--- name: "Marc Forster" canonical: "https://film.one/person/marc-forster" fi1m_id: "marc-forster" imdb_id: "nm0286975" tmdb_id: 12995 wikidata_id: "Q28497" roles: ["Director"] born: "30 November 1969" reviewed_on_fi1m: 6 average_fi1m_score: 63 average_as: "director" average_over: 6 updated: "2026-10-05T19:50:52.181900+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." --- # Marc Forster ## Identity Marc Forster - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/marc-forster - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** marc-forster - **IMDb ID:** nm0286975 - **TMDB ID:** 12995 - **Wikidata ID:** Q28497 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Forster, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q28497, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0286975/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/12995 Director. Born 30 November 1969 in Illertissen, Bavaria, West Germany [now Germany]. ## Details - **Work:** Director - **Born:** 30 November 1969, Illertissen, Bavaria, West Germany [now Germany] - **Active:** 2004–2018 - **Also known as:** 马克·福斯特, مارك فورستر - **Frequently works with:** [Dustin Hoffman](https://film.one/person/dustin-hoffman.md) - **Average Fi1m score:** 63, as director, over 6 titles - **Fi1m score by decade:** 2000s 65 (4), 2010s 58 (2) - **Fi1m against the critics:** 63 to 58 across 6 titles - **Score spread:** 0 at 80+, 4 at 60–79, 2 under 60 - **Genres:** Drama 3, Fantasy 3, Action 2, Adventure 2, Comedy 2, Family 1 - **Screen time:** 11 hours of reviewed films - **Box office:** $1,563m across 6 films with figures - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Forster, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q28497, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0286975/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/12995 ## Coming up - *Anxious People* (2026-11-26), Director ## Streaming the US now - **Apple TV:** [*Quantum of Solace*](https://film.one/film/quantum-of-solace.md) (58), [*World War Z*](https://film.one/film/world-war-z.md) (55) - **Peacock:** [*Stranger Than Fiction*](https://film.one/film/stranger-than-fiction.md) (78) - **Disney+:** [*Christopher Robin*](https://film.one/film/christopher-robin.md) (62) - **Pluto TV:** [*The Kite Runner*](https://film.one/film/the-kite-runner.md) (60) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Marc Forster > Marc Forster is most persuasive when he lets actors make complicated ideas feel personal. We rate the patient handling of a shy romance in *Stranger Than Fiction* above his taste for carefully arranged pictures. Will Ferrell lets Harold Crick hesitate, and Marc Forster gives the hesitation time to matter. In *Stranger Than Fiction* (2006), the director trusts a muted comic performance to carry a romantic fantasy full of questions about storytelling. Maggie Gyllenhaal's Ana Pascal makes Harold's attempts to get close worth the discomfort. We were moved by their scenes together because Ferrell makes each awkward approach feel difficult, rather than merely amusing. Forster knows when to keep the comedy quiet. The career has seldom stayed in one kind of film for long. *Monster's Ball* (2001) was his breakthrough; *Finding Neverland* (2004) followed with period drama and fantasy. The turn towards action brought the Bond film *Quantum of Solace* (2008) and the zombie film *World War Z* (2013). He later moved towards family-oriented work with *Christopher Robin* (2018) and *A Man Called Otto* (2022). The reservation is how readily he adds decoration when the actors already have our attention. In *Stranger Than Fiction*, Roberto Schaefer's cinematography can look over-arranged, while Kevin Thompson's production design gives us more to admire around Harold than we need. Zach Helm's screenplay is already busy with questions about who shapes a life and what responsibility comes with telling a story. Forster's visual care sometimes makes that cleverness feel fussier still, when the plainness of Ferrell's acting is enough. That does not spoil the romance, though the screenplay makes its answers too tidy to satisfy all the questions it raises. Ferrell's reserve is also what keeps the sweetness bearable; asking him to do more would risk losing the tenderness. Start with *Stranger Than Fiction* if a shy romance appeals, and be patient with the literary discussion. ## Biography Marc Forster is a German-Swiss filmmaker. He was born on 30 November 1969 in Illertissen, Bavaria, West Germany. Forster studied at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts after moving to New York in 1990. He began his career with low-budget films including *Loungers* (1995) and *Everything Put Together* (2000) before directing *Monster's Ball* (2001). He is known for directing *Finding Neverland* (2004), *Stranger Than Fiction* (2006), *Quantum of Solace* (2008), *World War Z* (2013), *Christopher Robin* (2018) and *A Man Called Otto* (2022). Forster has also directed numerous television commercials and is a BAFTA, Golden Globe and Independent Spirit Award nominee. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.* ## On Fi1m (6) - *Christopher Robin* (2018), Fi1m 62, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/christopher-robin.md) - *World War Z* (2013), Fi1m 55, Director, Executive Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/world-war-z.md) - *Quantum of Solace* (2008), Fi1m 58, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/quantum-of-solace.md) - *The Kite Runner* (2007), Fi1m 60, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/the-kite-runner.md) - *Stranger Than Fiction* (2006), Fi1m 78, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/stranger-than-fiction.md) - *Finding Neverland* (2004), Fi1m 64, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/finding-neverland.md) ## Complete filmography (25) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Anxious People* (2026), Director, Executive Producer - *White Bird* (2023), Director - *A Man Called Otto* (2022), Executive Producer, Director - *My Dog Stupid* (2019), Executive Producer - *Christopher Robin* (2018), Director — Fi1m 62, [page](https://film.one/film/christopher-robin.md) - *All I See Is You* (2017), Writer, Director, Producer - *Hand of God* (2014), series, Director - *World War Z* (2013), Director, Executive Producer — Fi1m 55, [page](https://film.one/film/world-war-z.md) - *Disconnect* (2013), Executive Producer - *Machine Gun Preacher* (2011), Producer, Director - *LX Forty* (2009), Director, Writer, Producer - *Director Marc Forster* (2009), Actor - *Start of Shooting* (2009), Actor - *Olga Kurylenko and the Boat Chase* (2009), Actor - *On Location* (2009), Actor - *Quantum of Solace* (2008), Director — Fi1m 58, [page](https://film.one/film/quantum-of-solace.md) - *The Kite Runner* (2007), Director — Fi1m 60, [page](https://film.one/film/the-kite-runner.md) - *Stranger Than Fiction* (2006), Director — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/film/stranger-than-fiction.md) - *Stay* (2005), Director - *Finding Neverland* (2004), Director — Fi1m 64, [page](https://film.one/film/finding-neverland.md) - *Monster's Ball* (2001), Director - *Everything Put Together* (2001), Director, Writer - *Loungers* (1996), Director, Writer - *The Cow*, Director, Producer - *Untitled Live Action Thomas & Friends Movie*, Director, Producer ## Gallery - ![Marc Forster](https://film.one/media/person/99383/gallery-4fe345aa2c95.jpg) Marc Forster — Georges Biard, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Marc_Forster_Cannes_2013.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Brad Pitt and Director Marc Forster in Korea (2013)](https://film.one/media/person/99383/gallery-79d55dcd82f1.jpg) Brad Pitt and Director Marc Forster in Korea (2013) — Korea.net / Korean Culture and Information Service (Jeon Han), CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9d/KOCIS_Korea_Brad_Pitt_20130611_04_%289020061575%29.jpg/1280px-KOCIS_Korea_Brad_Pitt_20130611_04_%289020061575%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Brad Pitt and Director Marc Forster in Korea (2013)](https://film.one/media/person/99383/gallery-0e91f04a6629.jpg) Brad Pitt and Director Marc Forster in Korea (2013) — Korea.net / Korean Culture and Information Service (Jeon Han), CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d4/KOCIS_Korea_Brad_Pitt_20130611_06_%289020061307%29.jpg/1280px-KOCIS_Korea_Brad_Pitt_20130611_06_%289020061307%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Brad Pitt and Director Marc Forster in Korea (2013)](https://film.one/media/person/99383/gallery-7d63f61cc277.jpg) Brad Pitt and Director Marc Forster in Korea (2013) — Korea.net / Korean Culture and Information Service (Jeon Han), CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b9/KOCIS_Korea_Brad_Pitt_20130611_07_%289022287894%29.jpg/1280px-KOCIS_Korea_Brad_Pitt_20130611_07_%289022287894%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Marc Forster](https://film.one/media/person/99383/gallery-43e65fc8a546.jpg) Marc Forster — Image via TMDB - ![Marc Forster](https://film.one/media/person/99383/gallery-1806adf665b4.jpg) Marc Forster — Boris Macek at https://www.flickr.com/photos/21945111@N07/, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f7/MarcForsterColorNov08.jpg/1280px-MarcForsterColorNov08.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Marc Forster](https://film.one/media/person/99383/gallery-a867f1111134.jpg) Marc Forster — Boris Macek at https://www.flickr.com/photos/21945111@N07/, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/MarcForsterNov08.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/marc-forster