---
name: "Tom Harper"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/tom-harper"
fi1m_id: "tom-harper"
imdb_id: "nm2197777"
tmdb_id: 212240
wikidata_id: "Q16220945"
roles: ["Director"]
born: "7 January 1980"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 5
average_fi1m_score: 77
average_as: "director"
average_over: 5
updated: "2026-10-21T04:04:34.433538+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."
---

# Tom Harper

## Identity

Tom Harper

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/tom-harper
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** tom-harper
- **IMDb ID:** nm2197777
- **TMDB ID:** 212240
- **Wikidata ID:** Q16220945
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Harper_(director), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16220945, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2197777/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/212240

Director. Born 7 January 1980 in London, England, UK.

## Details

- **Work:** Director
- **Born:** 7 January 1980, London, England, UK
- **Active:** 2009–present
- **Also known as:** 톰 하퍼
- **Frequently works with:** [Cillian Murphy](https://film.one/person/cillian-murphy.md), [Helen McCrory](https://film.one/person/helen-mccrory.md), [Jessie Buckley](https://film.one/person/jessie-buckley.md), [Joe Gilgun](https://film.one/person/joseph-gilgun.md), [Stephen Graham](https://film.one/person/stephen-graham.md), [Steven Knight](https://film.one/person/steven-knight.md)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 77, as director, over 5 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 2000s 80 (1), 2010s 76 (4)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 80 to 74 across 4 titles
- **Score spread:** 3 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 5, Comedy 2, Crime 1, Music 1, Sci-Fi & Fantasy 1
- **Screen time:** 2 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $7m across 1 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Harper_(director), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16220945, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2197777/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/212240

## Streaming the US now

- **Tubi:** [*Wild Rose*](https://film.one/film/wild-rose.md) (82)
- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*This Is England '86*](https://film.one/tv/this-is-england-86.md) (80)
- **Disney+:** [*Misfits*](https://film.one/tv/misfits.md) (80)
- **Netflix:** [*Peaky Blinders*](https://film.one/tv/peaky-blinders.md) (77)
- **Peacock:** [*War and Peace*](https://film.one/tv/war-and-peace.md) (65)

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

## Fi1m on Tom Harper

> Tom Harper makes heightened stories believable by keeping the performances natural. We rate his work with actors, though his films can become sentimental or settle for familiar plotting when they need to be bolder.

In *Misfits* (2009), the performances make the superhero premise credible even when the characters are testing our patience. We laughed at their unpleasantness because Howard Overman’s writing kept making it the reason a joke worked. Harper directed episodes, so the credit for that sharp, dark comedy needs sharing. What matters for our view of him is how well this fits his preference for natural performances in heightened settings. We rate that instinct, while remaining wary of treating a strong ensemble programme as one director’s achievement.

His work across television and features makes a neat division into career phases unhelpful. *The Scouting Book for Boys* (2009) and *War Book* (2014) belong alongside television work on *This Is England '86* (2010) and *Peaky Blinders* (2013), rather than below it. Writer Jack Thorne connects those two early features to the period adventure *The Aeronauts* (2019), a continuing partnership across different kinds of story. Cinematographer George Steel is another recurring collaborator. We would look to those working relationships before trying to identify Harper by a single genre.

*War & Peace* (2016) gives his ability with ensemble casts a larger test, while *Wild Rose* (2018) keeps the emphasis on a lead performance. Both suit a director interested in making people behave naturally inside stories that could invite a great deal of acting. Yet *Wild Rose* also suggests the limit of that approach: strong acting cannot stop a sentimental film from steering our feelings too insistently. We prefer Harper when he allows the characters to be difficult, as they are in *Misfits*, rather than making the emotional response too easy.

The familiar plotting and reliance on flashbacks in *The Aeronauts* are a related reservation. Harper’s movement between intimate drama and large-scale adventure is welcome, but it does not oblige us to prefer the bigger production. *Misfits* gives us the better reason to pay attention: even its wearing characters remain funny enough to justify their company. Start there, provided spending an evening with unpleasant people sounds like a tolerable price for a good superhero comedy.

## Biography

Tom Harper is a British film and television director, producer and writer. He was born on 7 January 1980 in London and studied at the University of Manchester after attending Acland Burghley School.

He began his career with short films, including *Cubs* (2006), which was nominated for a BAFTA and won a BIFA. Harper has directed episodes of television series including *Misfits* (2009), *This Is England '86* (2010) and *Peaky Blinders* (2013), as well as the miniseries *War & Peace* (2016). His feature films include *The Scouting Book for Boys* (2009), *Wild Rose* (2018), *The Aeronauts* (2019) and *Heart of Stone* (2023).

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

## On Fi1m (5)

- *Wild Rose* (2019), Fi1m 82, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/wild-rose.md)
- *War and Peace* (2016), Fi1m 65, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/war-and-peace.md)
- *Peaky Blinders* (2013), Fi1m 77, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/peaky-blinders.md)
- *This Is England '86* (2010), Fi1m 80, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/this-is-england-86.md)
- *Misfits* (2009), Fi1m 80, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/misfits.md)

## Complete filmography (19)

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

- *Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man* (2026), Director, Executive Producer
- *A Gentleman in Moscow* (2024), series, Executive Producer
- *Heart of Stone* (2023), Executive Producer, Director
- *The Aeronauts* (2019), Director, Story, Producer
- *Wild Rose* (2019), Director — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/wild-rose.md)
- *Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams* (2017), series, Director
- *War and Peace* (2016), series, Director — Fi1m 65, [page](https://film.one/tv/war-and-peace.md)
- *War Book* (2015), Director, Producer
- *The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death* (2014), Director
- *Peaky Blinders* (2013), series, Director — Fi1m 77, [page](https://film.one/tv/peaky-blinders.md)
- *The Borrowers* (2011), Director
- *The Swarm* (2011), Director, Writer
- *Misfits Christmas Special* (2010), Director
- *This Is England '86* (2010), series, Director — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/tv/this-is-england-86.md)
- *The Scouting Book for Boys* (2010), Director
- *Misfits* (2009), series, Director — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/tv/misfits.md)
- *Demons* (2009), series, Director
- *Cherries* (2007), Director
- *Cubs* (2006), Director, Writer

## Gallery

- ![Tom Harper at the 44th International Film Festival Rotterdam, where "War Book" was the opening film](https://film.one/media/person/102045/gallery-626abe22967c.jpg) Tom Harper at the 44th International Film Festival Rotterdam, where "War Book" was the opening film — Vera de Kok, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/27/Tom_Harper_-_IFFR_2015.jpg/1280px-Tom_Harper_-_IFFR_2015.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Tom Harper](https://film.one/media/person/102045/gallery-b13b8219e5b1.jpg) Tom Harper — ColliderVideo, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/Tom_Harper_on_ColliderVideo.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Cast and crew of "War Book", opening film of the 44th International Film Festival Rotterdam](https://film.one/media/person/102045/gallery-ea70e27f97db.jpg) Cast and crew of "War Book", opening film of the 44th International Film Festival Rotterdam — Vera de Kok, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/63/War_Book_-_IFFR_2015.jpg/1280px-War_Book_-_IFFR_2015.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)

---
© 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/tom-harper