Philip Martin

Philip Martin was a director whose focus on nonfiction and mystery often intersected in his work. His experience in TV had him directing a large number of famous and talented actors, from Kenneth Branagh to Christopher Plummer. Starting his career with TV documentaries, Martin's first major project was "Richard Hillary: A Fighter Pilot's Story" (2000), a documentary about the famed lieutenant which he wrote and directed for Oxford Film and Television. He continued to make television documentaries, many of them focused on science and innovation. His TV movie "Hawking" (BBC 2004) chronicled the life of physicist Stephen Hawking, which starred Benedict Cumberbatch as the genius in one of his first major roles. In the final installment of the "Prime Suspect" mystery series, "Prime Suspect 7: The Final Act" (BBC 2006), Martin directed another famous Brit, Helen Mirren. Martin continued with mystery in his adaptation of Agatha Christie's "Murder On The Orient Express" for the "Agatha Christie's Poirot" (ITV 1989-2013) omnibus. He stuck to the mystery genre, adding a little father/son bonding and heist into the mix, with his first feature film "The Forger" (2014). The film starred John Travolta as an art forger who gets out of prison in order to spend time with his son.