Biography
Sir Samuel Alexander Mendes CBE (born 1 August 1965) is a British film and stage director, producer, and screenwriter. In 2000, Mendes was appointed a CBE for his services to drama, and he was knighted in the 2020 New Year Honours List. In 2000, Mendes was awarded the Shakespeare Prize by the Alfred Toepfer Foundation in Hamburg, Germany. In 2005, he received a lifetime achievement award from the Directors Guild of Great Britain. In 2008, The Daily Telegraph ranked him number 15 in their list of...
Known For
Complete Filmography

Hamnet
2025
Producer
Agnes Shakespeare – the wife of the world's most famous writer – struggles to come to terms with the loss of her only son, Hamnet.

What They Found
2025
Director
The story of two soldier-cameramen, Sgt Mike Lewis and Sgt Bill Lawrie, who witnessed the liberation of Belsen during the closing days of World War II...

The End
2024
Executive Producer
Twenty-five years after environmental collapse left the Earth uninhabitable, Mother, Father and Son are confined to their palatial bunker, where they ...

National Theatre Live: The Motive and the Cue
2024
Director
In 1964, Richard Burton, newly married to Elizabeth Taylor, is to play the title role in an experimental new Broadway production of Hamlet under Sir J...

Empire of Light
2022
Producer, Director, Writer
The duty manager of a seaside cinema, who is struggling with her mental health, forms a relationship with a new employee on the south coast of England...

The Sound of 007
2022
as Self
Pull back the curtain on the remarkable history of six decades of James Bond music, from Sean Connery’s Dr No through to Daniel Craig’s final outing ...

Ben Stokes: Phoenix from the Ashes
2022
as Self
From breathtaking highs — a World Cup win, an astonishing last stand in the Ashes, and an inspiring England captaincy — to the lows — a trial for affr...

Ben Stokes: Phoenix from the Ashes
2022
Creator, Executive Producer
From breathtaking highs — a World Cup win, an astonishing last stand in the Ashes, and an inspiring England captaincy — to the lows — a trial for affr...

Being James Bond
2021
as Self (archive footage)
Daniel Craig candidly reflects on his 15 year adventure as James Bond. Including never-before-seen archival footage from Casino Royale to the upcoming...

Allied Forces: Making 1917
2020
as Self
Learn how the one shot, 360-degree format was executed and the pivotal role Academy Award® winner Roger Deakins served in bringing Sam Mendes’ vision ...

1917
2019
Screenplay, Director, Producer
At the height of the First World War, two young British soldiers must cross enemy territory and deliver a message that will stop a deadly attack on hu...

National Theatre Live: The Lehman Trilogy
2019
Director, Stage Director
On a cold September morning in 1844 a young man from Bavaria stands on a New York dockside. Dreaming of a new life in the new world. He is joined by h...

Baby Driver
2017
Thanks
After being coerced into working for a crime boss, a young getaway driver finds himself taking part in a heist doomed to fail.

Jill Bilcock: The Art of Film Editing
2017
as Himself
Australian film editor Jill Bilcock is one of the world's most sought after film editors, having edited beloved films such as STRICTLY BALLROOM, ROMEO...

Judi Dench: All the World's Her Stage
2016
as Self
This documentary celebrates one of Britain’s greatest actors, Dame Judi Dench, and looks back over her remarkable 60-year career.

Spectre
2015
Director
A cryptic message from Bond’s past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organization. While M battles political forces to keep the secret servic...

NOW: In the Wings on a World Stage
2014
as Himself
Kevin Spacey, Sam Mendes and the Bridge Project Company go on the road in NOW: in the Wings on a World Stage. In over 200 performances, and across 3 c...

National Theatre Live: King Lear
2014
Stage Director, Director
An aged king decides to divide his kingdom between his three daughters, according to which of them is most eloquent in praising him. His favourite, Co...

Skyfall
2012
Director
When Bond's latest assignment goes gravely wrong, agents around the world are exposed and MI6 headquarters is attacked. While M faces challenges to he...

Everything or Nothing
2012
as Self
The story of three men with a shared dream: James Bond franchise producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, and Bond creator and author Ian Flem...

Out of the Ashes
2010
Executive Producer
Against a backdrop of war and poverty, Out of the Ashes, traces the extraordinary journey of a team of young, Afghan men, as they chase a seemingly im...

A Cinematic Life: The Art and Influence of Conrad Hall
2010
as Self

Away We Go
2009
Director
Verona and Burt have moved to Colorado to be close to Burt's parents but, with Verona expecting their first child, Burt's parents inexplicably decide ...

Revolutionary Road
2008
Director, Producer
A young couple living in a Connecticut suburb during the mid-1950s struggle to come to terms with their personal problems while trying to raise their ...

The Kite Runner
2007
Executive Producer
After spending years in California, Amir returns to his homeland in Afghanistan to help his old friend Hassan, whose son is in trouble.

Things We Lost in the Fire
2007
Producer
A recent widow invites her husband's troubled best friend to live with her and her two children. As he gradually turns his life around, he helps the f...

Starter for 10
2006
Executive Producer
In 1985, against the backdrop of Thatcherism, Brian Jackson enrolls in the University of Bristol, a scholarship boy from seaside Essex with a love of ...

Who Needs Sleep?
2006
as Self
A documentary that highlights the deadly combination of sleep deprivation and long days of work, focusing on the American film industry.

Jarhead
2005
Director
Jarhead is a film about a US Marine Anthony Swofford’s experience in the Gulf War. After putting up with an arduous boot camp, Swofford and his unit a...

Road to Perdition
2002
Director, Producer
Mike Sullivan works as a hit man for crime boss John Rooney. Sullivan views Rooney as a father figure, however after his son is witness to a killing, ...

American Beauty: Look Closer...
2000
as Self
A promotional short documentary on the making of the film American Beauty, directed by Sam Mendes and written by Alan Ball.

Still Tickin': The Return of 'A Clockwork Orange'
2000
as Self
Produced by Channel 4, Still Tickin´: The Return of A Clockwork Orange examines the controversy over Kubrick’s iconic film, explaining the film’s “dem...

American Beauty
1999
Director
Lester Burnham, a depressed suburban father in a mid-life crisis, decides to turn his hectic life around after developing an infatuation with his daug...

Company
1996
as Self
Set in modern upper-crust Manhattan, an exploration of love and commitment as seen through the eyes of a charming perpetual bachelor questioning his s...

Company
1996
Director
Set in modern upper-crust Manhattan, an exploration of love and commitment as seen through the eyes of a charming perpetual bachelor questioning his s...

Cabaret
1993
Director
Filmed live from the 1993 revival, Sam Mendes' directorial debut takes place at the Donmar Warehouse in London's West End. Jane Horrocks stars as caba...
Beautiful Ruins
N/A
Producer
Off the Ligurian Sea on the Italian Coast in the year 1962, an American actress comes to stay in a hotel, owned by the family of a young man named Pas...

The Beatles: Paul
N/A
Director, Producer
One of four biopics—all to be released in April 2028—focusing on individual members of The Beatles, this one telling the story of the group from the p...

The Beatles: George
N/A
Director, Producer
One of four biopics—all to be released in April 2028—focusing on individual members of The Beatles, this one telling the story of the group from the p...

The Beatles: John
N/A
Director, Producer
One of four biopics—all to be released in April 2028—focusing on individual members of The Beatles, this one telling the story of the group from the p...

The Beatles: Ringo
N/A
Director, Producer
One of four biopics—all to be released in April 2028—focusing on individual members of The Beatles, this one telling the story of the group from the p...