- Born
- Birth nameSamuel Alexander Mendes
- Nickname
- Midas Mendes
- Height1.75 m
- Samuel Alexander Mendes was born on August 1, 1965 in Reading, England, UK to parents James Peter Mendes, a retired university lecturer, and Valerie Helene Mendes, an author who writes children's books. Their marriage didn't last long, James divorced Sam's mother in 1970 when Sam was just 5-years-old. Sam was educated at Cambridge University and joined the Chichester Festival Theatre following his graduation in 1987. Afterwards, he directed Judi Dench in "The Cherry Orchard", for which he won a Critics Circle Award for Best Newcomer. He then joined the Royal Shakespeare Company, where he directed such productions as "Troilus and Cressida" with Ralph Fiennes and "Richard III". In 1992, he became artistic director of the reopened Donmar Warehouse in London, where he directed such productions as "The Glass Menagerie" and the revival of the musical "Cabaret", which earned four Tony Awards including one for Best Revival of a Musical. He also directed "The Blue Room" starring Nicole Kidman. In 1999, he got the chance to direct his first feature film, American Beauty (1999). The movie earned 5 Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director for Mendes, which is a rare feat for a first-time film director.- IMDb mini biography by: TrendEkiD@aol.com
- SpousesAlison Balsom(January 26, 2017 - present) (1 child)Kate Winslet(May 24, 2003 - October 3, 2010) (divorced, 1 child)
- Children
- ParentsJames Peter MendesValerie Helene Mendes
- RelativesAlfred H. Mendes(Grandparent)
- Often begins his films with a voice-over narration from the main character; at the end of the movie the character finishes his narration in very much the same way it began.
- Music scores from Thomas Newman
- Very slow pull in, especially on table scenes
- Films typically deal with a family unit, be it real or surrogate.
- In his films rain frequently marks the event of a death
- Sam married English actress Kate Winslet in the West Indies in May 2003.
- Was born in the same small Reading hospital where his wife, Kate Winslet, was born 10 years later.
- His paternal grandparents were of Trinidad's ethnic Portuguese community. His grandfather is famed West Indian writer Alfred H. Mendes.
- His father is Trinidadian.
- He was offered the chance to direct The Avengers (2012) but turned it down.
- Sex. What Fun. to the students of Atlantic Theater School
- If you shout in the theater, people think you've gone a bit mad. But if you raise your voice on a film set, people just work a bit harder.
- My process is slow and I enjoy it too much to rush. And I like to return to the theater between films. But after not doing any movies for a few years, perhaps I might do two in two years.
- [on directing Jarhead: La Fin de l'innocence (2005) without having a military background] This is new territory to me, but I hadn't spent two days in American suburbia when I directed American Beauty (1999). I only knew the script had an unusual and original voice and it was a challenge I wanted to take on. "Jarhead" is equal parts black humor, honesty, rage, lyricism, profanity and the mixture of machismo jarhead culture. With the exception of Les Rois du désert (1999) this is a war that has been overlooked but which has a burning relevance to what is happening right now in the Middle East.
- [receiving his Lifetime Achievement award from the Directors Guild of Great Britain] I feel very undeserving. I feel the award is a bank loan, which I'll take out and pay back by the end of 20 years, and by then I'll feel more deserving.
- Les sentiers de la perdition (2002) - $1,200,000
- American Beauty (2000) - $150,000
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