Age: 64
Birthplace: Madison, Wisconsin
Rob Marshall (born October 17, 1960) is an American theater director, film director and choreographer. His most noted work is the 2002 Academy Award for Best Picture winner Chicago, for which he won a Directors Guild of America Award, as well as Academy Award, BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations for Best Director. A five-time Tony Award nominee, he also won a Primetime Emmy Award for his choreography in the TV movie Annie.
Marshall was born in Madison, Wisconsin, the son of Anne and Robert D. Marshall, a professor. He was raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His sister is choreographer and director, Kathleen Marshall. He graduated from Taylor Allderdice High School in 1978 and was inducted into their alumni hall of fame in 2012. He attended Carnegie Mellon University and worked in the Pittsburgh theatre scene, performing with such companies as Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera.
Marshall went on to perform as a dancer in various Broadway shows, but suffered a herniated disc while performing in Cats and after recovering, transitioned into choreography and then directing.
He debuted in the film industry with the Emmy Award-winning TV adaptation of the musical Annie by Charles Strouse and Martin Charnin. After that he went on to direct the adaptation of the Kander and Ebb musical Chicago in 2002 for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director. His next feature film was the drama Memoirs of a Geisha based on the best-selling book of the same name by Arthur Golden starring Zhang Ziyi, Gong Li, Michelle Yeoh and Ken Watanabe. The film went on to win three Academy Awards and gross $162,242,962 at the worldwide box office.
In 2009, Marshall directed Nine, an adaptation of the hit Broadway production with the same name starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Marion Cotillard, Nicole Kidman, Sophia Loren and Penélope Cruz, who was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Marshall then went on to direct Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, the fourth chapter of Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean film series starring Johnny Depp, Ian McShane, Penélope Cruz and Geoffrey Rush, which opened on May 20, 2011.
Marshall directed Disney's film adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods (2014).
Marshall lives in New York City with his life partner John DeLuca.
Year | Show | Category |
---|---|---|
1993 | Kiss of the Spider Woman | Best Choreography |
1994 | Damn Yankees | Best Choreography |
1994 | She Loves Me | Best Choreography |
1998 | Cabaret | Best Choreography |
Best Direction of a Musical |
Year | Film | Academy Award Wins | Academy Award Nominations | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1995 | Victor/Victoria | - | - | television film, choreographer. |
1996 | Mrs. Santa Claus | - | - | television film, choreographer. Nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography |
1997 | Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella | - | - | television film, musical stager and choreographer. Nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography |
1999 | Annie | - | - | television film, director and choreographer. Winner of Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography, nominated for Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special |
2001 | The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts | - | - | television event, director. Winner of Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Musical/Variety |
2002 | Chicago | 6 | 13 | director and choreographer. Nominated for Academy Award for Best Director. Winner of Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures |
2005 | Memoirs of a Geisha | 3 | 6 | director. Nominated for Satellite Award for Best Director |
2006 | Tony Bennett: An American Classic | - | - | television film, director/executive producer/co-choreographer. Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special, Outstanding Directing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program and Outstanding Choreography |
2009 | Nine | - | 4 | director/producer/co-choreographer. Nominated for Satellite Award for Best Director |
2011 | Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides | - | - | director |
2014 | Into the Woods | - | 3 | director/producer/musical stager |