---
name: "Simon Curtis"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/simon-curtis"
fi1m_id: "simon-curtis"
imdb_id: "nm0193508"
tmdb_id: 133502
wikidata_id: "Q368493"
roles: ["Director","Producer"]
born: "11 March 1960"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 7
average_fi1m_score: 71
average_as: "director"
average_over: 4
updated: "2026-10-07T15:16:34.789496+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."
---

# Simon Curtis

## Identity

Simon Curtis

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/simon-curtis
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** simon-curtis
- **IMDb ID:** nm0193508
- **TMDB ID:** 133502
- **Wikidata ID:** Q368493
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Curtis_(filmmaker), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q368493, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0193508/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/133502

Director and producer. Born 11 March 1960 in London, England, UK.

## Details

- **Work:** Director, Producer
- **Born:** 11 March 1960, London, England, UK
- **Active:** 1991–present
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 7: 4 directing, 3 producing
- **Frequently works with:** [Hugh Bonneville](https://film.one/person/hugh-bonneville.md), [Elizabeth McGovern](https://film.one/person/elizabeth-mcgovern.md), [Gareth Neame](https://film.one/person/gareth-neame.md), [Geraldine James](https://film.one/person/geraldine-james.md), [Jim Carter](https://film.one/person/jim-carter.md), [Julian Fellowes](https://film.one/person/julian-fellowes.md), [Michelle Dockery](https://film.one/person/michelle-dockery.md), [Patrick Malahide](https://film.one/person/patrick-malahide.md)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 71, as director, over 4 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1990s 74 (2), 2000s 79 (3), 2010s 62 (1), 2020s 61 (1)
- **Score spread:** 1 at 80+, 3 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 4, Romance 2, Crime 1
- **Screen time:** 4 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $143m across 2 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Curtis_(filmmaker), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q368493, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0193508/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/133502

## Streaming the US now

- **Apple TV:** [*Cranford*](https://film.one/tv/cranford.md) (84)
- **The Roku Channel:** [*A Doll's House*](https://film.one/film/a-dolls-house.md) (78)
- **HBO Max:** [*Five Days*](https://film.one/tv/five-days.md) (76)
- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*My Week with Marilyn*](https://film.one/film/my-week-with-marilyn.md) (62)
- **Netflix:** [*Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale*](https://film.one/film/downton-abbey-the-grand-finale.md) (61)

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

## Fi1m on Simon Curtis

> Simon Curtis takes small worries seriously and gives actors time to make them matter. We value that patience in *Cranford*; the thin, comfortable *Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale* shows how easily his good manners can soften a drama.

In *Cranford* (2007), older women worry about doing things properly when they have less money than their manners might suggest. Simon Curtis, directing alongside Steve Hudson, lets those concerns occupy the drama without treating the women as decorative. We think this is where his patience is most rewarding: people who might have been background figures elsewhere are allowed to matter. The humour depends on understanding why a breach of manners might seem a serious matter.

Heidi Thomas’s adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell gives Eileen Atkins and Judi Dench dialogue that is enjoyable without making every exchange sound like a prepared speech. Curtis and Hudson trust the actors to hold our attention without hurrying them towards the next incident. We were moved by the care given to these women’s efforts to remain respectable as their circumstances change. The opening is slow, and the community can look too comfortable, but neither weakness makes the women themselves any less worth watching.

His earlier television work included *David Copperfield* (1999) and *Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky* (2005). With his feature debut, *My Week with Marilyn* (2011), he moved towards biographical stories confined to a particular period rather than an entire life. Michelle Williams gives that film a strong centre, although Curtis’s visual approach is conventional. We want the framing to tell us more, rather than leave so much of the work to the performer.

*Downton Abbey: A New Era* (2022) brought him to another established period ensemble, followed by *Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale* (2025). In the latter, Julian Fellowes’s writing and Curtis’s direction make room for every regular to have a moment, leaving a dozen small stories competing for attention. Michelle Dockery carries what dramatic weight there is, and the farewell is handled with care. We would have preferred fewer little stories and more substance in each; the good manners cannot quite conceal how thin it is. Start with *Cranford*, and give its opening time; Atkins and Dench repay the patience.

## Biography

Simon Curtis is an English director and producer. Born in London on 11 March 1960, he began his career in theatre at the Royal Court Theatre, where he served as deputy director and directed productions including the world premiere of Jim Cartwright's *Road*.

Curtis has directed numerous television dramas for the BBC, including *David Copperfield* (1999) and *Cranford* (2007–2009). His feature films include the biographical dramas *My Week with Marilyn* (2011), *Woman in Gold* (2015), *Goodbye Christopher Robin* (2017), *The Art of Racing in the Rain* (2019), *Downton Abbey: A New Era* (2022) and *Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale* (2025). He has received Emmy and BAFTA nominations for his television work.

He is married to actress Elizabeth McGovern, with whom he has two children.

