---
name: "Tom Shankland"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/tom-shankland"
fi1m_id: "tom-shankland"
imdb_id: "nm0788191"
tmdb_id: 47724
wikidata_id: "Q7817538"
roles: ["Director"]
born: "7 May 1968"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 6
average_fi1m_score: 79
average_as: "director"
average_over: 6
updated: "2026-10-07T16:03:49.782707+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 Shankland

## Identity

Tom Shankland

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/tom-shankland
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** tom-shankland
- **IMDb ID:** nm0788191
- **TMDB ID:** 47724
- **Wikidata ID:** Q7817538
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Shankland, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7817538, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0788191/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/47724

Director. Born 7 May 1968 in Durham, England, UK.

## Details

- **Work:** Director
- **Born:** 7 May 1968, Durham, England, UK
- **Active:** 2000–present
- **Also known as:** 톰 생클랜드
- **Frequently works with:** [Stephen Smallwood](https://film.one/person/stephen-smallwood.md), [Steven Knight](https://film.one/person/steven-knight.md)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 79, as director, over 6 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 2000s 82 (1), 2010s 79 (4), 2020s 74 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 80 to 78 across 4 titles
- **Score spread:** 3 at 80+, 3 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 6, Crime 2, Mystery 2, Sci-Fi & Fantasy 2
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Shankland, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7817538, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0788191/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/47724

## Streaming the US now

- **Apple TV:** [*The Missing*](https://film.one/tv/the-missing-2014.md) (83), [*Ripper Street*](https://film.one/tv/ripper-street.md) (74)
- **HBO Max:** [*The Leftovers*](https://film.one/tv/the-leftovers.md) (87)
- **Netflix:** [*House of Guinness*](https://film.one/tv/house-of-guinness.md) (74)
- **Disney+:** [*The Fades*](https://film.one/tv/the-fades.md) (72)

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

## Fi1m on Tom Shankland

> Tom Shankland takes character seriously in material that could easily settle for violence or spectacle. We like the energy and performances of *House of Guinness*, though its uneven pacing makes our recommendation a qualified one.

The Guinness family schemes, and the cast makes the scheming worth following. That is what works in *House of Guinness* (2025), for which Shankland directed the first five episodes. We enjoyed watching these people manoeuvre around one another, because the performances kept us interested even when the pacing faltered. The period spectacle has energy, but the actors are the stronger reason to keep watching. It is a good fit for a director whose working priorities include collaboration with performers and attention to character in heightened material.

His feature debut, *WΔZ* (2007), put questions about love and survival inside a crime thriller. He then wrote and directed *The Children* (2008), a horror film about children turning violent. Those subjects give some sense of why his interest in emotional detail matters: without it, such material could become a succession of unpleasant incidents. From 2011, television became his main field, and he directed all eight episodes of *The Missing* (2014). That move gave him longer stories to handle, with the demands of sustaining a mystery across several hours.

His handling of period ensembles also runs through *Les Misérables* (2018), the six-part adaptation of Victor Hugo's novel. In *House of Guinness*, Shankland works with writer and creator Steven Knight, which matters when judging whose contribution we are seeing. We should be wary of giving a director sole credit for everything that works in a series. Still, the strength of the performances is consistent with Shankland's emphasis on working closely with actors, and suggests that his priorities are useful ones.

Our reservation about *House of Guinness* is substantial enough to keep that praise measured. Uneven pacing matters when following the family's scheming is the chief pleasure, and the lively period spectacle cannot make up for it throughout. We recommend the series, but its energy is no guarantee that it will hold the attention consistently. Give it an evening for the cast, with some patience for the passages between their better moments.

## Biography

Tom Shankland (born 7 May 1968) is an English film and television director and screenwriter. He was born in Durham, England, where his father taught at the university.

Shankland began with short films including *Bait* (1999) and *Going Down* (2000), both nominated for BAFTA Awards. He directed the horror features *WΔZ* (2007) and *The Children* (2008), the latter of which he also wrote. His television credits include episodes of *Ripper Street* (2012), the full first series of *The Missing* (2014, for which he received a Primetime Emmy nomination), *House of Cards* (2016), *Marvel's The Punisher* (2017), *The Serpent* (2021) and *SAS Rogue Heroes* (2022). He served as lead director and executive producer on the Netflix series *House of Guinness* (2025).

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

## On Fi1m (6)

- *House of Guinness* (2025), Fi1m 74, Executive Producer, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/house-of-guinness.md)
- *The Leftovers* (2014), Fi1m 87, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-leftovers.md)
- *The Missing* (2014), Fi1m 83, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-missing-2014.md)
- *Ripper Street* (2012), Fi1m 74, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/ripper-street.md)
- *The Fades* (2011), Fi1m 72, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-fades.md)
- *Clocking Off* (2000), Fi1m 82, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/clocking-off.md)

## Complete filmography (29)

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

- *House of Guinness* (2025), series, Executive Producer, Director — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/tv/house-of-guinness.md)
- *The Leopard* (2025), series, Director
- *SAS Rogue Heroes* (2022), series, Director, Executive Producer
- *The Serpent* (2021), series, Director, Executive Producer
- *Les Misérables* (2018), series, Director
- *The City and the City* (2018), series, Director, Executive Producer
- *Marvel's The Punisher* (2017), series, Director
- *Marvel's Iron Fist* (2017), series, Director
- *Marvel's Luke Cage* (2016), series, Director
- *Wicked City* (2015), series, Director
- *The Missing* (2014), series, Director — Fi1m 83, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-missing-2014.md)
- *The Leftovers* (2014), series, Director — Fi1m 87, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-leftovers.md)
- *House of Cards* (2013), series, Director
- *Ripper Street* (2012), series, Director — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/tv/ripper-street.md)
- *Dirk Gently* (2012), series, Director
- *The Fades* (2011), series, Director — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-fades.md)
- *The Children* (2008), Director, Writer
- *WΔZ* (2007), Director
- *Jericho* (2005), series, Director
- *Agatha Christie's Marple* (2004), series, Director
- *Family Business* (2004), series, Director
- *No Night Is Too Long* (2002), Director
- *Bait* (2000), Director
- *Hearts and Bones* (2000), series, Director
- *Clocking Off* (2000), series, Director — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/tv/clocking-off.md)
- *Going Down* (2000), Director
- *Baby Doll* (1998), Writer
- *Crouch End*, series, Director, Executive Producer
- *Untitled Berlin Noir Series*, series, Executive Producer

---
© 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-shankland