---
name: "Tony Scott"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/tony-scott"
fi1m_id: "tony-scott"
imdb_id: "nm0001716"
tmdb_id: 893
wikidata_id: "Q193648"
roles: ["Director","Producer"]
born: "21 June 1944"
died: "19 August 2012"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 9
average_fi1m_score: 66
average_as: "director"
average_over: 7
updated: "2026-10-05T11:33:35.648980+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."
---

# Tony Scott

## Identity

Tony Scott

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/tony-scott
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** tony-scott
- **IMDb ID:** nm0001716
- **TMDB ID:** 893
- **Wikidata ID:** Q193648
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Scott, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q193648, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001716/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/893

Director and producer. Born 21 June 1944 in North Shields, Northumberland, England, UK. Died 19 August 2012.

## Details

- **Work:** Director, Producer
- **Born:** 21 June 1944, North Shields, Northumberland, England, UK
- **Died:** 19 August 2012
- **Active:** 1986–2014
- **Also known as:** Anthony D. L. Scott, Anthony David Leighton Scott, Anthony Scott
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 9: 7 directing, 2 producing
- **Frequently works with:** [Jerry Bruckheimer](https://film.one/person/jerry-bruckheimer.md), [Don Simpson](https://film.one/person/don-simpson.md), [Denzel Washington](https://film.one/person/denzel-washington.md), [Gene Hackman](https://film.one/person/gene-hackman.md), [Steve Perry](https://film.one/person/steve-perry.md), [Tom Cruise](https://film.one/person/tom-cruise.md), [Val Kilmer](https://film.one/person/val-kilmer.md)
- **Golden Globes:** 1 Golden Globe (1 won)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 66, as director, over 7 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 60 (2), 1990s 72 (4), 2000s 69 (2), 2010s 66 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 66 to 56 across 7 titles
- **Score spread:** 1 at 80+, 4 at 60–79, 2 under 60
- **Genres:** Action 7, Crime 3, Drama 3, Thriller 3, Romance 2, Adventure 1
- **Screen time:** 13 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $1,343m across 7 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Scott, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q193648, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001716/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/893

## Streaming the US now

- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Enemy of the State*](https://film.one/film/enemy-of-the-state.md) (73), [*The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3*](https://film.one/film/the-taking-of-pelham-1-2-3.md) (54)
- **Netflix:** [*True Romance*](https://film.one/film/true-romance.md) (82)
- **The Roku Channel:** [*The Last Boy Scout*](https://film.one/film/the-last-boy-scout.md) (73)
- **Hulu:** [*Top Gun*](https://film.one/film/top-gun.md) (71)
- **Apple TV:** [*Days of Thunder*](https://film.one/film/days-of-thunder.md) (61)

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

## Fi1m on Tony Scott

> Tony Scott makes speed feel dangerous, and his actors matter more than his reputation for restless images suggests. We value his action, but his insistence can become exhausting when a film needs a quieter exchange.

In *Days of Thunder* (1990), the stock cars have weight, and their speed looks dangerous. Cinematographer Ward Russell gives Scott the physical force the film needs, even when the writing provides little reason to care about the drivers. We were excited by the racing because the machinery seemed to be working so hard. Scott knows how to sustain that pleasure without much help from the story. He is worth watching for it, though his habit of pushing the conversations just as hard makes him harder to recommend without reservations.

He began in advertising, and his taste for smoke, strong light and rapid cutting makes the connection easy to see. After his feature debut, *The Hunger* (1983), *Top Gun* (1986) established him as an action director. *True Romance* (1993), scripted by Quentin Tarantino, gave him a strong ensemble to work with. *Crimson Tide* (1995) put his energy into a submarine thriller. It also began his five-film partnership with Denzel Washington.

The difficulty is how readily that energy becomes a substitute for a better scene. In *Days of Thunder*, Hans Zimmer's score adds to the sense that every exchange must announce its importance. The insistence serves the races, but leaves the underwritten romantic scenes with Cruise and Kidman feeling more strained. Robert Duvall supplies an ease the rest of the film badly needs, simply by being someone worth listening to. A director who can make a race exciting should also be able to let a conversation settle.

