View source for Nicolas Roeg

{{short description|English film director and cinematographer (1928–2018)}}
{{use dmy dates|date=November 2018}}
{{use British English|date=November 2018}}
{{Infobox director
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|size=100%|post-noms=[[Order of the British Empire|CBE]] [[British Society of Cinematographers|BSC]]}}
| image            = Nicolas Roeg.jpg
| caption          = Roeg at the 43rd [[Karlovy Vary International Film Festival]] in 2008
| birth_name       = Nicolas Jack Roeg
| birth_date       = {{birth date|df=yes|1928|8|15}}
| birth_place      = [[St John's Wood]], London, England
| death_date       = {{death date and age|2018|11|23|1928|8|15|df=yes}}
| death_place      = London, England
| other_names      = <!-- Nicholas Roeg<br/>Nicolas Jack Roeg<br/> -->Nicholas Jack Roeg
| occupation       = {{hlist|Director|cinematographer}}
| years_active     = 1947–2013<!--last film released 2007, memoir published 2013-->
| spouse           = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|[[Susan Stephen]]|1957|1977|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|[[Theresa Russell]]|1982|end=div.}}
* {{marriage|Harriet Harper|2005}}
}}
| domestic_partner = 
| children         = 6
| relatives        =  
| signature        = 
}}

'''Nicolas Jack Roeg''' {{post-nominals|post-noms=[[Order of the British Empire|CBE]] [[British Society of Cinematographers|BSC]]}} ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|r|oʊ|ɡ}} {{Respell|ROHG}}; 15 August 1928 – 23 November 2018) was an English film director and [[cinematographer]], best known for directing ''[[Performance (film)|Performance]]'' (1970), ''[[Walkabout (film)|Walkabout]]'' (1971), ''[[Don't Look Now]]'' (1973), ''[[The Man Who Fell to Earth]]'' (1976), ''[[Bad Timing]]'' (1980) and ''[[The Witches (1990 film)|The Witches]]'' (1990).

Making his directorial debut 23 years after his entry into the film business, Roeg quickly became known for an idiosyncratic visual and narrative style, characterised by the use of disjointed and disorienting editing.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nicolas-Roeg|title=Nicolas Roeg – Biography, Facts, Films and Marriage to Theresa Russell|website=Encyclopaedia Britannica|access-date=17 December 2017}}</ref> For this reason, he is considered a highly influential filmmaker, cited as an inspiration by such directors as [[Steven Soderbergh]], [[Christopher Nolan]] and [[Danny Boyle]].

In 1999, the [[British Film Institute]] acknowledged Roeg's importance in the British film industry by naming ''Don't Look Now'' and ''Performance'' the 8th- and 48th-greatest British films of all time in its [[BFI Top 100 British films|Top 100 British film]]s poll.<ref name="Entertainment Best 100 British films - full list">{{cite web |title=Entertainment Best 100 British films – full list |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/455170.stm |website=[[BBC News]] |access-date=24 November 2018}}</ref>

==Early life==
Roeg was born in [[St John's Wood]] in [[north London]] on 15 August 1928 to Jack Nicolas Roeg and Mabel Gertrude ([[née]] Silk).<ref name=teamaker/> He had an older sister, [[Nicolette Roeg|Nicolette]] (1925–1987), who was an actress.<ref>{{cite web|title=Nicolas Roeg obituary {{!}} Nicolas Roeg |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/nov/25/nicolas-roeg-obituary|access-date=2022-02-14|website=The Guardian}}</ref> His father, of Dutch origin, achieved considerable success in the diamond trade, until a failed South African investment saw him suffer heavy financial losses.<ref name=teamaker>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-34603072|title=Nicolas Roeg: From tea-maker to director|date=24 November 2018|publisher=bbc.com|access-date=25 November 2018|work=BBC News}}</ref> Of his initial attraction to the film industry, Roeg suggested it was sparked by a recording studio located opposite his home.<ref name="auto1">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/nov/24/nicolas-roeg-dies-aged-90-dont-look-now-walkabout|title=Nicolas Roeg, director of Don't Look Now and Walkabout, dies aged 90|first=Steve|last=Rose|date=24 November 2018|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=25 November 2018}}</ref> Roeg was educated at the [[Mercers' School]] in London.<ref name="Guardianobit">{{cite news |last=Baxter |first=Brian |date=25 November 2018 |title=Nicolas Roeg obituary |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/nov/25/nicolas-roeg-obituary |access-date=2023-06-12}}</ref><ref name="telegraphobit">{{cite news |date=24 November 2018 |title=Nicolas Roeg, film director whose dazzling style was best seen in 'Don't Look Now', 'The Man Who Fell to Earth' and 'Performance' – obituary |work=The Daily Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2018/11/24/nicolas-roeg-film-director-unique-style-best-known-dont-look |access-date=2023-06-12}}</ref>

