Born in
Hastings, New Zealand, Campbell moved to
London in 1966, to pursue his career as a
cinematographer. He began his career as a director with 1973's
The Sex Thief. He went on to direct two
James Bond films, 1995's
GoldenEye, starring
Pierce Brosnan, and 2006's
Casino Royale, starring
Daniel Craig. At 62 years old, Campbell was the oldest director in the series' history, beating the previous record set by
Lewis Gilbert. Campbell stated that he was offered the opportunity to direct further James Bond films after
GoldenEye; however, he found the plots to be limiting and only considered directing further films if working with a new Bond actor – as he subsequently did with Daniel Craig on
Casino Royale. He directed two
Zorro films:
The Mask of Zorro (1998) and
The Legend of Zorro (2005), both starring
Antonio Banderas and
Catherine Zeta-Jones. Campbell also directed the 2011
film adaptation of the
DC Comics superhero
Green Lantern, as well as
The Foreigner (2017), starring
Jackie Chan. On television, Campbell directed the film
Cast a Deadly Spell and oversaw some of the more action-oriented episodes from the TV series
The Professionals (1977–1983). However, his best-known work is the 1985
BBC Television drama serial
Edge of Darkness, for which he won the
British Academy Television Award for Best Director in 1986. Campbell also directed a 2010
movie remake of Edge of Darkness, starring
Mel Gibson and
Ray Winstone. Campbell directed the first episode of the American TV series
Last Resort and his upcoming film
Cleaner is set to be released in 2025.
Unrealized projects He almost remade
El Cid (1961) under
Arthur Sarkissian's deal with
MGM in the 2000s. In June 2007, Campbell was in negotiations to replace
Robert Schwentke as director of the film, now titled
Unstoppable. Campbell was involved until March 2009, when
Tony Scott came on board as director. In October 2007,
Variety reported that
Naomi Watts would star in
Universal's remake of
Alfred Hitchcock's
The Birds, to be directed by Campbell. The production was to have additionally starred
George Clooney, and been a joint venture between
Platinum Dunes and
Mandalay Pictures. On June 16, 2009,
Brad Fuller of
Dimension Films stated that no further developments had taken place, commenting, "We keep trying, but I don't know." Campbell was eventually replaced as director by
Platinum Dunes host Dennis Iliades in December 2009. In July 2010, the
Los Angeles Times reported that a film based on the 1980s series
The Fall Guy was in development.
DreamWorks Pictures had teamed up with producers
Walter F. Parkes and
Laurie MacDonald on the project, and Campbell was in talks to direct the film. In September 2020,
Universal Pictures announced that
The Fall Guy would star
Ryan Gosling and be directed by
David Leitch. Campbell was initially chosen to direct
Hunter Killer, but, on 2 March 2016 it was announced that Donovan Marsh would direct the film. In 2017, it was announced that Campbell was set to direct a new
adventure film,
Treasure of Ali Baba & The 40 Thieves, adapted from the
1,001 Arabian Nights Tales. That year, Campbell was also attached to direct
Across the River and Into the Trees, the
Ernest Hemingway novel adaptation set for spring production shoot with
Pierce Brosnan starring. ==Personal life==