Neil LaBute

Neil N. LaBute is an American film director, screenwriter, playwright and actor. He is most likely known for his first film, based on a play he wrote, In the Company of Men , which won awards from the Sundance Film Festival, the Independent Spirit Awards and the New York Film Critics Circle. He has also written and directed the films Possession , The Shape of Things , The Wicker Man , Some Velvet Morning , Dirty Weekend , and directed the films Nurse Betty , Lakeview Terrace , and Death at a Funeral . LaBute has also created the TV series Billy amp Billie and directedwritten a number of episodes for it, as well as directed a number of episodes for the AMC show Hell on Wheels.

LaBute was born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Marian, a hospital receptionist, and Richard LaBute, a longhaul truck driver. LaBute is of French Canadian, English, and Irish ancestry, and was raised in Spokane, Washington. He studied theater at Brigham Young University , where he joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints. At BYU he also met actor Aaron Eckhart, who would later play leading roles in several of his films. He produced a number of plays that pushed the envelope of what was acceptable at the conservative religious university, some of which were shut down after their premieres. However, he also was honored as one of the most promising undergraduate playwrights at the BYU theater departments annual awards. LaBute also did graduate work at the University of Kansas, New York University, participated in a writing workshop at Londons Royal Court Theatre, and the Royal Academy of London.

Source: Wikipedia