==Career==
===Cinematography===
In 1947, after completing [[national service]] in the [[British Army]] as a unit projectionist,<ref name="telegraphobit"/> Roeg entered the film business as a tea boy, moving up to clapper-loader, the bottom rung of the camera department, at [[Marylebone Studios]] in London.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/456125/|title = Screenonline|website = British Film Institute (BFI)|publisher = BFI}}</ref> For a time, he worked as a camera operator on a number of film productions, including ''[[The Sundowners (1960 film)|The Sundowners]]'' and ''[[The Trials of Oscar Wilde]]''.<ref name=teamaker/>

Roeg was a second-unit cinematographer on [[David Lean]]'s ''[[Lawrence of Arabia (film)|Lawrence of Arabia]]'' (1962) and this led to Lean's hiring Roeg as cinematographer on his next film, ''[[Doctor Zhivago (film)|Doctor Zhivago]]'' (1965); Roeg's creative vision clashed with that of Lean and eventually he was fired from the production and replaced by [[Freddie Young]], who received sole credit for cinematography when the film was released in 1965.<ref name="Wood">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2005/jun/03/hayfilmfestival2005.hayfestival|title=Nicholas Roeg|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=10 July 2010|date=3 June 2005|last=Wood|first=Jason}}</ref> He was credited as cinematographer on [[Roger Corman]]'s ''[[The Masque of the Red Death (1964 film)|The Masque of the Red Death]]'' and [[François Truffaut]]'s ''[[Fahrenheit 451 (1966 film)|Fahrenheit 451]]'', as well as [[John Schlesinger]]'s ''[[Far from the Madding Crowd (1967 film)|Far from the Madding Crowd]]'' and [[Richard Lester]]'s ''[[Petulia]]''; the latter is the last film on which Roeg was solely credited for cinematography and also shares many characteristics and similarities with Roeg's work as a director.<ref>{{cite web |last=Danks |first=Adrian |title=The Art of Falling Apart: ''Petulia'' and the Fate of Richard Lester |url=http://www.screeningthepast.com/issue-35-first-release/the-art-of-falling-apart-petulia-and-the-fate-of-richard-lester |access-date=2023-06-12 |website=screeningthepast.com}}</ref>

===Directing===
In the late 1960s, Roeg moved into directing with ''[[Performance (film)|Performance]]'', alongside [[Donald Cammell]]. The film centres on an aspiring London gangster ([[James Fox]]) who moves in with a reclusive rock star ([[Mick Jagger]]) to evade his bosses. The film featured cinematography by Roeg and a screenplay by Cammell, the latter of whom had favoured [[Marlon Brando]] for the James Fox role.<ref name="auto">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jul/21/james-fox-sandy-lieberson-how-we-made-performance|title=James Fox and Sandy Lieberson: how we made Performance|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=17 December 2017|date=21 July 2015|last=Watkins|first=Jack}}</ref> The film was completed in 1968 but withheld from release by its distributor [[Warner Bros.]] who, according to [[Sanford Lieberson]], "didn't think it was releasable."<ref name="auto"/> The film was eventually released with an [[X rating]] in 1970 and, despite its initial poor reception, has come to be held in high esteem by critics due to its cult following.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/performance/|title=Performance|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|access-date=25 November 2018}}</ref>

Roeg followed up with ''[[Walkabout (film)|Walkabout]]'', which tells the story of an English teenage girl and her younger brother who are abandoned in the Australian [[Outback]] by their father after his suicide and forced to fend for themselves, with the help of an [[Aboriginal Australians|Aboriginal]] boy on his [[walkabout]]. Roeg cast [[Jenny Agutter]] in the role of the girl, his son [[Luc Roeg|Luc]] as the boy, and [[David Gulpilil]] as the Aboriginal boy.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/aug/09/how-we-made-walkabout-jenny-agutter-nicolas-roeg-luc-roeg|title=How we made Walkabout|first=Alex|last=Godfrey|date=9 August 2016|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=24 November 2018}}</ref> It was widely praised by critics despite its lack of commercial success.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sbs.com.au/movies/article/2016/08/11/walkabout-cheat-sheet|title=Walkabout: Cheat Sheet|date=11 August 2016|access-date=24 November 2018}}</ref>

