Career Highlights
- Attended but did not graduate from NYU
- Directed the television pilot for CBS's Criminal Minds, and ABC's Ugly Betty
- Shepard was nominated for an Emmy Award for directing children's TV special The Royale
- The Matador picked up at the Sundance Film Festival by Miramax for distribution
- Had trouble finding work after first film The Linguini Incident
Career Overview
Richard Shepard was born and raised in New York City. He attended New York University’s film school, but failed to graduate after he did not pass a required science class. Shepard began his career as writer, producer and director of the well-received indie thrillers Oxygen and Mercy. He also produced the 2001 Sundance Dramatic Competition entry Scotland P.A., in which Shepard appears nude in the film as a streakier.
In 2005, Shepard released the dark comedy The Matador, starring Pierce Brosnan and Greg Kinnear at the Sun Dance Film Festival. The film earned Brosnan a Golden Globe nomination for his performance. In 2007, Shepard released his most recent film The Hunting Party, starring Richard Gere and Terrence Howard. In that same year, Sheppard took home the Emmy Award and Directors Guild of America Award for Best Comedy Directing for the pilot of ABC’s Ugly Betty. He also directed the pilot episode of the hit CBS series Criminal Minds. Shepard is currently in production on the NBC pilot ZIP, starring Steven Weber.
Interview
Writer and director Richard Shepard sits down with ThinkTalk host Lila Merideth to discuss his film The Matador, and offer career advice to aspiring film makers based on his previous experience. Shepard answers questions from Georgetown University students Andrew, Brad and Allison. Andrew asks why he chose to become a director. Brad asks what educational background is suitable for directing and Allison asks about the day-to-day responsibilities of a director.
