash 11

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

A split, not a type: Straight-faced 32 · Some laughs 17 · Funny 7

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

A split, not a type: Slow burn 29 · Even-paced 24 · Relentless 3

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 12 · Engaged 33 · Full focus 11

Affecting: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their affecting movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

A split, not a type: Easy watch 10 · Affecting 18 · Heavy 28

Open-ended: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their open-ended movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

A split, not a type: Resolved 29 · Open-ended 18 · Ambiguous 9

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
38
Melancholic
31
Dread
13
Romantic
10
Bittersweet
10
Other
49

How their films linger

Bittersweet30 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHaunting18 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking16 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful15 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good10 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteUnsettling10 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 14 with a twist

  • Happy10
  • Bittersweet30
  • Tragic4
  • Ambiguous12

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Stephen Woolley's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 28 of their 60 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (15).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Stephen Woolley's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

70 credits, 60 with a MovieCove page; 16 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • The Salt Path(2024)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films

  • The Assessment(2024)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films

  • Another End(2024)

    Co-Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films

  • Alice, Darling(2022)

    Thanks

    Midcredits score: 30th percentile of all films

  • Living(2022)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films

  • Mothering Sunday(2021)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 43rd percentile of all films

  • Colette(2018)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films

  • On Chesil Beach(2017)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films

  • Their Finest(2016)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films

  • The Limehouse Golem(2016)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 52nd percentile of all films

  • Carol(2015)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films

  • Youth(2015)

    Co-Producer

    Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films

  • Hyena(2014)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films

  • Byzantium(2012)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films

  • Great Expectations(2012)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all films

  • Dark Blood(2012)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films

  • Midnight's Children(2012)

    Co-Producer

    Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all films

  • Made in Dagenham(2010)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 84th percentile of all films

  • Perrier's Bounty(2009)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films

  • Sounds Like Teen Spirit (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)

    Producer

  • No Flesh Shall Be Spared (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)

    Actor

  • How to Lose Friends & Alienate People(2008)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all films

  • When Did You Last See Your Father?(2007)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films

  • Stoned(2005)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 29th percentile of all films

  • Breakfast on Pluto(2005)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films

  • Return to Sender(2004)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films

  • Intermission(2003)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films

  • The Actors(2003)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films

  • The Good Thief(2002)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all films

  • Purely Belter (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)

    Executive Producer

  • The Last September (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)

    Executive Producer

  • Not I (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)

    Producer

  • Five Seconds to Spare(2000)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 16th percentile of all films

  • The End of the Affair(1999)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films

  • B. Monkey(1998)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 40th percentile of all films

  • The Lost Son(1999)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films

  • The Last Days of the Board (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)

    as Presenter

  • In Dreams(1999)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 25th percentile of all films

  • Spy Games(1999)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 7th percentile of all films

  • Little Voice(1998)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films

  • Divorcing Jack(1998)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films

  • Welcome to Woop Woop(1997)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 43rd percentile of all films

  • TwentyFourSeven(1997)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films

  • The Butcher Boy(1997)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films

  • Fever Pitch(1997)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films

  • Michael Collins(1996)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 84th percentile of all films

  • Hollow Reed(1996)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films

  • The Neon Bible(1995)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all films

  • Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles(1994)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films

  • Backbeat(1994)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films

  • The Crying Game(1992)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films

  • Waterland(1992)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 63rd percentile of all films

  • Dust Devil(1992)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all films

  • A Woman at War(1991)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films

  • The Pope Must Diet(1991)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 16th percentile of all films

  • A Rage in Harlem(1991)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 45th percentile of all films

  • The Miracle (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)

    Producer

  • Red Hot + Blue: A Tribute to Cole Porter(1990)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films

  • Hardware(1990)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 43rd percentile of all films

  • Crossing the Line(1990)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 30th percentile of all films

  • Dancin' Thru the Dark(1990)

    Co-Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films

  • Shag(1988)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films

  • Scandal(1989)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films

  • High Spirits(1988)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all films

  • The Courier (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1988)

    Executive Producer

  • Mona Lisa(1986)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films

  • Absolute Beginners(1986)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 32nd percentile of all films

  • Chinese Boxes (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)

    Executive Producer

  • The Company of Wolves(1984)

    Executive Producer · Producer

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films

  • The Oshima Gang (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1983)

    Producer

Career shape

A full career of 66 titles from 1983 to 2025.

Biggest box office

Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994)

$224M worldwide

Highest rated

Carol (2015)

Midcredits 92nd

Most popular right now

The Salt Path (2024)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting2 of 66: 2 only acting, 0 with another roleDirecting1 of 66: 0 only directing, 1 with another roleProducing63 of 66: 62 only producing, 1 with another role · typical Midcredits score63rdOther crew1 of 66: 1 only other crew, 0 with another role

By decade

1980s9 · crew1990s26 · 1 acting · 25 crew2000s12 · 1 acting · 11 crew2010s13 · crew2020s6 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

Awards

2 BAFTA Awards and 1 other major award from 11 major nominations, 1987–2023.

WinNomination
  1. 2023
    • BAFTA Award, nominated · Outstanding British Film of the Year
  2. 2019
    • BAFTA Award, won · Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema
  3. 2016
    • BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Film
    • +1 other major body · 1 nomination
      • Independent Spirit Award, nominated · Best Feature
  4. 2000
    • BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Film
  5. 1995
    • BAFTA Award, nominated
  6. 1993
    • Oscar, nominated · Best Picture
    • BAFTA Award, won
    • BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Film
    • +1 other major body · 1 win
      • Producers Guild Award, won · Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures
  7. 1987
    • BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Film

Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.

How do Stephen Woolley's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 62nd percentile, the median of all 60; across their 56 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 61st percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

61stpercentile
Typical film, the median of 56

Approval · how many liked their films

63rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 56

Reach · how many have seen their films

82ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 56

Midcredits score across 60 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up17
  • 50th to 74th25
  • 25th to 49th15
  • Below 25th3

Shape of the crowd

35 of their 60 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved1
  • Crowd Pleaser35
  • Broadly Agreed1
  • Mixed23

Most divisive · producer

Welcome to Woop Woop (1997)

69th percentile spread · 25% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · producer

Carol (2015)

Midcredits 92nd · 76% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 74/100 and the pacing 46/100 in their films, across 52 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Stephen Woolley's work okay for kids?

Across up to 28 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore, sex & nudity and frightening / intense run heavier than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore16 titles10–88 · median 61 · intenseheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity28 titles24–73 · median 56 · moderateheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity19 titles14–72 · median 43 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs17 titles32–61 · median 38 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense16 titles11–81 · median 54 · moderateheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does Stephen Woolley work with?

People who share at least 2 of Stephen Woolley's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Nik Powell shares the most, 28.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers

Mixed roles