---
name: "Nicolas Winding Refn"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/nicolas-winding-refn"
fi1m_id: "nicolas-winding-refn"
imdb_id: "nm0716347"
tmdb_id: 21183
wikidata_id: "Q359397"
roles: ["Director","Writer","Producer"]
born: "29 September 1970"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 5
average_fi1m_score: 61
average_as: "director"
average_over: 5
updated: "2026-09-25T00:23:03.452178+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."
---

# Nicolas Winding Refn

## Identity

Nicolas Winding Refn

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/nicolas-winding-refn
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** nicolas-winding-refn
- **IMDb ID:** nm0716347
- **TMDB ID:** 21183
- **Wikidata ID:** Q359397
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolas_Winding_Refn, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q359397, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0716347/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/21183

Director and writer. Born 29 September 1970 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

## Details

- **Work:** Director, Writer, Producer
- **Born:** 29 September 1970, Copenhagen, Denmark
- **Active:** 2009–present
- **Also known as:** Рефн, Николас Виндинг, 니콜라스 윈딩 레픈, Jang, 니콜라스 레픈, 尼古拉斯·温丁·雷芬, NWR
- **Frequently works with:** [Ryan Gosling](https://film.one/person/ryan-gosling.md), [Sidonie Dumas](https://film.one/person/sidonie-dumas.md), [Vincent Maraval](https://film.one/person/vincent-maraval.md)
- **Cannes Film Festival:** 1 Cannes prize (1 won)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 61, as director, over 5 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 2000s 73 (1), 2010s 64 (3), 2020s 41 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 61 to 59 across 5 titles
- **Score spread:** 1 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 2 under 60
- **Genres:** Thriller 4, Crime 3, Drama 3, Horror 2, Action 1, Science Fiction 1
- **Screen time:** 8 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $96m across 5 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolas_Winding_Refn, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q359397, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0716347/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/21183

## Streaming the US now

- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Bronson*](https://film.one/film/bronson.md) (73), [*The Neon Demon*](https://film.one/film/the-neon-demon.md) (61), [*Only God Forgives*](https://film.one/film/only-god-forgives.md) (48)

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

## Fi1m on Nicolas Winding Refn

> Nicolas Winding Refn builds tension from silence, saturated colour and sudden violence. We recommend *Drive* most warmly, with a reservation that extends beyond it: he sometimes gives the images more attention than the people.

In *Drive* (2011), Ryan Gosling barely speaks, and Nicolas Winding Refn lets his stillness hold our attention. The getaway driver's skill makes him reassuring company before we have much reason to trust him. Refn understands the appeal of someone who appears to know exactly what he is doing. He also makes that appeal unsettling. We recommend the film because it keeps us watching this quiet man without letting his competence stand as proof of his goodness.

*Pusher* (1996) began somewhere rougher, with a raw, documentary-influenced approach to crime. Refn developed it into a trilogy that ran to 2005. *Bronson* (2008) marked a move towards more stylised portraiture, before *Drive* brought him into Hollywood. The isolated, potentially violent outsider is a recurring interest. His saturated colours and spare compositions ask us to spend time looking at people who may have little to say.

In *Drive*, composer Cliff Martinez gives the pauses a warmth that Gosling often withholds. The synthesiser score belongs with the retro imagery, but also supplies tenderness that the central performance keeps to itself. We were jolted by the violence because it arrives abruptly, with graphic detail that Refn does not soften. The film's handsome appearance makes those moments harder to enjoy without reservation. Refn gives us time to settle into the music and the stillness before interrupting them.

The romance is less secure: the screenplay does not give it enough, and Martinez cannot supply every missing feeling. That is our reservation about Refn more broadly, when atmosphere takes the place of character development. *Only God Forgives* (2013) continued his interest in stylised violence, while *The Neon Demon* (2016) moved into fashion-world horror. The slow rhythms and graphic violence of his work can be alienating, and we would not recommend him simply on the promise of striking images. Start with *Drive*, but take the warning about its violence seriously.

