Who’s SJ Clarkson?
Here’s everything we know about HBO’s choice of director for its Game of Thrones prequel pilot:
— Last year, Clarkson became the first female director ever to be hired to direct a Star Trek movie when she was tapped to direct the fourth film in the J.J. Abrams-produced series. The project has now reportedly been shelved amid cast salary negotiations with Chris Pine and Chris Hemsworth. According to Deadline, the delay released Clarkson from her commitment, freeing her up to direct GoT.
— Clarkson has directed episodes of many acclaimed shows. Among them: Netflix’s Orange Is the New Black, A&E’s Bates Motel, NBC’s Heroes, Showtime’s Dexter, AMC’s The Bridge and Turn, and HBO’s Succession, Vinyl and Banshee. One of her Dexter episodes, season 4’s “Hello, Dexter Morgan,” is one of the show’s finest. Here’s a key moment:
— She directed the pilot and second episode of Netflix’s Jessica Jones, which helped launch the most critically acclaimed of the Marvel-Netflix shows. (Here’s EW’s review of season 1.) She also directed The Defenders pilot.
— She first gained acclaim when she directed the three-part BBC drama Whitechapel, which aired in 2009 to stellar reviews and big ratings.
— Clarkson most recently directed Collateral, the BBC/Netflix limited series which premiered to much acclaim in the U.K. The trailer:
— Other U.K. work includes the five-part BBC1 series Love, the pilot Hunted for BBC/HBO, and opening run of Mistresses.
— The Guardian named her one of the top 50 most powerful women in film and television in 2012.
— No, she doesn’t use periods in her name (despite what IMDB thinks).
The Game of Thrones prequel pilot goes into production this year and earlier announced a sprawling cast (see them all here). If selected to series, the show will air in 2020 at the earliest.
Related content:
- Game of Thrones prequel announces diverse full cast, female director
- Game of Thrones releases new season 8 footage of Sansa meeting Daenerys
- Kit Harington gives a hard pass to doing Game of Thrones spin-offs
