M. Night Shyamalan
Manoj Nelliyattu "M. Night" Shyamalan (/ˈʃɑːməlɑːn/ SHAH-mə-lahn; born August 6, 1970) is an Indian-American film director, producer and screenwriter. His films often employ supernatural plots and twist endings. The cumulative gross of his films exceeds $3.3 billion globally.
M. Night Shyamalan | |
|---|---|
Shyamalan in 2018 | |
| Born | Manoj Nelliyattu Shyamalan August 6, 1970 Mahé, Pondicherry, India |
| Nationality | Indian American |
| Alma mater | New York University |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1992–present |
| Works | Full list |
| Spouse |
Bhavna Vaswani (m. 1992) |
| Children | 3, including Saleka |
| Awards | Full list |
| Honors | Padma Shri (2008) |
Shyamalan was born in Mahé, India, and raised in Penn Valley, Pennsylvania. His early films include Praying with Anger (1992) and Wide Awake (1998) before his breakthrough film The Sixth Sense (1999), which earned him Academy Award nominations for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. He then released Unbreakable (2000), Signs (2002) and The Village (2004). Following a string of poorly received films—Lady in the Water (2006), The Happening (2008), The Last Airbender (2010), and After Earth (2013)—he experienced a career resurgence with The Visit (2015), Split (2016), Glass (2019), Old (2021), and Knock at the Cabin (2023).
Shyamalan is also one of the executive producers and occasional director of the 20th Television science fiction series Wayward Pines (2015–2016) and the Apple TV+ psychological horror series Servant (2019–2023), for which he also serves as showrunner.