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Jay Roach

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Jay Roach
Roach in 2013
Born
Mathew Jay Roach

(1957-06-14) June 14, 1957 (age 67)
Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.
Other namesM. Jay Roach
Alma materStanford University (BA)
University of Southern California (MFA)
OccupationFilmmaker
Years active1986–present
Notable workAustin Powers
Mystery, Alaska
Meet the Parents
Dinner for Schmucks
The Campaign
Trumbo
Bombshell
Spouse
​
(m. 1993)​
Children2

Mathew Jay Roach (born June 14, 1957) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for directing the Austin Powers film series, Meet the Parents, Dinner for Schmucks, The Campaign, Trumbo, and Bombshell.[1]

Roach also earned critical acclaim for directing and producing the political television drama films Recount, Game Change, and All the Way. He produced the films under his Everyman Pictures banner.[2] For his work, he has received four Primetime Emmy Awards from six nominations.

Early life and education

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Roach was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S., where his father was a military worker.[3] He graduated from Eldorado High School in 1975.[4] He received a BA in economics from Stanford University in 1980,[citation needed] and later earned a Master of Fine Arts in film production from the University of Southern California in 1986.[5]

Career

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Roach's early entrance into film was in music videos. His first job was working as a cameraman on the music video for Eazy-E's "Eazy-er Said Than Dunn", which was directed by his film school friend John Lloyd Miller.[6] Roach made his directorial debut with the 1990 comedy film Zoo Radio. He received recognition for the commercially successful spy comedy film Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997), starring Mike Myers as the title character. He returned to direct the sequels Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) and Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002).

Roach also directed the sports comedy-drama film Mystery, Alaska, which was released in October 1999. He continued to direct critically and commercially successful comedies, including Meet the Parents (2000) and its sequel Meet the Fockers (2004), Dinner for Schmucks (2010), and The Campaign (2012). Roach expanded into other genres, directing the biographical period drama Trumbo (2015) and the biographical drama Bombshell (2019), which earned multiple Academy Award nominations.

Roach earned critical acclaim for directing multiple HBO political drama films. He directed Recount (2008), which earned him two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special and Outstanding Television Movie, in addition to the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Miniseries or TV Film. He then directed Game Change, about the 2008 McCain/Palin campaign, which premiered March 2012 as one of the most watched films in HBO history. The film earned him additional Primetime Emmy Awards in the same categories as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Miniseries or Television Film and a Peabody Award.[7] He also directed All the Way, which premiered in May 2016 and earned Roach two more Primetime Emmy Award nominations in the same categories.

Personal life

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Roach is married to musician and actress Susanna Hoffs of The Bangles, with whom he has two sons.[8] Roach was raised a Southern Baptist, and converted to Judaism before marrying Hoffs.[3]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Director Producer
1990 Zoo Radio[a] Yes No
1997 Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery Yes No
1999 Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me Yes No
Mystery, Alaska Yes No
2000 Meet the Parents Yes Yes
2002 Austin Powers in Goldmember Yes No
2004 Meet the Fockers Yes Yes
2010 Dinner for Schmucks Yes Yes
2012 The Campaign Yes Yes
2015 Trumbo Yes Uncredited
2019 Bombshell Yes Yes
2025 The Roses Yes Yes

Producer only

Other credits

Year Title Role
1994 Blown Away[b] Writer and associate producer

Television

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TV series

Year Title Director Executive
Producer 		Notes
2004 American Candidate No Yes 10 episodes
2005 Earth to America Yes No TV special
2015 The Brink Yes Yes 10 episodes
2023 High Desert Yes Yes 8 episodes

TV movies

Year Title Director Executive
Producer
2008 Recount Yes Yes
2012 Game Change Yes Yes
2016 All the Way Yes Yes
2020 Coastal Elites Yes Yes

Other credits

Year Title Producer Writer Notes
1993 Space Rangers Yes Yes Episode: "Fort Hope"
Lifepod Co-producer Yes TV movie
1997 Poltergeist: The Legacy No Yes Episode: "Fear"
2019 Barry No No Appeared as himself;
Episode: "The Audition"

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Nominee(s) Result Ref.
2008 Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Television Movie Recount Won [9]
Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special Won
2009 Directors Guild of America Award Outstanding Directing – Miniseries or TV Film Won [10]
Golden Globe Award Best Miniseries or Television Film Nominated [11]
Producers Guild of America Award Best Long-Form Television Nominated [10]
2012 Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Television Movie Game Change Won [9]
Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special Won
2013 Directors Guild of America Award Outstanding Directing – Miniseries or TV Film Won [10]
Golden Globe Award Best Miniseries or Television Movie Won [12]
Producers Guild of America Award Best Long-Form Television Won [10]
2016 Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Television Movie All the Way Nominated [9]
Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special Nominated
2017 Directors Guild of America Award Outstanding Directing – Miniseries or TV Film Nominated [10]

Notes

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  1. ^ Credited as "M. Jay Roach"
  2. ^ Credited as "M. Jay Roach"

References

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  1. ^ Stanford Magazine, July/Aug 2007
  2. ^ "Jay Roach". Variety. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
  3. ^ a b Pfefferman, Naomi (July 20, 2010). "'Schmucks' Director Redefines the Term". The Jewish Journal of Greater L.A. Retrieved July 21, 2010.
  4. ^ Lane, Charlotte Balcomb (June 11, 1999). "Native son directs 'Austin Powers'". Albuquerque Journal. p. B1.
  5. ^ Notable Alumni, USC School of Cinematic Arts Archived August 26, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
  6. ^ Ducker, Eric. "On the Job Training: Part Three". Wayback Machine. Archived from the original on February 3, 2016. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  7. ^ Lazarus, Catie (June 5, 2013). "Talking to Jay Roach About 'Austin Powers', 'Meet the Parents', and Directing Big-Budget Comedies". splitsider.com. Archived from the original on April 14, 2015. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
  8. ^ "No more manic Mondays". The Sun-Herald. September 5, 2005. Retrieved August 15, 2010.
  9. ^ a b c "Jay Roach". Emmys.com. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  10. ^ a b c d e "Jay Roach - Awards". IMDb. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  11. ^ "Recount". goldenglobes.com. Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  12. ^ "Game Change". goldenglobes.com. Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
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