Born in northern England and raised for a time in Africa, Mike Figgis grew up inspired by the unconventionality of jazz and Jean-Luc Godard films. As a director, Figgis quickly developed a working philosophy that fervently welcomes experimentation and innovation in the way stories are told. His oeuvre spans the cinematic spectrum between the dramatic (Leaving Las Vegas [1995] and One Night Stand [1997]) and the avant-garde (Hotel [2001] and Live Live Long [2008]). For Timecode (2000), Figgis used four uninterrupted 90-minute takes filmed simultaneously by four different video cameras and projected all at once on a screen divided into four separate panels to tell a single story. Figgis also played a key role in the development of the “Fig Rig,” a camera movement-stabilizing device named after him.
With a directorial career spanning thirty years and counting for Figgis, identifying the dramatic nucleus of a story is vital in the thematic development of performance, production, and ultimately, the choices he makes as director on set. While working primarily in feature films, Figgis has also worked in documentary, new media, theater, and television, including directing the episode “Cold Cuts” for the TV series The Sopranos in 2004.
In 1996, Mike Figgis received a DGA Award nomination, as well as Academy Award nominations for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay, for Leaving Las Vegas.