M. Night Shyamalan
☼ Born on 6 December 1970, in Mahé, Pondicherry, India
Biography
Born in Puducherry, India, and raised in the suburban Penn Valley area of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, M. Night Shyamalan is a film director, screenwriter, producer, and occasional actor, known for making movies with contemporary supernatural plots.
He is the son of Jayalakshmi, a Tamil obstetrician and gynecologist, and Nelliate C. Shyamalan, a Malayali doctor. His passion for filmmaking began when he was given a Super-8 camera at age eight, and even at that young age began to model his career on that of his idol, Steven Spielberg. His first film, Praying with Anger (1992), was based somewhat on his own trip back to visit the India of his birth. He raised all the funds for this project, in addition to directing, producing and starring in it. Wide Awake (1998), his second film, he wrote and directed, and shot it in the Philadelphia-area Catholic school he once attended--even though his family was of a different religion, they sent him to that school because of its strict discipline.
Shyamalan gained international recognition when he wrote and directed 1999's The Sixth Sense (1999), which was a commercial success and later nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. Shyamalan team up again with Bruce Willis in the film Unbreakable (2000), released in 2000, which he also wrote and directed.
His major films include the science fiction thriller Signs (2002), the psychological thriller The Village (2004), the fantasy thri
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ller Lady in the Water (2006), The Happening (2008), The Last Airbender (2010), After Earth (2013), and the horror films The Visit (2015) and Split (2016).
In the role of actor
Glass (17/01/2019)
M. Night Shyamalan returns to the world of Unbreakable two decades later in Glass. For the past 19 years, David Dunn (Bruce Willis) has been working as a vigilante superhero the media has nicknamed “The Overseer.” With the help of his son Joseph (Spencer Treat Clark), David has been tracking down Kevin Wendell Crumb (James […]
In the role of director
Trap (03/08/2024)
A serial killer learns that the FBI has set a trap for him at a concert in Trap. Cooper Adams (Josh Hartnett) is taking his teenage daughter Riley (Ariel Donoghue) to see her favourite pop star Lady Raven (Saleka Night Shyamalan). While at the concert venue, Cooper notices an increased police presence blocking all the […]
Knock at the Cabin (03/02/2023)
A family finds themselves terrorized by four individuals claiming to be trying to stop the apocalypse in Knock at the Cabin. Eric (Jonathan Groff) and Andrew (Ben Aldridge) are on vacation at a cabin in the woods with their adopted daughter Wen (Kristen Cui). However, their solitude is disrupted by the arrival of Leonard (Dave […]
Old (22/07/2021)
A family discovers that they are rapidly aging on a secluded beach in Old. Guy (Gael GarcÃa Bernal) and Prisca (Vicky Krieps) have traveled to the isolated Anamika Resort with their young children Maddox and Trent. After being impressed by the resort’s hospitality, the family is recommended that they visit a nearby isolated beach by the […]
Glass (17/01/2019)
M. Night Shyamalan returns to the world of Unbreakable two decades later in Glass. For the past 19 years, David Dunn (Bruce Willis) has been working as a vigilante superhero the media has nicknamed “The Overseer.” With the help of his son Joseph (Spencer Treat Clark), David has been tracking down Kevin Wendell Crumb (James […]
Bird Box (10/01/2019)
A woman and her two children try to survive in the aftermath of an extinction level event in Bird Box. Malorie (Sandra Bullock) sets off on a dangerous journey downriver, accompanied by her two child simply named “Boy” (Julian Edwards) and “Girl” (Vivien Lyra Blair). Five years previous to this, a pregnant Malorie was at the […]
Split (22/01/2017)
Three girls are kidnapped by a man with dissociative identity disorder in Split. As they are being driven home from a party, Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy), Claire (Haley Lu Richardson), and Marcia (Jessica Sula) are kidnapped by Kevin (James McAvoy) and locked in a basement in an unknown location. The girls quickly realize that Kevin has […]
The Visit (30/09/2015)
M. Night Shyamalan directs this found-footage thriller about two kid’s visit to their grandparent house in The Visit. Becca (Olivia DeJonge) and Tyler (Ed Oxenbould) travel to a small town in Pennsylvania to stay with their grandparents John (Peter McRobbie) and Doris (Deanna Dunagan), while their mother Paula (Kathryn Hahn) goes on a cruise with her new boyfriend. Becca […]
After Earth (02/06/2013)
Director M Night Shyamalan returns for the first time since 2010’s The Last Airbender with the new sci-fi epic After Earth. The film is a star vehicle for the father/son duo of Will and Jaden Smith, with Will Smith also getting credit for the film’s story and a producer credit, along with his wife Jada […]
The Last Airbender (04/07/2010)
I’m usually one of the first people to find ways to defend M. Night Shyamalan‘s films, since I have unapologetically been a fan of his ever since The Sixth Sense hit it big over a decade ago. However, even I can’t really think of a defense for this film, which will probably end up ranking as my least […]
The Happening (13/06/2008)
On August 6, 1999, a film about a child psychiatrist trying to help a child that sees ghosts, called The Sixth Sense, was released, directed by a relatively unknown Indian/American filmmaker from Philadelphia named M. Night Shyamalan. The film was a huge hit and it stayed at the top of the box office for 5 […]