Rupert Sanders

An accomplished commercial director in his native England, Rupert Sanders first made waves in Hollywood when he directed "Snow White and the Huntsman" (2012), a modern and dark retelling of the classic fairytale. Rupert Sanders was born on March 16, 1971 in Westminster, London, England. His mother, Thalia Sanders, ran a doll's house shop in Fulham, and his father, Michael Sanders, was a surgeon. Sanders, who had a degree in graphic design, launched his career directing television commercials for Nike, Adidas, Xbox, and Guinness, as well as a commercial for the video game "Halo 3: ODST" (2009), which won awards at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. With his commercials creating major buzz in his native England, he landed a meeting with American producer Joe Roth, who gave the first-time film director his biggest break yet by offering him the 2012 epic fantasy-adventure "Snow White and the Huntsman," based on the German tale by the Brothers Grimm. "Snow White and the Huntsman" starred Charlize Theron as the evil stepmother queen, Kristen Stewart as the princess who is unknowingly threatening her reign of terror, and Chris Hemsworth as the man whom the queen orders to kill Snow White. The film was a commercial success, taking in more than $400 million worldwide. Sanders followed this hit by signing on to direct the feature film "Ghost in the Shell" (2017), an adaptation of the manga created by Masamune Shirow. The story of a woman without a past who has been enhanced by cybernetics to act as a perfect soldier, the film starred Scarlett Johansson and was released in March 2017.