Roeg's next film, ''[[Don't Look Now]]'', is based on [[Daphne du Maurier]]'s [[Not After Midnight|short story of the same name]] and starred [[Julie Christie]] and [[Donald Sutherland]] as a married couple in [[Venice]] mourning the death of their daughter who had drowned. It attracted scrutiny early on due to a sex scene between Sutherland and Christie, which was unusually explicit for the time. Roeg's decision to inter-cut the sexual intercourse with shots of the couple dressing afterwards was reportedly due to the need to assuage the fears of the censors and there were rumours at the time of its release that the sex was unsimulated.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.film4.com/features/article/nicolas-roeg-on-dont-look-now|title=Nicolas Roeg on Don't Look Now|website=Film 4|access-date=17 December 2017 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110810181107/http://www.film4.com/features/article/nicolas-roeg-on-dont-look-now|archive-date=10 August 2011}}</ref> The film was widely praised by critics and considered one of the most important and influential horror films ever made.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/nicolas-roeg-death-movie-director-dont-look-now-age-witches-david-bowie-a8650106.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220620/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/nicolas-roeg-death-movie-director-dont-look-now-age-witches-david-bowie-a8650106.html |archive-date=20 June 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=British film director Nicolas Roeg dies aged 90|website=[[Independent.co.uk]]|access-date=25 November 2018|date=2018-11-24}}</ref>

Similarly to ''Performance'', Roeg cast musicians in leading roles for his next two films, ''[[The Man Who Fell to Earth]]'' and ''[[Bad Timing]]''. ''The Man Who Fell to Earth'' (1976) stars [[David Bowie]] as a humanoid alien who comes to [[Earth]] to collect water for his planet, which is suffering from a drought. The film divided critics and was truncated upon its U.S. release.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.criterion.com/films/755-the-man-who-fell-to-earth|title=The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)|website=The Criterion Collection|access-date=17 December 2017}}</ref> Despite this, it was entered into the [[Berlin International Film Festival]] where Roeg was nominated for the [[Golden Bear]]. It is today considered an important [[science fiction film]] and is one of Roeg's most celebrated films. ''Bad Timing'' was released in 1980 and stars [[Art Garfunkel]] as an American psychiatrist living in [[Vienna]] who develops a love affair with a fellow expatriate (played by [[Theresa Russell]], to whom Roeg was later married), which culminates in the latter being rushed to hospital due to an incident the nature of which is revealed over the course of the film. At first, it was disliked by critics, as well as by the [[Rank Organisation]], its distributor, who allegedly described it as "a sick film made by sick people for sick people."<ref>{{cite news |last=Hasted |first=Nick |date=15 August 2000 |title=Nicolas Roeg's Bad Timing |newspaper=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2000/aug/15/artsfeatures.edinburghfilmfestival |access-date=2023-06-12}}</ref> Rank requested that their logo be taken off the finished film.<ref>{{cite news |date=25 July 2008 |title=Pictures from Roeg's gallery |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/pictures-from-roeg-s-gallery-1.946644 |access-date=25 November 2018 |newspaper=[[The Irish Times]]}}</ref>

''Bad Timing'' marked the beginning of a three-film partnership with [[Jeremy Thomas]]. The second of these films ''[[Eureka (1983 film)|Eureka]]'' (1983) is loosely based on the true story of Sir [[Harry Oakes]]; it received a largely limited release both theatrically and on home video.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://americancinemapapers.homestead.com/files/EUREKA.htm|title=NICHOLAS ROEG – INTERVIEWED BY HARLAN KENNEDY|website=americancinemapapers.homestead.com|access-date=25 November 2018}}</ref> It was followed up with ''[[Insignificance (film)|Insignificance]]'', which imagines a meeting between [[Marilyn Monroe]], [[Albert Einstein]], Monroe's second husband [[Joe DiMaggio]] and Senator [[Joseph McCarthy]]. ''Insignificance'' was screened in competition at the [[1985 Cannes Film Festival]], with the film being selected to compete for the [[Palme d'Or]].<ref name="selection">{{cite web|url=http://www.festival-cannes.fr/en/archives/1985/allSelections.html |title=Official Selection 1985: All the Selection |work=festival-cannes.fr |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202221655/http://www.festival-cannes.fr/en/archives/1985/allSelections.html |archive-date=2 December 2013 |df=dmy}}</ref>

In 1986, Roeg was approached by then [[Secretary of State for Health and Social Services]] [[Norman Fowler, Baron Fowler|Norman Fowler]] and the advertising agency [[TBWA Worldwide|TBWA]] to direct the British government's [[public health]] campaign ''[[AIDS: Don't Die of Ignorance]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Jonze|first=Tim|date=4 September 2017|title='It was a life-and-death situation. Wards were full of young men dying': How we made the Don't Die of Ignorance Aids campaign|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2017/sep/04/how-we-made-dont-die-of-ignorance-aids-campaign|access-date=21 November 2020|website=The Guardian}}</ref>

