Danny Boyle

Prior to the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony

Boyle was artistic director for the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony in London. Entitled Isles of Wonder, it charted aspects of British culture including the Industrial Revolution and contributions to literature, music, film, and technology.

Reception to the ceremony was generally positive both nationally in the United Kingdom and internationally.[19][20][21][22] In December 2012 it was widely reported that Boyle turned down a knighthood in the New Year Honours list. He told BBC Radio 4 "I'm very proud to be an equal citizen and I think that's what the opening ceremony was actually about."[23]

On January 11, 2021, it was announced that Boyle would be adapting the Steve Jones' autobiography Lonely Boy into a six-part TV series entitled Pistol that charts the rise and fall of the Sex Pistols. The series is set to air on FX (TV channel) and is due to star Emma Appleton, Louis Partridge and Maisie Williams, amongst others. The show is being filmed in London.[24]

The first film Boyle directed was Shallow Grave.[13] The film was the most commercially successful British film of 1995,[26] won the BAFTA Award for Best British Film, and led to the production of Trainspotting.[27] Working with writer John Hodge and producer Andrew Macdonald, Shallow Grave earned Boyle the Best Newcomer Award from the 1996 London Film Critics Circle.[26] Critics credited these films with revitalising British cinema in the early '90s.[13] The BFI ranked Trainspotting the 10th greatest British film of the 20th century.[28]

Boyle declined an offer to direct the fourth film of the Alien franchise to make A Life Less Ordinary.[29][30]

Boyle's next project was an adaptation of the cult novel The Beach by Alex Garland. Filmed in Thailand with Leonardo DiCaprio, casting of the film led to a feud with Ewan McGregor.[13] He then collaborated with Garland on the post-apocalyptic horror film 28 Days Later.[31]

Boyle at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival

He also directed a short film Alien Love Triangle (starring Kenneth Branagh), which was intended to be one of three shorts within a feature film. However the project was cancelled after the two other shorts were made into feature films: Mimic starring Mira Sorvino and Impostor starring Gary Sinise.[32] In 2004 Boyle directed Millions,[9] scripted by Frank Cottrell Boyce.[33] His next collaboration with Alex Garland[9] was the 2007 science-fiction film Sunshine, featuring 28 Days Later star Cillian Murphy.[34]

In 2008 he directed Slumdog Millionaire, the story of an impoverished child (Dev Patel) on the streets of Mumbai, India, who competes on the local version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, for which Boyle won Academy and BAFTA Awards for Best Director. The most successful British film of the decade, the film won eight Academy Awards and seven BAFTA Awards.[35][36] Boyle commented, "To be a film-maker...you have to lead. You have to be psychotic in your desire to do something. People always like the easy route. You have to push very hard to get something unusual, something different."[13] Andrew Macdonald, producer of Trainspotting, said "Boyle takes a subject that you've often seen portrayed realistically, in a politically correct way, whether it's junkies or slum orphans, and he has managed to make it realistic but also incredibly uplifting and joyful."[13] The success led a deal with Fox Searchlight.[37]

In 2010, Boyle directed the film 127 Hours, starring James Franco and featuring Amber Tamblyn and Kate Mara. It was based on Aron Ralston's autobiography Between a Rock and a Hard Place, which detailed his struggle of being trapped under a boulder while canyoneering alone in Bluejohn Canyon, southeastern Utah. The film was released on 5 November 2010 to critical acclaim and got six nominations at the 83rd Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay for Boyle and Best Actor for Franco.[38][39]

The film team of T2 Trainspotting at the Berlinale 2017

Boyle's next film was Trance, starring James McAvoy and Rosario Dawson. It has been reported another installment of the 28 Days Later franchise is in the development stages.[40][41] Boyle has stated previously that in theory the third installment of the series would be titled 28 Months Later, but alluded to a film taking place somewhere else in the world he created in 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later. He was also stated to be producing the upcoming film Paani.[42]

Boyle told an interviewer about the eclectic range of his films, "There's a theme running through all of them—and I just realised this. They're all about someone facing impossible odds and overcoming them."[43] With a strong interest in music, Boyle has mentioned in interviews that he has considered a musical film with original compositions. Boyle has also expressed interest in an animated film.[44]

Boyle's eponymous biopic of Apple Inc. founder Steve Jobs closed the 59th BFI London Film Festival. It was the third time Boyle has had that honour, after Slumdog Millionaire in 2008 and 127 Hours two years later. The BFI's London Film Festival Director, Clare Stewart, said Boyle had created an exhilarating and audacious film about a complex, charismatic pioneer.[45] He then directed the sequel to Trainspotting, T2 Trainspotting.[46]

In a BBC interview, Boyle stated that he didn't write his own films but they did reflect his personality. "I am not a big auteur fan and like to work with writers, but ultimately a film is a director's vision, because he gets all its elements together towards that vision."[47]

In March 2018, Boyle confirmed he would be directing the then-untitled twenty-fifth James Bond film[48] but dropped out that August due to a dispute over the film's script.[49][50]

He and writer Richard Curtis collaborated on Yesterday, starring Himesh Patel, Kate McKinnon, Lily James and Ed Sheeran, released on 28 June 2019.[51]

Producer only

Producer only