---
name: "David Von Ancken"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/david-von-ancken"
fi1m_id: "david-von-ancken"
imdb_id: "nm1204568"
tmdb_id: 77458
wikidata_id: "Q4066464"
roles: ["Director"]
born: "5 December 1964"
died: "26 July 2021"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 7
average_fi1m_score: 71
average_as: "director"
average_over: 7
updated: "2026-10-07T14:32:39.046502+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."
---

# David Von Ancken

## Identity

David Von Ancken

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/david-von-ancken
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** david-von-ancken
- **IMDb ID:** nm1204568
- **TMDB ID:** 77458
- **Wikidata ID:** Q4066464
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Von_Ancken, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4066464, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1204568/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/77458

Director. Born 5 December 1964 in New York City. Died 26 July 2021.

## Details

- **Work:** Director
- **Born:** 5 December 1964, New York City
- **Died:** 26 July 2021
- **Active:** 1997–2011
- **Frequently works with:** [Alex Zakrzewski](https://film.one/person/alex-zakrzewski.md), [Charles Beeson](https://film.one/person/charles-beeson.md), [Clark Johnson](https://film.one/person/clark-johnson.md), [Darnell Martin](https://film.one/person/darnell-martin.md), [Guy Ferland](https://film.one/person/guy-ferland.md), [J. Miller Tobin](https://film.one/person/j-miller-tobin.md), [John Dahl](https://film.one/person/john-dahl.md), [Leslie Libman](https://film.one/person/leslie-libman.md)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 71, as director, over 7 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1990s 80 (1), 2000s 72 (4), 2010s 65 (2)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 71 to 66 across 7 titles
- **Score spread:** 2 at 80+, 4 at 60–79, 1 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 6, Crime 4, Action & Adventure 3, Sci-Fi & Fantasy 2, Comedy 1, Mystery 1
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Von_Ancken, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4066464, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1204568/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/77458

## Streaming the US now

- **Disney+:** [*The Shield*](https://film.one/tv/the-shield.md) (84), [*The Mentalist*](https://film.one/tv/the-mentalist.md) (71)
- **HBO Max:** [*Oz*](https://film.one/tv/oz.md) (80), [*The Vampire Diaries*](https://film.one/tv/the-vampire-diaries.md) (71)
- **Peacock:** [*Person of Interest*](https://film.one/tv/person-of-interest.md) (78)
- **Hulu:** [*Californication*](https://film.one/tv/californication.md) (63)
- **AMC+:** [*Hell on Wheels*](https://film.one/tv/hell-on-wheels.md) (52)

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

## Biography

David Von Ancken (1964–2021) was an American film and television director and screenwriter.

He directed episodes of numerous series including *The Shield* (2002), *Oz* (1997), *Californication* (2007), *Gossip Girl* (2007), *The Vampire Diaries* (2009), *Person of Interest* (2011) and *The Mentalist* (2008). He served as executive producer and director on *Hell on Wheels* (2011), *Salem* (2014) and the miniseries *Tut* (2015), and directed *The Purge* (2018) and *The Order* (2019).

Von Ancken co-wrote and directed the feature film *Seraphim Falls* (2006), for which he received a Gotham Independent Film Award nomination for Breakthrough Director. His debut short film *Bullet in the Brain* (2001) won several festival awards.

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

## On Fi1m (7)

- *Hell on Wheels* (2011), Fi1m 52, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/hell-on-wheels.md)
- *Person of Interest* (2011), Fi1m 78, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/person-of-interest.md)
- *The Vampire Diaries* (2009), Fi1m 71, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-vampire-diaries.md)
- *The Mentalist* (2008), Fi1m 71, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-mentalist.md)
- *Californication* (2007), Fi1m 63, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/californication.md)
- *The Shield* (2002), Fi1m 84, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-shield.md)
- *Oz* (1997), Fi1m 80, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/oz.md)

## Complete filmography (27)

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

- *The Last Son* (2021), Executive Producer
- *The InBetween* (2019), series, Director
- *The Order* (2019), series, Director
- *The Purge* (2018), series, Director
- *The Crossing* (2018), series, Director
- *Code Black* (2015), series, Director
- *Tut* (2015), series, Director
- *Intelligence* (2014), series, Director
- *The Following* (2013), series, Director
- *Hell on Wheels* (2011), series, Director — Fi1m 52, [page](https://film.one/tv/hell-on-wheels.md)
- *Person of Interest* (2011), series, Director — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/tv/person-of-interest.md)
- *Memphis Beat* (2010), series, Director
- *The Vampire Diaries* (2009), series, Director — Fi1m 71, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-vampire-diaries.md)
- *The Mentalist* (2008), series, Director — Fi1m 71, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-mentalist.md)
- *Gossip Girl* (2007), series, Director
- *Californication* (2007), series, Director — Fi1m 63, [page](https://film.one/tv/californication.md)
- *Saving Grace* (2007), series, Director
- *Seraphim Falls* (2007), Director, Writer
- *Day Break* (2006), series, Director
- *Numb3rs* (2005), series, Director
- *Jonny Zero* (2005), series, Director
- *CSI: NY* (2004), series, Director
- *Cold Case* (2003), series, Director
- *Without a Trace* (2002), series, Director
- *The Shield* (2002), series, Director — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-shield.md)
- *Bullet in the Brain* (2001), Director, Writer
- *Oz* (1997), series, Director — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/tv/oz.md)

---
© 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/david-von-ancken