Richard Eyre

Born: 28th March 1943
Where: Barnstaple, Devon, UK

Sir Richard Eyre is revered as one of Britain's most respected directors of both stage and screen.

He studied at Cambridge and became director of productions at Edinburgh's Lyceum Theatre.

Eyre went on to serve as artistic director of the Nottingham Playhouse and later the producer of the BBC's Play for Today series.

From 1988-97, he served as artistic director of Britain's Royal National Theatre, a tenure which critics have described as a golden age comparable to the Laurence Olivier era.

Under Eyre's artistic direction, the National received millions in funding and countless awards - it won 24 awards in 1992 alone.

TV work included Julius Caesar in 1960 and The Comedians in 1979 before his big screen debut with the acclaimed The Ploughman's Lunch in 1983.

Loose Connections and Laughterhouse followed and his most recent work - the biopic of writer Iris Murdoch...Iris with Judi Dench and Jim Broadbent - was a critical hit.

He is currently working on The Assumption with Juliet Binoche and Vanessa Redgrave.