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Born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, in 1949, director John Madden (not to be confused with the American sports commentator of the same name) enjoyed a successful career in television and theater before moving into feature films. Madden's resumé as a stage director includes prestigious work in both Britain and the United States. He directed Caritas Christi at the National Theater and helmed Broadway productions of Beyond Therapy, Wings, and Grownups; he also staged the last at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. Grownups was also Madden's entry into filmmaking, when he directed an adaptation for the Showtime cable network. Following that, he directed several films for British television, as well as episodes of Inspector Morse and Prime Suspect. He made his feature film debut with Ethan Frome in 1993. He received an Academy Award nomination for Best Director in 1998, for Shakespeare in Love. A minor misstep with 2001's overly-saccharine Captain Corelli's Mandarin was followed four years later by the decidedly better-received Proof, and in 2006 the period-piece specialist would try his hand at contemporary action with the Elmore Leonard adaptation Killshot. Over the coming years, Madden would direct more critically acclaimed movies, like The Debt and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.