“There’s a reason your name is on the front of the script”
Richard Gadd, Gurinder Chadha, Matt Charman, Thea Sharrock, James Watkins and Tony Grisoni on endurance and the long game. BFI Southbank, London 2026.
Thea Sharrock
Thea Sharrock
Director, Me Before You, The One and Only Ivan, Ladies First
Thea Sharrock is a British theatre, film, and television director. At 24, Thea became the youngest Artistic Director in British theatre when she ran the Southwark Playhouse, having received the JMK Trust award, which recognises young theatre directors, in the same year. Following this, Thea became the Artistic Director of the Gate Theatre. Since then, Thea has worked extensively in film, television, and theatre.
Thea’s most recent directorial project, Ladies First, stars Sacha Baron Cohen and Rosamund Pike, alongside an ensemble including Richard E. Grant, Emily Mortimer, Charles Dance and Fiona Shaw. This English-language comedy is based on Eléonore Pourriat’s Je Ne Suis Pas Un Homme Facile and released on Netflix this May. It was also recently announced that Thea will direct the feature film adaptation of The Things We Leave Unfinished from bestselling author Rebecca Yarros.
Also this year, Thea directed the world premiere stage adaptation of High Noon at the Harold Pinter Theatre starring Billy Crudup and Denise Gough. The production ran from December 2025 – March 2026.
In 2023, Thea directed Wicked Little Letters, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. Based on a true story, the film takes place in 1920s Littlehampton, when a series of poison pen letters cause outrage amongst the seaside town. Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley lead the cast in this comedy, which premiered in the UK February 23rd and the US March 29th. Also that year was Thea’s heartwarming film for Netflix, The Beautiful Game. Led by Bill Nighy and Michael Ward, the story follows the England football team, as they compete at the annual Homeless World Cup. The film released globally on Netflix March 29th.
Thea’s film debut was the adaptation of Jojo Moyes’ bestseller Me Before You, starring Sam Claflin and Emilia Clarke. The film brought in over $200m at the box office. She went on to direct Mike White’s The One and Only Ivan for Disney and Disney+, which was nominated for an Academy Award for its visual effects, featuring a star-studded cast including Bryan Cranston, Sam Rockwell, and Angelina Jolie.
Thea’s West End and Broadway directorial credits include The Bodyguard, Equus (Daniel Radcliffe, Richard Griffiths), The Sunshine Boys (Danny DeVito, Richard Griffiths), The Misanthrope (Keira Knightley, Damian Lewis), and After The Dance (Benedict Cumberbatch), which was nominated for 8 Olivier Awards, including Best Director, prompting Sam Mendes and Neal Street to offer her episode ‘Henry V’ of The Hollow Crown series starring Tom Hiddleston.