Darren Aronofsky
Birthday:
12 February 1969, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA
Height:
183 cm
Darren Aronofsky was born February 12, 1969, in Brooklyn, New York. Growing up, Darren was always artistic: he loved classic movies and, as a teenager, he even spent time doing graffiti art. After high school, Darren went to Harvard University to study film (both live-action and animation). He won several film awards after completing his senior the...
Show more »
Darren Aronofsky was born February 12, 1969, in Brooklyn, New York. Growing up, Darren was always artistic: he loved classic movies and, as a teenager, he even spent time doing graffiti art. After high school, Darren went to Harvard University to study film (both live-action and animation). He won several film awards after completing his senior thesis film, "Supermarket Sweep", starring Sean Gullette, which went on to becoming a National Student Academy Award finalist. Aronofsky didn't make a feature film until five years later, in February 1996, where he began creating the concept for Pi (1998). After Darren's script for Pi (1998) received great reactions from friends, he began production. The film re-teamed Aronofsky with Gullette, who played the lead. This went on to further successes, such as Requiem for a Dream (2000) and, most recently, the American remake of the Japanese film series "Kozure okami" (1973) (aka "Lone Wolf & Cub"). Show less «
I try to live my life where I end up at a point where I have no regrets. So I try to choose the road that I have the most passion on because...Show more »
I try to live my life where I end up at a point where I have no regrets. So I try to choose the road that I have the most passion on because then you can never really blame yourself for making the wrong choices. You can always say you're following your passion. Show less «
There's always been a lot of pressure and tension on the line. If Pi (1998) didn't work out, I have no idea what my career would be. I don't...Show more »
There's always been a lot of pressure and tension on the line. If Pi (1998) didn't work out, I have no idea what my career would be. I don't think I would have gotten another shot at it. If Requiem for a Dream (2000) didn't work out, they would have called me a "one-hit wonder with a sophomore slump". Show less «
To me, watching a movie is like going to an amusement park. My worst fear is making a film that people don't think is a good ride.
To me, watching a movie is like going to an amusement park. My worst fear is making a film that people don't think is a good ride.
[on casting The Wrestler (2008)] No one believed in Mickey Rourke... He has no value as a commodity. Well, I sat with him and looked into hi...Show more »
[on casting The Wrestler (2008)] No one believed in Mickey Rourke... He has no value as a commodity. Well, I sat with him and looked into his eyes. His eyes aren't dead. They're alive, yearning, thinking. Show less «
[on Mickey Rourke] When you meet him, he has all this armour on him, but that's because inside he's soft as jelly and he has such a big hear...Show more »
[on Mickey Rourke] When you meet him, he has all this armour on him, but that's because inside he's soft as jelly and he has such a big heart. Technically, he's an incredible actor and completely in control of his craft. Show less «
I walked out of The Matrix (1999) and I was thinking, 'What kind of science fiction movie can people make now?' The Wachowski Brothers (dire...Show more »
I walked out of The Matrix (1999) and I was thinking, 'What kind of science fiction movie can people make now?' The Wachowski Brothers (directors Lana Wachowski and Lilly Wachowski) took all the great sci-fi ideas of the 20th century and rolled them into a delicious pop culture sandwich that everyone on the planet devoured. Show less «
Filmmaking is barely an art. 99% of my job is bureaucracy.
Filmmaking is barely an art. 99% of my job is bureaucracy.
You have to be memorable if you want people to be thinking about it thirty seconds after it happens. I don't think it matters, the reaction,...Show more »
You have to be memorable if you want people to be thinking about it thirty seconds after it happens. I don't think it matters, the reaction, as long as they're reacting. Show less «
It's a very hard line, as a filmmaker, to know when is too much. And I'm usually on the wrong side of it.
It's a very hard line, as a filmmaker, to know when is too much. And I'm usually on the wrong side of it.
I think it's important to keep trying new things.
I think it's important to keep trying new things.
[on creating Black Swan (2010)] It was a very hard film to make and I ended up making everyone's commitment to stay on it longer and longer....Show more »
[on creating Black Swan (2010)] It was a very hard film to make and I ended up making everyone's commitment to stay on it longer and longer. Every time we had a push because the money fell apart, or whatever, the hardest conversation I would have was with Natalie [Portman] because I knew it meant carrot sticks and almonds for another 3 months for her and she was not going to be happy. Show less «
[on how he chooses visual style that suits each story] It's probably because I'm Godless. And so I've had to make my God, and my God is narr...Show more »
[on how he chooses visual style that suits each story] It's probably because I'm Godless. And so I've had to make my God, and my God is narrative filmmaking, which is -- ultimately what my God becomes, which is what my mantra becomes, is the theme. Show less «