The work with Washington is a useful reminder that Scott could get strong performances as well as keep the camera busy. *Man on Fire* (2004) marked a move towards the more intensely stylised later work, with his appetite for cuts, colour and camera movement becoming harder to ignore. That approach could overwhelm a performance. His final film, *Unstoppable* (2010), brought him back to Washington for a taut train thriller. Try *Days of Thunder* for the racing and Duvall; do not choose it for the romance.

## Biography

Tony Scott was an English film director. Born Anthony David Leighton Scott on 21 June 1944 in North Shields, Northumberland, he died on 19 August 2012 in Los Angeles. He was the younger brother of director Ridley Scott. Both brothers studied at the Royal College of Art in London and began their careers directing television commercials before moving into feature films.

Scott's early feature work included the 1983 vampire film *The Hunger*. He achieved commercial success with action and thriller films such as *Top Gun* (1986), *Beverly Hills Cop II* (1987), *Days of Thunder* (1990), *True Romance* (1993), *Crimson Tide* (1995), *Enemy of the State* (1998), *Man on Fire* (2004), *Déjà Vu* (2006) and *Unstoppable* (2010). In 1995, he and his brother received the BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema; they received the BAFTA Britannia Award for Worldwide Contribution to Filmed Entertainment in 2010.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, bbc.com, theguardian.com, themoviedb.org.*

## On Fi1m (9)

### Directed (7) — the average rests on these

- *The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3* (2009), Fi1m 54, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/the-taking-of-pelham-1-2-3.md)
- *Enemy of the State* (1998), Fi1m 73, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/enemy-of-the-state.md)
- *True Romance* (1993), Fi1m 82, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/true-romance.md)
- *The Last Boy Scout* (1991), Fi1m 73, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/the-last-boy-scout.md)
- *Days of Thunder* (1990), Fi1m 61, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/days-of-thunder.md)
- *Beverly Hills Cop II* (1987), Fi1m 48, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/beverly-hills-cop-ii.md)
- *Top Gun* (1986), Fi1m 71, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/top-gun.md)

### Produced (2)

- *Get Santa* (2014), Fi1m 66, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/get-santa.md)
- *The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford* (2007), Fi1m 84, Executive Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/the-assassination-of-jesse-james-by-the-coward-robert-ford.md)

