Darren Aronofsky

Filmmakers

Darren Aronofsky (born February 12, 1969) is an American filmmaker and screenwriter. His films are noted for their surreal, melodramatic, and often disturbing elements, usually based in psychological horror and drama. Aronofsky attended Harvard University, where he studied film and social anthropology, and the American Film Institute where he studied directing. He won several film awards after completing his senior thesis film, Supermarket Sweep, which went on to become a National Student Academy Award finalist. He made his feature debut with the surrealist psychological thriller Pi (1999), with Sean Gullette, Mark Margolis, Ben Shenkman, Samia Shoaib, Pamela Hart, Ajay Naidu, Joanne Gordon, and Stephen Pearlman. The low-budget, $60,000 production was sold to Artisan Entertainment for $1 million, and grossed over $3 million; he won the Directing Award at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival and an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay.

Aronofsky’s followup was the psychological drama Requiem for a Dream (2000), with Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, and Marlon Wayans. The film garnered strong reviews and received an Academy Award nomination for Burstyn’s performance. The film also generated considerable controversy due to the graphic nature of several scenes, and was eventually released unrated. After co-writing the David Twohy directed World War II horror film Below (2002), with Bruce Greenwood, Olivia Williams, Matthew Davis, Holt McCallany, Scott Foley, Zach Galifianakis, Jason Flemyng, and Dexter Fletche; he began production on his third film, the romantic fantasy sci-fi drama The Fountain (2006), with Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz. The film received mixed reviews and performed poorly at the box-office, but has since garnered a cult following.

His fourth film, the sports drama The Wrestler (2008), with Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei, and Evan Rachel Wood; was released to critical acclaim. His fifth film was the psychological horror film Black Swan (2010), with Natalie Portman, Vincent Cassel, Mila Kunis, Barbara Hershey, and Winona Ryder; received further critical acclaim and many accolades, being nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. His sixth film, the biblically inspired epic Noah (2014), with Russell Crowe, Connelly, Emma Watson, Ray Winstone, Logan Lerman, Douglas Booth, and Anthony Hopkins; was his first film to open at No.1 at box office. His seventh film, the psychological horror Mother! (2017), with Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris, Michelle Pfeiffer, Domhnall Gleeson, Brian Gleeson, and Kristen Wiig; sparked controversy upon release due to its biblical allegories and depiction of violence, and polarized audiences. His eighth film, The Whale (2022), with Brendan Fraser, Sadie Sink, Hong Chau, Ty Simpkins, and Samantha Morton; also received polarizing reviews, while also receiving various award wins and nominations.

He’s been a producer or executive producer on films such as David O. Russell‘s The Fighter (2010), with Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, and Melissa Leo; Mora Stephens’s Zipper (2015), with Patrick Wilson, Lena Headey, Dianna Agron, Richard Dreyfuss, Winstone, and Penelope Mitchell; Pablo Larraín’s Jackie (2016), with Portman, Peter Sarsgaard, Greta Gerwig, Billy Crudup, and John Hurt; Elliott Lester’s Aftermath (2017), with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Scoot McNairy, Maggie Grace, and Martin Donovan; Yann Demange’s White Boy Rick (2018), with Matthew McConaughey, Richie Merritt, Bel Powley, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Brian Tyree Henry, Rory Cochrane, RJ Cyler, Jonathan Majors, Eddie Marsan, Bruce Dern, and Piper Laurie; Josef Kubota Wladyka’s Cath the Fair One (2021), with Kali Reis, Daniel Henshall, Tiffany Chu, Michael Drayer, Lisa Emery, Kimberly Guerrero, and Kevin Dunn; Tobias Lindholm’s The Good Nurse (2022), with Jessica Chastain, Eddie Redmayne, Nnamdi Asomugha, Kim Dickens, and Noah Emmerich; and Jack Begert’s Little Death (2024), with David Schwimmer, Gaby Hoffmann, Dominic Fike, Talia Ryder, Jena Malone and Sante Bentivoglio.

Each review will be linked to the title below.

(*seen originally in theaters)

(**seen rereleased in theaters)

  • Supermarket Sweep (1991) – short
  • Fortune Cookie (1991) – short
  • Protozoa (1993) – short
  • No Time (1994) – short
  • Pi (1998)
  • Requiem for a Dream (2000)
  • The Underneath (2002) – directed by David Twohy – co-writer, producer
  • The Fountain (2006)
  • The Wrestler (2008)*
  • Black Swan (2010)*
  • The Fighter (2010) – directed by David O. Russell – executive producer
  • Noah (2014)
  • Zipper (2015) – directed by Mora Stephens
  • Jackie (2016) – directed by Pablo Larraín – producer
  • Aftermath (2017) – directed by Elliott Lester – producer
  • Mother! (2017)*
  • Some Kind of Heaven (2020) – directed by Lance Oppenheim – producer – documentary
  • Catch the Fair One (2021) – directed by Josef Kubota Wladyka – producer
  • The Territory (2022) – directed by Alex Pritz – producer – documentary
  • The Whale (2022)
  • The Good Nurse (2022) – directed by Tobias Lindholm – producer
  • Little Death (2024) – directed by Jack Begert – producer