Roeg's next two films, ''[[Castaway (film)|Castaway]]'' and ''[[Track 29]]'', are considered minor entries in his oeuvre.{{by whom?|date=April 2023}}<ref name="Senses of Cinema">{{cite web |last=Hill |first=Lee |date=21 May 2002 |title=Nicolas Roeg – Great Director profile |url=http://sensesofcinema.com/2002/great-directors/roeg/ |access-date=12 July 2014 |website=Senses of Cinema}}</ref> Roeg was selected to direct an [[The Witches (1990 film)|adaptation]] of [[Roald Dahl]]'s children's novel ''[[The Witches (novel)|The Witches]]'' by [[Jim Henson]], who had procured the film rights to the book in 1983.<ref>{{cite web |last=Jordan |first=Louis |date=20 August 2015 |title=Summer of '90: The Witches – The House Next Door |url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/house/article/summer-of-90-the-witches |access-date=17 December 2017 |website=Slant Magazine}}</ref> This would prove to be his last major studio film and proved a great success with critics, although it was a box-office failure. Roeg made only three theatrical films following ''The Witches'': ''[[Cold Heaven (film)|Cold Heaven]]'' (1992), ''[[Two Deaths]]'' (1995) and ''[[Puffball (film)|Puffball]]'' (2007).<ref name = ODNB>{{cite ODNB|title = Roeg, Nicolas Jack (1928–2018), film director and cinematographer|doi = 10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.90000380577|last = Sinyard|first = Neil|date = 2022}}</ref> Roeg also did a small amount of work for television, including ''[[Sweet Bird of Youth (1989 film)|Sweet Bird of Youth]]'', an adaptation of the [[Tennessee Williams]] play, and ''[[Heart of Darkness (1993 film)|Heart of Darkness]]'' and an episode of [[George Lucas|George Lucas's]] [[The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles|''Young Indiana Jones'']].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/arts-the-horror-the-horror-nic-roeg-has-just-finished-filming-conrads-heart-of-darkness-in-belize-1482509.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220620/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/arts-the-horror-the-horror-nic-roeg-has-just-finished-filming-conrads-heart-of-darkness-in-belize-1482509.html |archive-date=20 June 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=ARTS / The horror, the horror]: Nic Roeg has just finished filming|website=[[Independent.co.uk]]|access-date=25 November 2018|date=1993-07-02}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |title=The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Demons of Deception (1999) |url=https://letterboxd.com/film/the-adventures-of-young-indiana-jones-demons-of-deception/ |access-date=2023-05-27 |language=en}}</ref>

Roeg did not make any more films after 2007, but published a memoir, ''The World Is Ever Changing'', in 2013.<ref name = ODNB/>

==Style and influence==
Roeg's films are known for having scenes and images from the plot presented in a disarranged fashion, out of chronological and causal order, requiring the viewer to do the work of mentally rearranging them to comprehend the story line. They seem to "shatter reality into a thousand pieces" and are "unpredictable, fascinating, cryptic, and liable to leave you wondering what the hell just happened..."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rose |first=Steve |date=2008-07-11 |title='You don't know me' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2008/jul/12/film.features |access-date=2025-11-09 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> This is also the strategy of [[Richard Lester]]'s 1968 film ''[[Petulia]]'', which was Roeg's last film as a cinematographer only. A characteristic of Roeg's films is that they are edited in disjunctive and semi-coherent ways that make full sense only in the film's final moments, when a crucial piece of information surfaces; they are "mosaic-like montages [filled with] elliptical details which become very important later."<ref name="Wood"/>

These techniques, along with Roeg's foreboding sense of atmosphere, influenced later such filmmakers as [[Steven Soderbergh]],<ref name="Wood"/> [[Tony Scott]],<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Leve |first=Ariel |date=August 2005 |title=Interview with Tony Scott |url=http://www.ariel-leve.com/st_interviews/tonyscott.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100314084040/http://www.ariel-leve.com/st_interviews/tonyscott.html |archive-date=14 March 2010 |magazine=The Sunday Times Magazine}}</ref> [[Ridley Scott]], [[François Ozon]] and [[Danny Boyle]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Adams |first=Tim |date=2010-12-05 |title=Danny Boyle: 'As soon as you think you can do whatever you want... then you're sunk' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/dec/05/danny-boyle-interview-tim-adams |access-date=2025-11-09 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> In addition to this, [[Christopher Nolan]] has said his film ''[[Memento (film)|Memento]]'' would have been "pretty unthinkable" without Roeg and cites the finale of ''Insignificance'' as an influence on his own ''[[Inception]]''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/mar/10/nicolas-roeg|title=Nicolas Roeg: 'I don't want to be ahead of my time'|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=17 December 2017|date=10 March 2011|last=Gilbey|first=Ryan}}</ref> In addition to this, Steven Soderbergh's ''[[Out of Sight]]'' features a love scene that is visibly influenced by that in ''Don't Look Now''.<ref>{{cite news | title = Steven Soderbergh Interview | work =  Mr. Showbiz | year = 1998 }}</ref>

A further theme that can be seen to be running through Roeg's filmography is characters who are out of their natural setting.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/where-begin-nicolas-roeg|title=Where to begin with Nicolas Roeg|date=13 September 2016 |publisher=BFI|access-date=26 November 2018}}</ref> Examples of this include the schoolchildren in the Outback in ''Walkabout'', the men and women in Venice in ''Don't Look Now'', the alien on Earth in ''The Man Who Fell to Earth'', and the Americans in Vienna in ''Bad Timing''.

Roeg's influence on cinema is not limited to deconstructing narrative. The "[[Memo from Turner]]" sequence in ''Performance'' predates many techniques later used in music videos. The "quadrant" sequence in ''Bad Timing'', in which the thoughts of Theresa Russell and [[Art Garfunkel]] are heard before words are spoken set to [[Keith Jarrett]]'s piano music from ''[[The Köln Concert]]'', stretched the boundaries of what could be done with film.<ref name="Senses of Cinema"/>

==Legacy and honours==
Roeg's cinematic work was showcased at the [[Riverside Studios]] from 12–14 September 2008. He introduced the retrospective with [[Miranda Richardson]], who starred in ''[[Puffball (film)|Puffball]]''. The programme included ''[[Bad Timing]]'', ''[[Far from the Madding Crowd (1967 film)|Far from the Madding Crowd]]'', ''[[The Man Who Fell to Earth]]'', ''[[The Witches (1990 film)|The Witches]]'', ''[[Eureka (1984 film)|Eureka]]'', ''[[Don't Look Now]]'' and ''[[Insignificance (film)|Insignificance]]''. The [[London Film Academy]] organised this event for Roeg in honour of his patronage of the school.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://filmlondon.org.uk/news/2008/september/film_london_news_bulletin_-_12_september_2008 | title=Film London News Bulletin – 12 September 2008 | access-date=24 November 2018 | archive-date=17 December 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101217180423/http://filmlondon.org.uk/news/2008/september/film_london_news_bulletin_-_12_september_2008 | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/sep/06/2|title=Film review: Nicolas Roeg At Tyneside/Roeg At Riverside, Newcastle upon Tyne/London|first=Andrea|last=Hubert|date=5 September 2008|work=The Guardian|access-date=24 November 2018}}</ref>

In 1994, he was awarded a [[British Film Institute Fellowship]]. In the [[1996 New Year Honours]], Roeg was made a Commander of the [[Order of the British Empire]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/strategy-policy/bfi-fellows|title=BFI Fellows|website=British Film Institute|access-date=17 December 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Fowler |first=Rebecca |date=30 December 1995 |title=THE NEW YEAR HONOURS: Musicals top the bill |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/the-new-year-honours-musicals-top-the-bill-1527753.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220620/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/the-new-year-honours-musicals-top-the-bill-1527753.html |archive-date=20 June 2022 |access-date=17 December 2017 |work=The Independent}}</ref>

==Personal life and death==
From 1957 to 1977, Roeg was married to English actress [[Susan Stephen]]. They had four sons: Waldo, Nico, Sholto and (film producer) [[Luc Roeg]]. Luc appeared as an actor, as Lucien John, in ''[[Walkabout (film)|Walkabout]]'',<ref>{{cite web
| url =https://www.cinemaretro.com/index.php?/archives/11011-TALKABOUT-WALKABOUT-EXCLUSIVE-INTERVIEW-WITH-LUC-ROEG.html
| title =Talkabout Walkabout
| last =Mawston
| first =Mark
| publisher =Cinema Retro
| access-date =2024-03-21}}</ref> Roeg's first film as solo director.<ref name="Guardianobit"/> In 1982, Roeg married American actress [[Theresa Russell]] and they had two sons: Maximillian (an actor) and Statten Roeg. They later divorced.{{when|date=December 2025}}<ref name="Guardianobit"/> Roeg was then married to Harriet Harper from 2005 until his death, from dementia, on 23 November 2018, at a nursing home in [[Ladbroke Grove]], London.<ref name="Guardianobit"/><ref name = ODNB/>

Actor [[Donald Sutherland]] (who named one of his sons after Roeg) described Roeg as a "fearless visionary". Filmmaker [[Duncan Jones]], the son of David Bowie, who starred in ''The Man Who Fell to Earth'' (1976), also paid tribute to Roeg, calling him a "great storyteller" and "inimitable".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/movies/donald-sutherland-leads-tributes-to-fearless-visionary-nicolas-roeg-37561953.html |title=Donald Sutherland leads tributes to 'fearless visionary' Nicolas Roeg |newspaper=[[Independent.ie]] |publisher=[[INM Website]] |access-date=25 November 2018 |date=24 November 2018 |first=Sherna |last=Noah}}</ref>

==Filmography==
Roeg is credited on the following films:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba1aa6884 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306194333/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba1aa6884 |url-status=dead |archive-date=6 March 2016 |title=Nicolas Roeg |work=BFI |access-date=24 November 2018}}</ref>
=== Director ===
====Film====
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Notes
|-
| 1970
| ''[[Performance (film)|Performance]]''
| Co-directed with [[Donald Cammell]]
|-
| 1971
| ''[[Walkabout (film)|Walkabout]]''
| Also writer
|-
|1972
|''[[Glastonbury Fayre (film)|Glastonbury Fayre]]'' 
|Documentary; uncredited
|-
| 1973
| ''[[Don't Look Now]]''
|
|-
| 1976
| ''[[The Man Who Fell to Earth]]''
|
|-
| 1980
| ''[[Bad Timing]]''
|
|-
| 1983
| ''[[Eureka (1983 film)|Eureka]]''
|
|-
| 1985
| ''[[Insignificance (film)|Insignificance]]''
|
|-
| 1986
| ''[[Castaway (film)|Castaway]]''
|
|-
| 1988
| ''[[Track 29]]''
|
|-
|1989
| ''[[Sweet Bird of Youth (1989 film)|Sweet Bird of Youth]]'' 
|Television film
|-
| 1990
| ''[[The Witches (1990 film)|The Witches]]''
|
|-
| 1991
| ''[[Cold Heaven (film)|Cold Heaven]]''
|
|-
|1993
| ''[[Heart of Darkness (1993 film)|Heart of Darkness]]'' 
|Television film
|-
| 1995
| ''[[Two Deaths]]''
|
|-
|1995
| ''[[Full Body Massage]]'' 
|Television film
|-
| 2007
| ''[[Puffball (film)|Puffball]]''
|
|}

'''Short film'''
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Notes
|-
| 1967
| ''Breakthrough''
|
|-
| 1987
| ''Un ballo in maschera''
| Segment of ''[[Aria (1987 film)|Aria]]'' (Also writer)
|-
| 1995
| ''[[Hotel Paradise (1995 film)|Hotel Paradise]]''
|
|-
| 2000
| ''The Sound of Claudia Schiffer''
|
|-
|2014
|''The Film That Buys the Cinema''
|One-minute segment
|}

====Episodic television====
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Notes
|-
| 1993
| ''[[The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles]]''
| Episode "Paris, October 1916"
|-
| 1996
| ''[[Samson and Delilah (1996 miniseries)|Samson and Delilah]]''
| Miniseries
|}

===Cinematographer===
'''Film'''
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Director
! Notes
|-
| 1960
| ''[[Jazz Boat]]''
| [[Ken Hughes]]
| With [[Ted Moore]]
|-
| 1961
| ''[[Information Received]]''
|rowspan=2|[[Robert Lynn (director)|Robert Lynn]]
|
|-
|rowspan=2|1962
| ''[[Dr. Crippen (1962 film)|Dr. Crippen]]''
|
|-
| ''[[Band of Thieves (1962 film)|Band of Thieves]]'' 
| [[Peter Bezencenet]]
| 
|-
|rowspan=2|1963
| ''[[Just for Fun (film)|Just for Fun]]''
| [[Gordon Flemyng]]
|
|-
| ''[[The Caretaker (1963 film)|The Caretaker]]''
| [[Clive Donner]]
|
|-
|rowspan=4|1964
| ''[[The Masque of the Red Death (1964 film)|The Masque of the Red Death]]''
| [[Roger Corman]]
|
|-
| ''[[Nothing but the Best (film)|Nothing But the Best]]''
| Clive Donner
|
|-
| ''[[Code 7, Victim 5]]''
| [[Robert Lynn (director)|Robert Lynn]]
|
|-
| ''[[The System (1964 film)|The System]]''
| [[Michael Winner]]
|
|-
| 1965
| ''[[Every Day's a Holiday (1965 film)|Every Day's a Holiday]]''
| [[James Hill (British director)|James Hill]]
|
|-
|rowspan=2|1966
| ''[[Fahrenheit 451 (1966 film)|Fahrenheit 451]]''
| [[François Truffaut]]
|
|-
| ''[[A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (film)|A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum]]''
| [[Richard Lester]]
|
|-
| 1967
| ''[[Far from the Madding Crowd (1967 film)|Far from the Madding Crowd]]''
| [[John Schlesinger]]
|
|-
| 1968
| ''[[Petulia]]''
| Richard Lester
|
|-
| 1970
| ''[[Performance (film)|Performance]]''
| Himself<br>[[Donald Cammell]]
|
|-
| 1971
| ''[[Walkabout (film)|Walkabout]]''
| Himself
|
|-
| 1972
| ''[[Glastonbury Fayre (film)|Glastonbury Fayre]]''
| Peter Neal
| Documentary film
|-
|}