## Biography

Nicolas Winding Refn is a Danish film director, screenwriter and producer. Born in Copenhagen on 29 September 1970, he attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York but was expelled before returning to Denmark. He made his feature debut with the crime film *Pusher* (1996), which he followed with *Bleeder* (1999) and the *Pusher* sequels in 2004 and 2005.

Refn directed *Bronson* (2008), *Valhalla Rising* (2009), *Drive* (2011), *Only God Forgives* (2013) and *The Neon Demon* (2016). *Drive* won him the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Director. In 2008 he co-founded the production company Space Rocket Nation. He later directed the series *Too Old to Die Young* (2019) and *Copenhagen Cowboy* (2022).

His most recent feature, *Her Private Hell* (2026), on which he served as director, screenwriter, story writer and producer, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.

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

## On Fi1m (5)

- *Her Private Hell* (2026), Fi1m 41, Director, Story, Screenplay, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/her-private-hell.md)
- *The Neon Demon* (2016), Fi1m 61, Story, Director, Screenplay, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/the-neon-demon.md)
- *Only God Forgives* (2013), Fi1m 48, Director, Writer — [page](https://film.one/film/only-god-forgives.md)
- *Drive* (2011), Fi1m 83, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/drive.md)
- *Bronson* (2009), Fi1m 73, Director, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/bronson.md)

## Complete filmography (32)

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

- *Her Private Hell* (2026), Director, Producer, Screenplay, Story — Fi1m 41, [page](https://film.one/film/her-private-hell.md)
- *Satellites II* (2026), Writer, Director
- *Big Trouble on Billycock Hill* (2025), Executive Producer
- *Beauty Is Not a Sin* (2024), Director, Writer
- *The Famous Five* (2023), series, Executive Producer, Creator
- *Circus Maximus* (2023), Director
- *Copenhagen Cowboy* (2023), series, as Jørgen · Director, Creator
- *Touch of Crude* (2022), Director, Writer
- *Inferno Rosso: Joe D'Amato on the Road of Excess* (2021), as Presenter
- *Too Old to Die Young* (2019), series, Executive Producer, Writer, Director, Creator
- *Rematch* (2019), Director
- *The Neon Demon* (2016), Director, Screenplay, Producer, Story — Fi1m 61, [page](https://film.one/film/the-neon-demon.md)
- *Sorcerers: A Conversation with William Friedkin and Nicolas Winding Refn* (2015), Actor
- *Dying of the Light* (2014), Executive Producer
- *Only God Forgives* (2013), Director, Writer — Fi1m 48, [page](https://film.one/film/only-god-forgives.md)
- *Pusher* (2012), as Dutch Bob · Executive Producer
- *Black's Game* (2012), Executive Producer
- *Drive* (2011), Director — Fi1m 83, [page](https://film.one/film/drive.md)
- *Pusher* (2010), Original Film Writer
- *Valhalla Rising* (2010), Director, Writer
- *Bronson* (2009), Director, Screenplay — Fi1m 73, [page](https://film.one/film/bronson.md)
- *Pusher 3* (2005), Director, Writer
- *Chinaman* (2005), as The Doctor
- *Pusher II* (2004), Director, Screenplay, Producer
- *Agatha Christie's Marple* (2004), series, Director
- *Fear X* (2003), Director, Writer
- *Bleeder* (1999), Director, Screenplay, Producer
- *Pusher* (1996), as Brian · Director, Screenplay, Producer
- *Glubsk, Sultens Gud* (1990), Actor
- *What Have You Done to Solange?*, Producer
- *Maniac Cop*, Director, Screenplay, Producer
- *Witchfinder*, Producer