## Complete filmography (72)

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

- *Top Gun: Maverick* (2022), In Memory Of — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/top-gun-maverick.md)
- *Get Santa* (2014), Producer — Fi1m 66, [page](https://film.one/film/get-santa.md)
- *Out of the Furnace* (2013), Producer
- *The East* (2013), Executive Producer
- *Stoker* (2013), Producer
- *Killing Lincoln* (2013), Executive Producer
- *World Without End* (2012), series, Producer
- *Coma* (2012), series, Executive Producer
- *The Grey* (2012), Executive Producer
- *Life in a Day* (2011), Executive Producer
- *Unstoppable* (2010), Producer, Director
- *Welcome to the Rileys* (2010), Executive Producer
- *The Pillars of the Earth* (2010), series, Executive Producer
- *Cyrus* (2010), Executive Producer
- *The A-Team* (2010), Producer
- *The Real Robin Hood* (2010), Executive Producer
- *Cracks* (2009), Executive Producer
- *The Good Wife* (2009), series, Executive Producer — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-good-wife.md)
- *The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3* (2009), Director — Fi1m 54, [page](https://film.one/film/the-taking-of-pelham-1-2-3.md)
- *Into the Storm* (2009), Executive Producer
- *Tell-Tale* (2009), Producer
- *The Andromeda Strain* (2008), series, Executive Producer
- *The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford* (2007), Executive Producer — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/the-assassination-of-jesse-james-by-the-coward-robert-ford.md)
- *The Company* (2007), series, Executive Producer
- *Cashback* (2007), Production Consultant
- *Déjà Vu* (2006), Director
- *Tristan & Isolde* (2006), Executive Producer
- *Orpheus* (2006), Executive Producer
- *Le court des grands* (2005), Director
- *Domino* (2005), Producer, Director
- *In Her Shoes* (2005), Executive Producer
- *Numb3rs* (2005), series, Director, Executive Producer
- *Man on Fire* (2004), Producer, Director
- *Beat the Devil* (2002), Director, Executive Producer
- *Ticker* (2002), Executive Producer
- *Hostage* (2002), Executive Producer
- *The Gathering Storm* (2002), Executive Producer
- *AFP: American Fighter Pilot* (2002), series, Producer
- *Spy Game* (2001), Director
- *The Hire* (2001), series, Director
- *The Last Debate* (2000), Executive Producer
- *Where the Money Is* (2000), Executive Producer
- *RKO 281* (1999), Executive Producer
- *Providence* (1999), series, as Young Kerry
- *Enemy of the State* (1998), Director — Fi1m 73, [page](https://film.one/film/enemy-of-the-state.md)
- *Clay Pigeons* (1998), Executive Producer
- *Angelo Nero* (1998), Actor
- *The Hunger* (1997), series, Director
- *The Swords* (1997), Director
- *The Fan* (1996), Director
- *Cityscrapes: Los Angeles* (1996), as Director B
- *Crimson Tide* (1995), Director
- *True Romance* (1993), Director — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/true-romance.md)
- *Eye of the Storm: Ridley Scott* (1992), Actor
- *The Last Boy Scout* (1991), Director — Fi1m 73, [page](https://film.one/film/the-last-boy-scout.md)
- *The King of Ads* (1991), Director
- *Days of Thunder* (1990), Director — Fi1m 61, [page](https://film.one/film/days-of-thunder.md)
- *Revenge* (1990), Director
- *Beverly Hills Cop II* (1987), Director — Fi1m 48, [page](https://film.one/film/beverly-hills-cop-ii.md)
- *Spearfield's Daughter* (1986), as Police Lieutenant
- *Top Gun* (1986), Director — Fi1m 71, [page](https://film.one/film/top-gun.md)
- *Number One* (1985), as Danny
- *The Hunger* (1983), Director
- *The Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries* (1977), series, Actor
- *The Author of Beltraffio* (1976), Director
- *Henry James Stories* (1976), series, Director
- *Loving Memory* (1970), Director, Editor, Writer, Director of Photography
- *Forum* (1969), Director of Photography
- *One of the Missing* (1968), Director, Director of Photography, Editor, Writer
- *Compromise* (1968), Cinematography
- *Boy and Bicycle* (1965), as The Boy
- *The Alfred Hitchcock Hour* (1962), series, as The Indian Employee

## Gallery

- ![The grave of film director Tony Scott, Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Los Angeles, California. The grave marker lists his films as a director.](https://film.one/media/person/78317/gallery-ef5c86d6f9d7.jpg) The grave of film director Tony Scott, Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Los Angeles, California. The grave marker lists his films as a director. — Joe Mabel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c9/Tony_Scott_grave_-_Hollywood_Forever_Cemetery.jpg/1280px-Tony_Scott_grave_-_Hollywood_Forever_Cemetery.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Tony Scott](https://film.one/media/person/78317/gallery-5a2be56bc64c.jpg) Tony Scott — Image via TMDB
- ![Tony Scott](https://film.one/media/person/78317/gallery-2e5269d4b3fd.jpg) Tony Scott — Image via TMDB
- ![Tony Scott](https://film.one/media/person/78317/gallery-77daafc0d00b.jpg) Tony Scott — Image via TMDB
- ![Tony Scott](https://film.one/media/person/78317/gallery-dabad79ff0f8.jpg) Tony Scott — Image via TMDB
- ![Tony Scott](https://film.one/media/person/78317/gallery-a31550bf1431.jpg) Tony Scott — Image via TMDB
- ![Tony Scott](https://film.one/media/person/78317/gallery-9437982ba48c.jpg) Tony Scott — Image via TMDB

## Awards

### Golden Globes — 1 won

- 1999: Best Limited or Anthology Series or Television Film (won), for *RKO 281*

*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/tony-scott