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Alex Winter

Highest Rated: 100% The Panama Papers (2018)

Lowest Rated: 16% Death Wish 3 (1985)

Birthday: Jul 17, 1965

Birthplace: London, England, UK

Alex Winter found early fame as one half of "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" (1989) before later finding acclaim as a documentary filmmaker. Born in London, the son of professional dancers, he moved with his mother to the United States as a child. After his family relocated to the New York area while he was in his early teens, he began acting in stage productions both on and off Broadway. He attended New York University's famed film school and then relocated to Los Angeles to continue his acting career. He made his screen debut in the Charles Bronson action film "Death Wish 3" (1985). A role as one of Kiefer Sutherland's gang of vampires in "The Lost Boys" (1987) brought Winter to the attention of a larger audience. He stepped up to a starring role when he teamed with Keanu Reeves for "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure." The dimwitted pairs' time-traveling romp connected with audiences and was a hit. The film spawned a sequel, "Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey" (1991), as well as an animated series, "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" (CBS, 1990), that saw Winter reprising his role as Bill S. Preston. Outside of the franchise, he also starred in the comedy "Rosalie Goes Shopping" (1989). As his acting career slowed, he turned increasingly towards directing. He had directed the music video for the Red Hot Chili Peppers' song "Taste the Pain" in 1989, and made his feature debut with "Freaked" (1993). He continued directing music videos throughout the '90s, before writing and directing the drama "Fever" (1999), starring Henry Thomas. He moved into directing television, including the TV movies "Ben 10: Race Against Time" (2007) and "Ben 10: Alien Swarm" (2009). He started down a different path when he directed the documentary "Downloaded" (VH1, 2013) about the music file-sharing software Napster. His next effort "Deep Web" (Epix, 2015), exploring the Internet's so-called "Dark Web," earned him critical praise. A pair of short-form documentaries followed; "Relatively Free" (2016), about the prison release of journalist Barrett Brown, and "Trump's Lobby" (2017), which looked at Donald Trump's transition into the presidency. Winters earned a new level of acclaim with his documentary "The Panama Papers" (Epix, 2018), telling the story of the work by journalists around the world to uncover a global financial conspiracy. He continued gaining notice as a documentarian with "Trust Machine" (2018), which explored the rise of cryptocurrency. The filmmaker also partnered with the estate of Frank Zappa to for a documentary on the life of the musician. Winters never completely left acting, frequently appearing in small roles in his non-documentary directing efforts, and joining Elijah Wood and John Cusack in the thriller "Grand Piano" (2013).

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Highest rated movies

100% 78% The Panama Papers
Watchlist
100% 91% This is GWAR
Watchlist
96% 81% Zappa
Watchlist
92% 74% Showbiz Kids Watchlist 89% 79% Trust Machine: The Story of Blockchain Watchlist 84% 67% The YouTube Effect Watchlist 83% 64% Bill & Ted Face the Music Watchlist
83% 84% Blue's Big City Adventure
Watchlist
83% 75% Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
Watchlist
79% 47% Grand Piano
Watchlist

Filmography

Movies

Credit
No Score Yet No Score Yet Adulthood Unknown (Character),
Director,
Producer
- 2025
71% 68% Destroy All Neighbors Vlad (Character),
Producer
- 2024
84% 67% The YouTube Effect Director,
Screenwriter,
Producer
- 2022
83% 84% Blue's Big City Adventure Unknown (Character) - 2022
100% 91% This is GWAR Self - 2021
96% 81% Zappa Director,
Writer,
Producer
$14.4K 2020
83% 64% Bill & Ted Face the Music Bill (Character),
Executive Producer
$3.4M 2020
92% 74% Showbiz Kids Director - 2020
No Score Yet 83% In Search of the Last Action Heroes Self - 2019
100% 78% The Panama Papers Director,
Screenwriter,
Producer
- 2018
89% 79% Trust Machine: The Story of Blockchain Director,
Writer,
Producer
- 2018
79% 71% Deep Web Director,
Writer,
Producer
- 2015
No Score Yet 42% SMOSH: The Movie! Director - 2015
71% 67% Downloaded Director,
Writer,
Producer
$8.3K 2013
79% 47% Grand Piano Assistant (Character) $22.4K 2013
No Score Yet 48% Ben 10: Alien Swarm Nanomech (Voice),
Director,
Executive Producer
- 2009
No Score Yet 47% Ben 10: Race Against Time Director - 2007
57% 34% Fever Director,
Writer
$4.1K 1999
56% 66% Freaked Ricky Coogan (Character),
Director,
Screenwriter,
Producer
$14.2K 1993
56% 56% Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey Bill/Granny Preston (Character) $38.0M 1991
60% 65% Rosalie Goes Shopping Schatzi Greenspace (Character) $10.5K 1989
83% 75% Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure Bill S. Preston, Esq. (Character) $39.1M 1989
No Score Yet 82% Haunted Summer John Polidori (Character) $4.7K 1988
75% 85% The Lost Boys Marko (Character) $31.7M 1987
16% 53% Death Wish 3 Hermosa (Character) $15.9M 1985

TV

Credit
No Score Yet 44% The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Guest 2020
No Score Yet 42% Jimmy Kimmel Live! Guest 2020
No Score Yet 55% The Kelly Clarkson Show Guest 2020
No Score Yet 50% The Late Show With Stephen Colbert Guest 2020
No Score Yet No Score Yet Josh Gates Tonight Guest 2020
85% 85% Betas Director 2013
No Score Yet 84% Robot Chicken Unknown (Guest Voice) 2012
No Score Yet 86% Blue Mountain State Director 2011
90% 83% Bones Monte Gold (Guest Star) 2007
60% No Score Yet Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventures Bill S. Preston Esq. (Voice) 1990
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Equalizer Jeffrey (Guest Star) 1985