Andy Goddard

Welsh filmmaker Andy Goddard amassed an impressive c.v. of television credits, including "Torchwood" (BBC, 2006-2011), before making his debut as a feature film director with the intimate drama "Set Fire to the Stars" (2014), about the poet Dylan Thomas. Born June 5, 1968 in the southwest Wales town of Pembroke Dock, Andy Goddard made an impressive debut as writer-director with the 1997 short "Little Sisters," a stylish action-drama about a trio of teenaged Scottish girls who encounter a quartet of rowdy football fans. The film earned Goddard a 1998 BAFTA nomination for Best Short Film, and was soon followed by additional shorts before he began directing episodic series for BBC Scotland. Multiple episodes of popular series like "Stacey Stone" (BBC 2001-03) preceded the "Doctor Who" (BBC, 1963-1989, 2005- ) spinoff "Torchwood" (BBC, 2006-2011), for which Goddard became the primary director. The higher profile afforded by the popular science fiction series led to directorial assignments on mainstream hits like "Law & Order: U.K." (ITV, 2009-2014) and "Downton Abbey" (ITV, 2010-16), including its 2012 Christmas special. By 2013, Goddard was directing for American episodic television, most notably on the fantasy series "Once Upon a Time" (ABC, 2011- ). The following year, he teamed with Welsh writer and actor Celyn Jones to co-write and direct "Set Fire to the Stars" (2015), a drama about the famed poet Dylan Thomas, his friendship with admirer and fellow writer John Brinnin (played by Elijah Wood) and Thomas' ultimately self-destructive time in 1950s-era New York City. The drama earned Goddard and Jones widespread critical praise and nominations from numerous film organizations, including the Edinburgh Film Festival.