Doug Liman

A neophyte director who scored a hit with his first released feature, "Swingers" (1996), Doug Liman emerged as a true auteur who balanced a high-energy visual style with richly drawn characters. After "Swingers," a low-budget indie hit made for $250,000 that managed to capture the cultural zeitgeist, Liman parlayed that film's popularity into a fruitful career as a top-shelf Hollywood director and executive producer. No less successful was his sophomore effort, "Go" (1999), which solidified his reputation as a go-to director for character-driven, youth-oriented films. But he vaulted into the mainstream limelight with his next film, "The Bourne Identity" (2001), a high-octane espionage thriller that was equal parts action and character, all the while helping to redefine the spy film. While serving as the executive producer on the ensuing films in the "Bourne" franchise, Liman had his biggest box office hit to date, "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" (2005), a huge commercial hit that was partly driven by stars Brad Pitt and Angeline Jolie engaging in a tabloid-friendly affair during and after production. He took a step back with the critically-maligned "Jumper" (2009), while also venturing into television as both a director and producer on shows like "The O.C." (Fox, 2003-07) and "Covert Affairs" (USA Network, 2010-14). The Palme d'Or-nominated political drama "Fair Game" (2010) added to Liman's already impressive résumé, and although the science fiction action thriller "Edge of Tomorrow" (2014) was a box office disappointment, it was among the best-reviewed films of Liman's career. Following the smaller-scale Iraq War drama "The Wall" (2017), Liman reteamed with "Edge of Tomorrow" star Tom Cruise for "American Made" (2017), an action comedy-drama based on real political events in 1980s Central America, maintaining Liman's reputation as a director who balanced serious themes with grand entertainment.