## Gallery

- ![Nicolas Winding Refn](https://film.one/media/person/94959/gallery-1603bbb9f411.jpg) Nicolas Winding Refn — Georges Biard, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/Nicolas_Winding_Refn_Deauville_2011.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Édouard Waintrop, Nicolas Winding Refn et Tobe Hooper lors de la projection de Massacre à la tronçonneuse (version restaurée) à la Quinzaine des réalisateurs du (2014)](https://film.one/media/person/94959/gallery-649b47cfdc45.jpg) Édouard Waintrop, Nicolas Winding Refn et Tobe Hooper lors de la projection de Massacre à la tronçonneuse (version restaurée) à la Quinzaine des réalisateurs du (2014) — Dark Attsios, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c6/Cannes_2014_Texas_Chain_Saw_Massacre_1.JPG/1280px-Cannes_2014_Texas_Chain_Saw_Massacre_1.JPG?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Nicolas Winding Refn et Tobe Hooper lors de la projection de Massacre à la tronçonneuse (version restaurée) à la Quinzaine des réalisateurs du Festival de Canne (2014)](https://film.one/media/person/94959/gallery-2683c0d12083.jpg) Nicolas Winding Refn et Tobe Hooper lors de la projection de Massacre à la tronçonneuse (version restaurée) à la Quinzaine des réalisateurs du Festival de Canne (2014) — Dark Attsios, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/63/Cannes_2014_Texas_Chain_Saw_Massacre_2.jpg/1280px-Cannes_2014_Texas_Chain_Saw_Massacre_2.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![From left to right, 2nd line : Stuart Gordon, Nicolas Winding Refn, Jake West, Neil Marshall, Kristanna Loken, Juraj Herz, Lionel Chouchan (founder of the festi (2008)](https://film.one/media/person/94959/gallery-87c41ef5108f.jpg) From left to right, 2nd line : Stuart Gordon, Nicolas Winding Refn, Jake West, Neil Marshall, Kristanna Loken, Juraj Herz, Lionel Chouchan (founder of the festi (2008) — Sebb, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cf/Fantasticarts_2008_jury.jpg/1280px-Fantasticarts_2008_jury.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Nicolas Winding Refn](https://film.one/media/person/94959/gallery-9b3c027cd1de.jpg) Nicolas Winding Refn — Image via TMDB
- ![Nicolas Winding Refn](https://film.one/media/person/94959/gallery-16bcf166de4e.jpg) Nicolas Winding Refn — Image via TMDB
- ![Nicolas Winding Refn](https://film.one/media/person/94959/gallery-dcbe454db1f2.jpg) Nicolas Winding Refn — Image via TMDB
- ![Nicolas Winding Refn and Mads Mikkelsen. I last saw Mikkelsen as Le Chiffre in "Casino Royale"; he also plays Igor Stravinsky in this year's "Coco Chanel and Ig (2009)](https://film.one/media/person/94959/gallery-c50a40205154.jpg) Nicolas Winding Refn and Mads Mikkelsen. I last saw Mikkelsen as Le Chiffre in "Casino Royale"; he also plays Igor Stravinsky in this year's "Coco Chanel and Ig (2009) — Bryan Chan from Toronto, Canada, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8b/Flickr_-_Sasoriza_-_Valhalla_Rising.jpg/1280px-Flickr_-_Sasoriza_-_Valhalla_Rising.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Director Nicolas Winding Refn introduces his unusual Viking film, Valhalla Rising, to Toronto with a suitably profanity-laced discussion of its making. (2009)](https://film.one/media/person/94959/gallery-79e2490e3123.jpg) Director Nicolas Winding Refn introduces his unusual Viking film, Valhalla Rising, to Toronto with a suitably profanity-laced discussion of its making. (2009) — Bryan Chan from Toronto, Canada, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/24/Flickr_-_Sasoriza_-_Valhalla_Rising_by_Nicolas_Winding_Refn.jpg/1280px-Flickr_-_Sasoriza_-_Valhalla_Rising_by_Nicolas_Winding_Refn.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Nicolas Winding Refn](https://film.one/media/person/94959/gallery-abe04e0526fb.jpg) Nicolas Winding Refn — Image via TMDB

## Awards

### Cannes Film Festival — 1 won

- 2011: Cannes Best Director Award (won), for *Drive*

### Other awards — 1 won

- Time Machine Award 2015: Time Machine Award (won)

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© 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/nicolas-winding-refn