Nicholas Hytner

British director Nicholas Hytner first won international acclaim for his 1994 adaptation of Alan Bennett's The Madness of King George, which won a number of international honors, including a nomination for the Cannes Festival's Golden Palm.

Hytner, who first became involved in the theatre as a member of Cambridge University's famed Footlights revue, began his career working in provincial theatres across England. He went on to become one of his country's more celebrated theatre and opera directors, directing some twenty productions over the course of ten years. Some of his better-known efforts include the original 1989 productions of Miss Saigon, the National Theatre revival of Carousel, and the original National Theatre production of The Madness of King George.

Following the success of George's film adaptation, Hytner continued to work on both the stage and screen. In 1996 he directed a film adaptation of Arthur Miller's The Crucible, which met with mixed reviews. His subsequent screen effort, The Object of My Affection (1998) was a well-received romantic comedy. Scripted by playwright Wendy Wasserstein, it starred Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston as a gay man and a straight woman who become soul mates, and the ensuing complications of their relationship. - Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide