Biography for
Christopher McQuarrie More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

Spouse

Trivia

A graduate of West Windsor-Plainsboro High School in Central New Jersey (along with Bryan Singer, director of The Usual Suspects).

As a high school sophomore, portrayed Applegate (the devil) in his school's production of the musical "Damn Yankees".

voted onto the 25 future powers under 35 list of Premiere magazine 2002 at age 33

As a high school junior, portrayed Prince Dauntless in his school's production of the musical "Once Upon a Mattress".

His favourite director is Sidney Lumet.

Personal Quotes

On James Caan: "As a director you're trying to shape everybody else's work into your vision. And Jimmy saw that I was having difficulty making that transition, and during one scene, he pulled me aside, and said, 'Every actor, including myself, wants to be directed. This is your movie whether you like it or not, so quit fucking around and go back in there and tell those people what to do.' And that was the day I really started directing."

(On taking the plunge from writing to directing): "It was easy taking the plunge, just as it's easy to fall from any height in the dark. It was the landing that was hard. But I would imagine the next time I take the plunge it will be tougher."

(When asked about his stylish dialogue originated from): "I don't know where the dialogue comes from, to be honest. I just pick things up as I go along, little things that people say in conversations that I find interesting. My belief is that if you can't find an interesting way to say it, don't say it. Allude to it, beat around it. That seems to be where a lot of my dialogue comes from, the indirect answer. The real answer to your question would have been yes or no, but answering questions with questions and with evasive answers always seems to be a lot more interesting. I'm a big fan of John Boorman's Deliverance. I think that's a great film, a masterpiece in terms of sparse dialogue. But at the same time every line of dialogue means so many different things, every time you watch it you can extrapolate new meanings. Actually before becoming a screenwriter I had worked for a detective agency for a number of years, and part of my work there - a very small part of my work - was as a bodyguard. My boss at the detective agency was named Joe Sarno, he was very much reminiscent of the character with that name in the movie. He was certainly not as dark and foreboding as James Caan portrays the character in the film, but Joe was the guy you would call in the middle of the night if you were ever in a jam."

Where Are They Now

(January 2004) Has been working as a last minute script doctor for several years now.

(January 2004) Currently working on his next film: A bio-pic of "Alexander the Great."

(February 2004) Writing and directing a pilot for NBC which McQuarrie describes as "a 21st century take on The Equalizer." The show is expected to premiere in the fall of 2004

(March 2004) Paramount Pictures has hired him to write and direct a film that is described as an action-adventure military film. The studio hopes to fasttrack the production for a 2005 release.

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