Mike Leigh OBE (born 20 February 1943) is an English writer and director of film and theatre. He studied theatre at the
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and further at the
Camberwell School of Art and the
Central School of Art and Design. He began as a theatre director and playwright in the mid-1960s. In the 1970s and 1980s his career moved between theatre work and making films for
BBC Television, many of which were characterised by a gritty "
kitchen sink realism" style. His well-known films include the comedy-dramas
Life is Sweet (1990) and
Career Girls (1997), the
Gilbert and Sullivan biographical film
Topsy-Turvy (1999), and the bleak working-class drama
All or Nothing (2002). His most notable works are the black comedy-drama
Naked (1993), for which he won the
Best Director Award at
Cannes, the
Oscar-nominated,
BAFTA and
Palme d'Or-winning drama
Secrets & Lies (1996) and the
Golden Lion winning working-class drama
Vera Drake (2004). Some of his notable stage plays include
Smelling A Rat,
It's A Great Big Shame,
Greek Tragedy,
Goose-Pimples,
Ecstasy, and
Abigail's Party.