---
name: "Andrew Davis"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/andrew-davis"
fi1m_id: "andrew-davis"
imdb_id: "nm0001112"
tmdb_id: 12989
wikidata_id: "Q504461"
roles: ["Director"]
born: "21 November 1946"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 82
average_as: "director"
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-10-04T22:02:06.742925+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Andrew Davis

## Identity

Andrew Davis

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/andrew-davis
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** andrew-davis
- **IMDb ID:** nm0001112
- **TMDB ID:** 12989
- **Wikidata ID:** Q504461
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Davis_(director), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q504461, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001112/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/12989

Director. Born 21 November 1946 in Chicago, Illinois, U.S..

## Details

- **Work:** Director
- **Born:** 21 November 1946, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
- **Active:** 1992–1993
- **Frequently works with:** [Tommy Lee Jones](https://film.one/person/tommy-lee-jones.md)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 82, as director, over 2 titles
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Davis_(director), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q504461, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001112/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/12989

## Streaming the US now

- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*The Fugitive*](https://film.one/film/the-fugitive.md) (88)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Andrew Davis

> Andrew Davis is at his best when capable people have difficult work to do under pressure. We rate his attention to actors and the practical business of pursuit, though bigger escapes can weaken his suspense.

In *The Fugitive* (1993), Tommy Lee Jones's Samuel Gerard has a job to do and little patience for anyone who makes it harder. Andrew Davis lets that impatience be funny without allowing the danger to become a joke. We rate him most highly here, making the pursuit absorbing by keeping both pursuer and fugitive intelligent. Harrison Ford's Richard Kimble has to think while he runs. Davis understands that watching him think is part of the entertainment.

That interest in people doing things runs back to *Stony Island* (1978), his debut about Chicago musicians. He returned to the city for *Code of Silence* (1985), the Chuck Norris film that established him in action cinema. His recurring use of Chicago's neighbourhoods helps make the action feel as though it is happening somewhere real. A collaboration with Steven Seagal began with *Above the Law* (1988), while *Under Siege* (1992) led directly to the job on *The Fugitive*.

The actors get room to make the pursuit work. David Twohy and Jeb Stuart's screenplay gives Kimble and Gerard enough intelligence to sustain the contest, and Davis allows their different temperaments to set its pace. We were relieved when Gerard's dry humour broke the tension, because Jones made it sound like a busy man's irritation rather than a prepared joke. Ford supplies the worry without making Kimble helpless. It matters that we can enjoy Gerard's competence while hoping he fails to catch his man.

Davis is less reliable when the action grows larger than the characters need. In *The Fugitive*, Kimble's escapes become harder to believe even after Ford and Jones have done enough to keep us watching. The film does not need to keep proving how much its hero can survive. We would happily have traded some of that spectacle for more of the procedural work Davis makes so lively.

The later thrillers could be more conventional, as in *Collateral Damage* (2002), while *Holes* (2003) took him into family filmmaking. The latter makes good use of his visual storytelling and pacing beyond the action genre. Begin with *The Fugitive*, and give Jones's working methods as much attention as Ford's escapes.

## Biography

Andrew Davis is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer. Born on 21 November 1946 in Chicago, Illinois, he studied journalism at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and began his career as a cameraman on documentaries and blaxploitation films in the 1970s, mentored by cinematographer Haskell Wexler.

Davis made his directorial debut with the independent musical *Stony Island* (1978). He is best known for action and thriller films including *Above the Law* (1988), *Under Siege* (1992), *The Fugitive* (1993), *Chain Reaction* (1996), *A Perfect Murder* (1998), *Collateral Damage* (2002) and *Holes* (2003). *The Fugitive* earned him Golden Globe and Directors Guild of America nominations. Many of his films feature Chicago locations.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (2)

- *The Fugitive* (1993), Fi1m 88, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/the-fugitive.md)
- *Under Siege* (1992), Fi1m 77, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/under-siege.md)

## Complete filmography (32)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Mentors - Tony & Santi* (2020), Director
- *The Fugitive: Thrill of the Chase* (2013), Actor
- *The Guardian* (2006), Director
- *Just Legal* (2005), series, Director
- *Holes* (2003), Director, Producer
- *Collateral Damage* (2002), Director
- *A Perfect Murder* (1998), Director
- *Chain Reaction* (1996), Director, Producer
- *Steal Big Steal Little* (1995), Director, Screenplay, Producer, Story
- *The Fugitive* (1993), Director — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/film/the-fugitive.md)
- *Under Siege* (1992), Director — Fi1m 77, [page](https://film.one/film/under-siege.md)
- *The Package* (1989), Director, Co-Producer
- *Above the Law* (1988), Screenplay, Producer, Director, Story
- *Crossbow* (1987), series, Actor
- *Roanoak* (1986), series, as Harriot
- *Code of Silence* (1985), Director
- *Beat Street* (1984), Screenplay
- *Angel* (1984), Director of Photography
- *The Final Terror* (1983), Director
- *Hot Rod* (1979), Director of Photography
- *Over the Edge* (1979), Director of Photography
- *Stony Island* (1978), Director
- *Crash!* (1976), Director of Photography
- *Mansion of the Doomed* (1976), Director of Photography
- *Paco* (1976), Screenplay
- *The Stronger* (1976), Director of Photography
- *Lepke* (1975), Director of Photography
- *The Slams* (1973), Director of Photography
- *Hit Man* (1972), Director of Photography
- *Private Parts* (1972), Director of Photography
- *Cool Breeze* (1972), Cinematography, Director of Photography
- *My French Amore*, Director

## Gallery

- ![Andrew Davis](https://film.one/media/person/83091/gallery-935c2a0055a6.jpg) Andrew Davis — Gérald Garitan, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/41/Andrew_DaviS_8459.jpg/1280px-Andrew_DaviS_8459.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![lors du festival Reims polar de 2024.](https://film.one/media/person/83091/gallery-f06bad6ebefc.jpg) lors du festival Reims polar de 2024. — Gérald Garitan, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b2/Andrew_DaviS_1518290.jpg/1280px-Andrew_DaviS_1518290.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![lors du festival Reims polar de 2024.](https://film.one/media/person/83091/gallery-72a0086cc127.jpg) lors du festival Reims polar de 2024. — Gérald Garitan, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/53/Andrew_DaviS_1518294.jpg/1280px-Andrew_DaviS_1518294.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![lors du festival Reims polar de 2024.](https://film.one/media/person/83091/gallery-b7272b56100d.jpg) lors du festival Reims polar de 2024. — Gérald Garitan, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4a/Andrew_DaviS_8412.jpg/1280px-Andrew_DaviS_8412.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Andrew Davis](https://film.one/media/person/83091/gallery-020998e46a13.jpg) Andrew Davis — Image via TMDB
- ![Andrew Davis](https://film.one/media/person/83091/gallery-26563de5defc.jpg) Andrew Davis — Image via TMDB
- ![lors du festival Reims polar de 2024.](https://film.one/media/person/83091/gallery-ae79851c9c2a.jpg) lors du festival Reims polar de 2024. — Gérald Garitan, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/82/Andrew_DaviS_8421.jpg/1280px-Andrew_DaviS_8421.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![lors du festival Reims polar de 2024.](https://film.one/media/person/83091/gallery-a36ad9e72bd8.jpg) lors du festival Reims polar de 2024. — Gérald Garitan, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Andrew_DaviS_8421_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/andrew-davis