--- name: "Toby Haynes" canonical: "https://film.one/person/toby-haynes" fi1m_id: "toby-haynes" imdb_id: "nm1595284" tmdb_id: 1230430 wikidata_id: "Q5321636" roles: ["Director"] born: "1 October 1977" reviewed_on_fi1m: 6 average_fi1m_score: 77 average_as: "director" average_over: 6 updated: "2026-10-07T18:41:06.859982+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." --- # Toby Haynes ## Identity Toby Haynes - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/toby-haynes - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** toby-haynes - **IMDb ID:** nm1595284 - **TMDB ID:** 1230430 - **Wikidata ID:** Q5321636 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toby_Haynes, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5321636, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1595284/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1230430 Director. Born 1 October 1977. ## Details - **Work:** Director - **Born:** 1 October 1977 - **Active:** 2005–present - **Also known as:** 托比·海因斯 - **Frequently works with:** [Colm McCarthy](https://film.one/person/colm-mccarthy.md), [Euros Lyn](https://film.one/person/euros-lyn.md), [Benedict Cumberbatch](https://film.one/person/benedict-cumberbatch.md), [Benjamin Caron](https://film.one/person/benjamin-caron.md), [Hettie Macdonald](https://film.one/person/hettie-macdonald.md), [James Hawes](https://film.one/person/james-hawes.md), [Mark Gatiss](https://film.one/person/mark-gatiss.md), [Nick Hurran](https://film.one/person/nick-hurran.md) - **Average Fi1m score:** 77, as director, over 6 titles - **Fi1m score by decade:** 2000s 77 (2), 2010s 74 (3), 2020s 86 (1) - **Fi1m against the critics:** 77 to 77 across 4 titles - **Score spread:** 2 at 80+, 4 at 60–79, 0 under 60 - **Genres:** Drama 6, Mystery 3, Sci-Fi & Fantasy 3, Action & Adventure 2, Crime 2, History 1 - **Screen time:** 2 hours of reviewed films - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toby_Haynes, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5321636, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1595284/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1230430 ## Streaming the US now - **AMC+:** [*Sherlock*](https://film.one/tv/sherlock.md) (78), [*Doctor Who*](https://film.one/tv/doctor-who-2005.md) (78) - **Disney+:** [*Andor*](https://film.one/tv/andor.md) (86) - **Netflix:** [*Black Mirror*](https://film.one/tv/black-mirror.md) (81) - **Apple TV:** [*Wallander*](https://film.one/tv/wallander.md) (76) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Toby Haynes > Toby Haynes uses the camera to keep large-scale television close to its characters. We rate his patient, character-led approach, though *Andor* also shows how slowly it can get started. Toby Haynes switches between controlled shots and energetic handheld camerawork to put us alongside his characters. We value that flexibility: the camera need not keep announcing the director when there are people worth watching. In *Andor* (2022), he directed six episodes of the first series, helping establish its grounded, character-led approach. The thriller works because the ordinary lives under the Empire are worth caring about. *Doctor Who* (2010–11) gave Haynes room for large-scale science fiction, followed by *Sherlock*'s *The Reichenbach Fall* (2012). The more revealing change came with *Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell* (2015): all seven episodes were his. That meant carrying a visual approach through a whole adaptation, rather than contributing to an established programme. *Black Mirror*'s *USS Callister* (2017) brought another science-fiction assignment. By *Andor*, he was again working across a substantial part of a series. Haynes works early with writers to build visual and narrative choices into scripts, and takes a clear plan to the set without insisting it remain unchanged. These are useful habits for a director moving between programmes whose identities are already established. His collaborators include writer and showrunner Tony Gilroy, so there is no reason to mistake *Andor* for a solo achievement. Still, the series makes a persuasive case for giving Haynes room to stay with characters rather than hurry them through the plot. *Andor* also supplies the caveat: its opening takes too long to find its shape. A firmer opening would not have made its people any less convincing. We were gripped once its ordinary people and their surroundings had become familiar enough for us to worry about them. The performances repay that attention, which is why the slow start remains a reservation rather than a reason to stay away. Begin there, and give it a little more time than the opening quite earns. ## Biography Toby Haynes is a British television director. Born in October 1977, he is a graduate of the National Film and Television School and an alumnus of Falmouth University. He has directed episodes of *Doctor Who* (2010–2011), *Sherlock* (2012), *Black Mirror* (2017–2025) and *Andor* (2022). He also directed the Channel 4/HBO television film *Brexit: The Uncivil War* (2019). Haynes won the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation (Short Form) for the *Doctor Who* episodes "The Pandorica Opens" and "The Big Bang" (2010). *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.* ## On Fi1m (6) - *Andor* (2022), Fi1m 86, Director, Executive Producer — [page](https://film.one/tv/andor.md) - *Brexit: The Uncivil War* (2019), Fi1m 64, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/brexit-the-uncivil-war.md) - *Black Mirror* (2011), Fi1m 81, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/black-mirror.md) - *Sherlock* (2010), Fi1m 78, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/sherlock.md) - *Wallander* (2008), Fi1m 76, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/wallander.md) - *Doctor Who* (2005), Fi1m 78, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/doctor-who-2005.md) ## Complete filmography (16) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Andor* (2022), series, Director, Executive Producer — Fi1m 86, [page](https://film.one/tv/andor.md) - *Brexit: The Uncivil War* (2019), Director — Fi1m 64, [page](https://film.one/film/brexit-the-uncivil-war.md) - *Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell* (2015), series, Director - *Black Mirror* (2011), series, Director, Executive Producer — Fi1m 81, [page](https://film.one/tv/black-mirror.md) - *Doctor Who: The Impossible Astronaut Prequel* (2011), Director - *Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol* (2010), Director - *Doctor Who at the Proms* (2010), Director - *Sherlock* (2010), series, Director — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/tv/sherlock.md) - *Being Human* (2009), series, Director - *Wallander* (2008), series, Director — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/tv/wallander.md) - *Spooks: Code 9* (2008), series, Director - *M.I. High* (2007), series, Director - *Doctor Who* (2005), series, Director — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/tv/doctor-who-2005.md) - *Lost and Found* (2003), Director - *Scooby-Doo: Origins*, series, Executive Producer - *Untitled Star Trek Origin Story Film*, Director ## Gallery - ![Toby Haynes](https://film.one/media/person/46569/gallery-fb9ab2b427c9.jpg) Toby Haynes — Image via TMDB - ![Toby Haynes](https://film.one/media/person/46569/gallery-b7abf9d5b8ed.jpg) Toby Haynes — 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/toby-haynes