'''Television'''
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Director
! Notes
|-
|rowspan=2|1961
| ''The Pursuers''
|rowspan=2|[[Robert Lynn (director)|Robert Lynn]]
| Episode "The Frame" (Location shoot)
|-
| ''[[Ghost Squad (TV series)|Ghost Squad]]''
| Episode "Death from a Distance"
|}

==Accolades==
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
|-
! scope="col" style="width:15em;"| Award/association
! scope="col" style="width:2em;"| Year
! scope="col" style="width:15em;"| Category
! scope="col"| Nominated work
! scope="col"| Result
! scope="col" class="unsortable"| {{Abbr|Ref.|Reference(s)}}
|-
! scope="row"| [[Berlin International Film Festival]]
| [[26th Berlin International Film Festival|1976]]
| [[Golden Bear]]
| ''{{sortname|The|Man Who Fell to Earth}}''
| {{nom}}
| style="text-align:center;"| 
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="3" | [[British Academy Film Awards]]
| 1964
| rowspan="2"| [[BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography|Best Cinematography (Colour)]]
| ''[[Nothing but the Best (film)|Nothing But the Best]]''
| {{nom}}
| style="text-align:center;"| <ref>{{cite web| title = BAFTA Awards Search – Nothing But the Best| publisher = [[British Academy of Film and Television Arts]]| url = https://www.bafta.org/awards/search/?search=Nothing+But+the+Best+-+Roeg|archive-date=11 November 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251111230913/https://www.bafta.org/web/20251111230913/https://www.bafta.org/awards/search/?search=Nothing+But+the+Best+-+Roeg|url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
| 1967
| | ''[[Far from the Madding Crowd (1967 film)|Far from the Madding Crowd]]''
| {{nom}}
| style="text-align:center;"|<ref>{{cite web| title = BAFTA Awards Search – Far from the Madding Crowd| publisher = [[British Academy of Film and Television Arts]]| url = https://www.bafta.org/awards/search/?search=Far+from+the+Madding+Crowd%09|archive-date=11 November 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251111231610/https://www.bafta.org/awards/search/?search=Far+from+the+Madding+Crowd%09|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| 1973
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Direction|Best Direction]]
| ''[[Don't Look Now]]''
| {{nom}}
| style="text-align:center;"| <ref>{{cite web| title = BAFTA Awards Search – Don't Look Now | publisher = [[British Academy of Film and Television Arts]]| url = https://www.bafta.org/awards/search/?search=don%27t+look+now|archive-date=11 November 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251111223639/https://www.bafta.org/awards/search/?search=don%27t+look+now|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="4" | [[Cannes Film Festival]]
| [[1971 Cannes Film Festival|1971]]
| [[Palme d'Or]]
| ''[[Walkabout (film)|Walkabout]]''
| {{nom}}
| style="text-align:center;"| <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/walkabout/|work=[[Cannes Film Festival]]|title=Festival de Cannes: Walkabout|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250619190721/https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/walkabout/|archive-date=19 June 2025}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="2"| [[1985 Cannes Film Festival|1985]]
| [[CST Award for Best Artist-Technician|Technical Grand Prize]]
| rowspan="2"|''[[Insignificance (film)|Insignificance]]''
| {{won}}
| style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/944/year/1985.html |title=Festival de Cannes: Insignificance |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120730173112/http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/944/year/1985.html|archive-date=30 July 2012|url-status=live|work=[[Cannes Film Festival]]}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="2"| Palme d'Or
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[1987 Cannes Film Festival|1987]]
| ''[[Aria (1987 film)|Aria]]''
| {{nom}}
| style="text-align:center;"| <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/aria/|work=[[Cannes Film Festival]]|title=Festival de Cannes: Aria|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250222190129/https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/aria/|archive-date=22 February 2025}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row"| [[Chicago International Film Festival]]
| 1995
| Gold Chicago Hugo
| ''[[Two Deaths]]''
| {{nom}}
| style="text-align:center;"| 
|-
! scope="row"| [[Deauville American Film Festival]]
| 1988
| Deauville Critics Award 
| ''[[Track 29]]''
| {{nom}}
| style="text-align:center;"| <ref>{{cite web|work=[[Le Monde]]|url=https://www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/1988/09/11/au-festival-de-deauville-le-gout-du-jeu_4090848_1819218.html|date=11 September 1988|title=Au Festival de Deauville Le goût du jeu|language=fr|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210410124220/https://www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/1988/09/11/au-festival-de-deauville-le-gout-du-jeu_4090848_1819218.html|archive-date=10 April 2021}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row"| [[Fantasporto]]
| 1990
| International Fantasy Film Award
| ''{{sortname|The|Witches|The Witches (1990 film)}}''
| {{nom}}
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="2"| [[Hugo Award]]s
| 1976
| rowspan="2"| [[Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation|Best Dramatic Presentation]]
| ''{{sortname|The|Man Who Fell to Earth|nolink=yes}}''
| {{nom}}
| style="text-align:center;"| 
|-
| 1990
| ''{{sortname|The|Witches|nolink=yes}}''
| {{nom}}
| style="text-align:center;"| 
|-
! scope="row"| [[London Film Critics' Circle]]
| 1980
| Director of the Year
| ''[[Bad Timing]]''
| {{nom}}
| style="text-align:center;"| 
|-
! scope="row"| [[National Society of Film Critics]]
| 1967
| [[National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cinematography|Best Cinematography]]
| ''[[Far from the Madding Crowd (1967 film)|Far from the Madding Crowd]]''
| {{draw|3rd place}}
| style="text-align:center;"| 
|-
! scope="row"| [[Toronto International Film Festival]]
| 1980
| [[Toronto International Film Festival People's Choice Award|People's Choice Award]]
| ''Bad Timing''
| {{nom}}
| style="text-align:center;"| 
|}