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

## On Fi1m (7)

### Directed (4) — the average rests on these

- *Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale* (2025), Fi1m 61, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/downton-abbey-the-grand-finale.md)
- *My Week with Marilyn* (2011), Fi1m 62, Director, Executive Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/my-week-with-marilyn.md)
- *Cranford* (2007), Fi1m 84, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/cranford.md)
- *Five Days* (2007), Fi1m 76, Director, Producer — [page](https://film.one/tv/five-days.md)

### Produced (3)

- *The Virgin Queen* (2006), Fi1m 78, Executive Producer — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-virgin-queen.md)
- *Twelfth Night* (1996), Fi1m 70, Executive Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/twelfth-night-1996.md)
- *A Doll's House* (1992), Fi1m 78, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/a-dolls-house.md)

## Complete filmography (65)

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

- *Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale* (2025), Director — Fi1m 61, [page](https://film.one/film/downton-abbey-the-grand-finale.md)
- *Downton Abbey: A New Era* (2022), Director
- *The Art of Racing in the Rain* (2019), Director
- *The Chaperone* (2019), Executive Producer
- *Living the Dream* (2017), series, Executive Producer
- *Goodbye Christopher Robin* (2017), Director, Executive Producer
- *Diana and I* (2017), Executive Producer
- *Woman in Gold* (2015), Director, Executive Producer
- *Black Box* (2014), series, Director
- *My Week with Marilyn* (2011), Director, Executive Producer — Fi1m 62, [page](https://film.one/film/my-week-with-marilyn.md)
- *Threesome* (2011), series, Executive Producer
- *Friend Request Pending* (2011), Executive Producer
- *A Short Stay in Switzerland* (2009), Director
- *Hunter* (2009), series, Producer
- *Freezing* (2008), series, Director, Producer
- *Cranford* (2007), series, Director — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/cranford.md)
- *Born in the USA* (2007), Director
- *Five Days* (2007), series, Director, Producer — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/tv/five-days.md)
- *The Amazing Mrs Pritchard* (2006), series, Director
- *The Virgin Queen* (2006), series, Executive Producer — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-virgin-queen.md)
- *Twenty Thousand Streets Under The Sky* (2005), series, Director
- *Pride* (2004), Executive Producer
- *Copenhagen* (2002), Executive Producer
- *Man and Boy* (2002), Director
- *The Sins* (2000), series, Director
- *David Copperfield* (1999), series, Director, Creator
- *The American* (1998), Executive Producer
- *The Student Prince* (1998), Director
- *The Tribe* (1998), Executive Producer
- *My Summer With Des* (1998), Director
- *Spoonface Steinberg* (1998), Executive Producer
- *Mrs. Dalloway* (1997), Executive Producer
- *The Designated Mourner* (1997), Executive Producer
- *The Practice* (1997), series, Director
- *Twelfth Night* (1996), Executive Producer — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/film/twelfth-night-1996.md)
- *Broken Glass* (1996), Executive Producer
- *After Miss Julie* (1995), Executive Producer
- *Henry IV* (1995), Executive Producer
- *Landscape* (1995), Producer
- *The Widowing of Mrs. Holroyd* (1995), Producer
- *Shadow of a Gunman* (1995), Producer
- *A Summer Day's Dream* (1994), Producer
- *The Mother* (1994), Director, Producer
- *The Deep Blue Sea* (1994), Producer
- *Suffer The Little Children* (1994), Executive Producer
- *The Changeling* (1993), Director, Producer
- *The Entertainer* (1993), Producer
- *The Maitlands* (1993), Producer
- *Hedda Gabler* (1993), Producer
- *Suddenly, Last Summer* (1993), Producer
- *After the Dance* (1992), Producer
- *Roots* (1992), Director
- *A Doll's House* (1992), Producer — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/film/a-dolls-house.md)
- *Buying a Landslide* (1992), Director
- *The Trials of Oz* (1991), Producer
- *Old Times* (1991), Director
- *Nona* (1991), Director
- *Uncle Vanya* (1991), Producer
- *Absolute Hell* (1991), Producer
- *Performance* (1991), series, Producer, Executive Producer, Director
- *Edward II* (1991), Executive Producer
- *ScreenPlay* (1986), series, Director
- *Gerron's Last Film*, Director
- *Encore*, Director
- *London, I Love You*, Director, Writer

## Gallery

- ![第28回 東京国際映画祭 オープニングセレモニー ヘレン・ミレン サイモン・カーティス (黄金のアデーレ 名画の帰還) (2015)](https://film.one/media/person/8005/gallery-44ff2e5597ff.jpg) 第28回 東京国際映画祭 オープニングセレモニー ヘレン・ミレン サイモン・カーティス (黄金のアデーレ 名画の帰還) (2015) — Dick Thomas Johnson from Tokyo, Japan, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/07/Helen_Mirren_%26_Simon_Curtis_%22Woman_In_Gold%22_at_Opening_Ceremony_of_the_28th_Tokyo_International_Film_Festival_%2822418152512%29.jpg/1280px-Helen_Mirren_%26_Simon_Curtis_%22Woman_In_Gold%22_at_Opening_Ceremony_of_the_28th_Tokyo_International_Film_Festival_%2822418152512%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Simon Curtis](https://film.one/media/person/8005/gallery-a3ad0e305598.jpg) Simon Curtis — Dick Thomas Johnson from Tokyo, Japan, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Simon_Curtis_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Simon Curtis at September 2025 Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale Premiere in New York.](https://film.one/media/person/8005/gallery-98003201b73e.jpg) Simon Curtis at September 2025 Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale Premiere in New York. — Vbrunophotog, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/15/Simon_Curtis_at_September_2025_Downton_Abbey_The_Grand_Finale_Premiere_in_New_York.jpg/1280px-Simon_Curtis_at_September_2025_Downton_Abbey_The_Grand_Finale_Premiere_in_New_York.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Simon Curtis](https://film.one/media/person/8005/gallery-32f5d5a7cf34.jpg) Simon Curtis — Image via TMDB
- ![Simon Curtis](https://film.one/media/person/8005/gallery-27632da7f9e8.jpg) Simon Curtis — Image via TMDB

---
© 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/simon-curtis