Early life

Theroux is the son of the American travel writer and novelist Paul Theroux, who is of French-Canadian and Italian descent, and his then-wife Anne Castle. He has dual British and American citizenship. His older brother, Marcel, is a writer and television presenter, while his cousin, Justin, is an actor and screenwriter. Born in Singapore, Theroux moved with his family to England at the age of one year, and was brought up in London thereafter.

Theroux was educated for a couple of years at Allfarthing Primary School before moving on to Westminster School. While there he became friends with comedians Adam Buxton and Joe Cornish, and the Liberal Democrat politician Nick Clegg (with whom he travelled to America).

After Westminster, Theroux read Modern History at Magdalen College, Oxford from 1988 to 1991, attaining first-class honours.

Career

Early career

Theroux's first employment as a journalist was in the United States with Metro Silicon Valley, an alternative free weekly newspaper in San Jose, California. In 1992, he was hired as a writer for Spy magazine. He also worked as a correspondent on Michael Moore's TV Nation series, for which he provided segments on off-beat cultural subjects, including selling Avon to women in the Amazon Rainforest, the Jerusalem syndrome and attempts by the Ku Klux Klan to rebrand itself as a civil rights group for white people.

When TV Nation ended, Theroux was signed to a development deal by the BBC, through which he developed Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends. He has guest-written for a number of publications including Hip Hop Connection, and he continues to write for The Idler.

Documentaries

Further information: List of Louis Theroux documentaries

Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends

Main article: Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends

In Weird Weekends (1998-2000), Theroux followed marginal, mostly American subcultures such as survivalists, black nationalists, white supremacists and porn stars, often by living among or close to the people involved. Often, his documentary method subtly exposed the contradictions or farcical elements of some seriously held beliefs. Theroux describes the aim of the series as:

"Setting out to discover the genuinely odd in the most ordinary setting. To me, it's almost a privilege to be welcomed into these communities and to shine a light on them and, maybe, through my enthusiasm, to get people to reveal more of themselves than they may have intended. The show is laughing at me, adrift in their world, as much as at them. I don't have to play up that stuff. I'm not a matinee idol disguised as a nerd."

Despite requests for a complete DVD set of the Weird Weekends series, only selected episodes have been available for purchase.

When Louis Met...

Main article: When Louis Met...

In When Louis Met... (2000-02), Theroux accompanied a different British celebrity in each programme in their daily lives, interviewing them as they go. His episode about British entertainer Jimmy Savile, When Louis Met Jimmy, was voted one of the top documentaries of all time in a survey by Britain's Channel 4. The NSPCC described Savile as one of the most prolific sex offenders in Great Britain. In When Louis Met the Hamiltons, the Tory MP Neil Hamilton and his wife Christine were arrested during the course of filming, due to false allegations of indecent assault.

In When Louis Met Max Clifford, Max Clifford tried to set up Theroux, but he was caught lying as the crew recorded his live microphone during the conversations. After this series concluded, a retro called Life with Louis was released. Theroux intended to film a programme with American entertainer Michael Jackson before Martin Bashir completed his documentary of the man for ITV, but it was cancelled. Theroux made a documentary called Louis, Martin & Michael about his quest to get an interview with Michael Jackson. Selected episodes of When Louis Met... were included as bonus content on a Best-Of collection of Weird Weekends. The entire series has never been released on DVD.

In an interview in 2015, Theroux expressed his intention to produce a follow-up documentary about Jimmy Savile for the BBC. He wanted to explore how the entertainer continued his abuse for so long, and to meet people he knew closely. The documentary is due to be aired in 2016.

BBC Two specials

Main article: Louis Theroux's BBC Two specials

In these special programmes, beginning in 2003, Theroux returned to American themes, working at feature-length and in a more natural way. In March 2006, he signed a new deal with the BBC to make 10 films over the course of three years. Subjects for the specials include criminal gangs in Lagos, Neo-Nazis in America, ultra-Zionists in Israel, where he confirms he is an atheist. He also visits child psychiatry, and the prison systems in California and Florida. A 2007 special on The Most Hated Family in America, received strong critical praise from the international media.

My Scientology Movie

Main article: My Scientology Movie

In October 2015, Theroux premiered a feature length documentary entitled My Scientology Movie. Produced by Simon Chinn - a schoolfriend of Theroux's - and directed by John Dower, the film covers Theroux attempting to gain access to the secretive Church of Scientology. The film was premiered at the London Film Festival and is due for wider release.

Books

Theroux published his first book, The Call of the Weird: Travels in American Subcultures, in Britain in 2005. He recounts his return to the United States to learn about the lives of some of the people he had featured in his television programmes.

Other appearances

As part of the Weird Weekends episode "Porn", Theroux agreed to film a cameo in the 1997 gay pornography film Take a Peak. He did not perform sexual acts in the film, but made a brief appearance as a park ranger in search of a criminal. In the Weird Weekends episode "Infomercials", he was featured as a live-salesman for an at-home paper shredder for the Home Shopping Network.

Personal life

Theroux married longtime girlfriend Nancy Strang in 2012. They have three children and live in Harlesden, London. In early 2013, he and his family temporarily moved to Los Angeles, California - allowing Theroux more time to focus on his LA Stories series.

In a 2012 masterclass, Theroux spoke of the challenges of combining family life with the need to go away to work on projects.

Whilst filming for his BBC show America's Most Hated Family in Crisis, he was asked, "Why...pose a difference between religion and ethics?" He responded, "Because I don't believe in God". In his documentary "The Ultra Zionists", he confirms that he is an atheist.

Awards and nominations

BAFTA Awards

Year	Category	Show	Result
2002	Richard Dimbleby Award for the Best Presenter (Factual, Features and News)	When Louis Met...	Won
	Flaherty Documentary Award (TV)	When Louis Met... The Hamiltons	Nominated
2001	Richard Dimbleby Award for the Best Presenter (Factual, Features and News)	Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends	Won

Emmy Awards

Year	Category	Show	Result
1995	Outstanding Informational Series	TV Nation	Nominated

Royal Television Society Television Awards

Year	Category	Show	Result
2010	Best Presenter	A Place for Paedophiles	Won
2002	Best Presenter	When Louis Met...	Nominated

[ Source: Wikipedia ]