==References==
===Citations===
{{reflist}}

===Sources===
* ''Nicolas Roeg'', Neil Feineman, Boston: Twayne, 1978 {{ISBN| 9780805792584}}
* ''The Films of Nicolas Roeg: Myth and Mind'', John Izod, Basingstoke, Macmillan, 1992 {{ISBN| 9780312079048}}
* ''Fragile Geometry: The Films, Philosophy and Misadventures of Nicolas Roeg'', Joseph Lanza, New York: Paj Publications, 1989 {{ISBN| 9781555540333}}
* ''The Films of Nicolas Roeg'', Neil Sinyard, London: Letts, 1991 {{ISBN| 9781852381660}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Nicolas Roeg}}

* {{IMDb name|0001676}}
* {{screenonline name|id=456125|name=Nicolas Roeg biography and credits}}
* [http://www.phinnweb.org/roeg/ Nicolas Roeg @ pHinnWeb]
* [https://www.futuremovies.co.uk/filmmaking/best-british-directors-1-nicolas-roeg/nik-huggins Best British Directors: Nicolas Roeg] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181124220406/https://www.futuremovies.co.uk/filmmaking/best-british-directors-1-nicolas-roeg/nik-huggins |date=24 November 2018 }}
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20020610072729/http://www.geraldpeary.com/interviews/pqr/roeg.html Interview with Roeg from 1980]}} by Gerald Peary; accessed 12 July 2014
* [http://photos.oscars.org/listanevent.php?events=819 Tribute to Nicolas Roeg 2007], Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (photos.oscars.org); accessed 12 July 2014
* [https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/book-review-the-world-is-ever-changing-by-nicolas-roeg-8706126.html Book Review: ''The World is Ever Changing'' by Nicolas Roeg], independent.co.uk; accessed 12 July 2014
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-34603072 Nicolas Roeg obituary: From tea-maker to director's chair] at bbc.co.uk; accessed 24 November 2018
* {{NPG name|id=10379}}

{{British Film Institute Fellowship}}
{{London Film Critics Circle Award for Director of the Year}}
{{Nicolas Roeg}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roeg, Nicolas}}
[[Category:1928 births]]
[[Category:2018 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century British Army personnel]]
[[Category:21st-century English memoirists]]
[[Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Deaths from dementia in England]]
[[Category:English cinematographers]]
[[Category:English people of Dutch descent]]
[[Category:English television directors]]
[[Category:Film directors from London]]
[[Category:People educated at Mercers' School]]
[[Category:People from St John's Wood]]