Sydney Pollack
Biography
Sydney Pollack was an American film director, producer, and actor. Born on July 1, 1934, in Lafayette, Indiana, USA, Pollack directed commercially and critically acclaimed studio films throughout his forty-year career. He is known for directing films such as Jeremiah Johnson, The Way We Were, and The Yakuza. Pollack received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, and was nominated for several other awards. He won the Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture for Out of Africa in 1985. Pollack also received Primetime Emmy Awards and was nominated for Golden Globe and BAFTA Awards.
Career overview
Sydney Pollack is a renowned American film director. He directed commercially and critically acclaimed studio films throughout his career. Pollack's work spanned over forty years, during which he received numerous accolades.
Pollack is known for directing notable films such as Jeremiah Johnson, The Way We Were, and The Yakuza. His work in the film industry earned him recognition, including two Academy Awards. He won the Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture for Out of Africa. Additionally, Pollack was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Director for They Shoot Horses, Don't They? and Tootsie.
Pollack's directing career is marked by his ability to create successful and critically acclaimed films. His work has been recognized through various awards and nominations, demonstrating his skill and impact on the film industry.
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Career timeline
Full filmography
- John Candy: I Like Me (2025) as Self - Director (archive footage)
- Citizen Jane Fonda (2020)
- Babenco: Tell Me When I Die (2020) as Self (archive footage)
- Amazing Grace (2018) as Self - Director (archive footage) (uncredited)
- Amazing Grace (2018) Director
- The Story of The Swimmer (2014) as Self (archive footage)
- Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles (2014) as Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
- Silver Linings Playbook (2012) Thanks
- Char·ac·ter (2012) as Self
- Margaret (2011) Producer
- Adapting Austen (2009) as Self
- A Very Quiet Man (2009) as Self
- Glanz und Elend in Hollywood: Natalie Wood (2009) as Self
- The Reader (2008) Producer
- Made of Honor (2008) as Thomas Sr.
- Leatherheads (2008) Executive Producer
- Elvis Mitchell: Under the Influence (2008) as Self
- Recount (2008) Executive Producer
- A Better Man: The Making of 'Tootsie' (2008) as Self
- Michael Clayton (2007) as Marty Bach
- Michael Clayton (2007) Producer
- James Taylor | One Man Band (2007) Executive Producer
- The Visions of Stanley Kubrick (2007) as Self
- View from the Overlook: Crafting 'The Shining' (2007) as Self
- Great Bolshy Yarblockos!: Making 'A Clockwork Orange' (2007) as Self
- Standing on the Shoulders of Kubrick: The Legacy of 2001 (2007) as Self
- Lost Kubrick: The Unfinished Films of Stanley Kubrick (2007) as Self
- Vision of a Future Passed: The Prophecy of 2001 (2007) as Self
- Filmmakers in Action (2006) as Self
- Breaking and Entering (2006) Producer
- Film Noir: Bringing Darkness to Light (2006) as Self
- Avenue Montaigne (2006) as Brian Sobinski
- Catch a Fire (2006) Executive Producer
- Sketches of Frank Gehry (2006) as Self
- Sketches of Frank Gehry (2006) Director
- Sketches of Frank Gehry (2006) Director of Photography
- Sketches of Frank Gehry (2006) Executive Producer
- Boffo! Tinseltown's Bombs and Blockbusters (2006) as Self
- The Interpreter (2005) as Jay Pettigrew (uncredited)
- The Interpreter (2005) Director
- The Interpreter (2005) Executive Producer
- Forty Shades of Blue (2005) Executive Producer
- Filmmakers vs. Tycoons (2005) as Self
- The Last Mogul (2005) as Self
- One Six Right (2005) as Self
- The Art of Imagination: A Tribute to Oz (2005) as Narrator (voice)
- Entourage (2004) as Sydney Pollack
- Barbra Streisand: The Concert - Live at the MGM Grand (2004) as Self
- Something About Sydney Pollack (2004) as Self
- A Dying Breed: The Making of 'The Leopard' (2004) as Self
- In Free Fall - Tom Tykwer and the Cinema (2004) as Self
- Männer im Trenchcoat, Frauen im Pelz (2004) as Self
- Cold Mountain (2003) Producer
- A Decade Under the Influence (2003) as Self
- More About the Condor (2003) as Self
- In the Name of Love (2003) Executive Producer
- Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin (2003) as Narrator
- Changing Lanes (2002) as Stephen Delano
- The Quiet American (2002) Executive Producer
- Heaven (2002) Executive Producer
- The Men Who Made the Movies: Samuel Fuller (2002) as Narrator (voice)
- AFI's 100 Years... 100 Passions: America's Greatest Love Stories (2002) as Self
- Iris (2001) Executive Producer
- The Majestic (2001) as Studio Executive (voice)
- Birthday Girl (2001) Executive Producer
- Blow Dry (2001) Executive Producer
- Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures (2001) as Self
- AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Barbra Streisand (2001) as self
- Nobody's Perfect: The Making of Some Like It Hot (2001) as Self
- Dino De Laurentiis: The Last Movie Mogul (2001) as Self
- The Story Behind "Absence of Malice" (2001) as Self
- A Song of Africa (2000) as Self
- Up at the Villa (2000) Executive Producer
- Inside 'The Talented Mr. Ripley' (2000) as Self
- Lost Angeles - Eine Stadt zwischen Traum und Trauma (2000) as Self
- The Sopranos (1999) as Warren Feldman
- Eyes Wide Shut (1999) as Victor Ziegler
- The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) Executive Producer
- The Directors (1999) as Self
- Random Hearts (1999) as Carl Broman
- Random Hearts (1999) Director
- Random Hearts (1999) Producer
- The Last Movie: Stanley Kubrick and 'Eyes Wide Shut' (1999) as Self
- The Way We Were: Looking Back (1999) as Self
- Will & Grace (1998) as George Truman
- Sliding Doors (1998) Producer
- A Civil Action (1998) as Al Eustis
- Poodle Springs (1998) Executive Producer
- Independent's Day (1998) as Self
- King of the Hill (1997) as Grant Trimble (voice)
- Just Shoot Me! (1997) as Sydney Pollack
- The Saga of Jeremiah Johnson (1997) as Self
- Love in Hollywood (1996) as Self
- Burt Lancaster: Daring to Reach (1996) as Self
- Sense and Sensibility (1995) Executive Producer
- Sabrina (1995) Director
- Sabrina (1995) Producer
- Red Wind (1995) Executive Producer
- American Cinema (1994) as Self
- Inside the Actors Studio (1994) as Self
- Frasier (1993) as Holden Thorpe (voice)
- Fallen Angels (1993) Executive Producer
- The Firm (1993) Director
- The Firm (1993) Producer
- Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993) Executive Producer
- Flesh and Bone (1993) Executive Producer
- Willie Nelson: The Big Six-O (1993) as Self
- Mad About You (1992) as Dr. Sydney Warren
- Death Becomes Her (1992) as Hospital Doctor (uncredited)
- The Player (1992) as Dick Mellen
- Husbands and Wives (1992) as Jack
- Leaving Normal (1992) Executive Producer
- A Private Matter (1992) Executive Producer
- Pebble Mill (1991) as Self
- Dead Again (1991) Executive Producer
- King Ralph (1991) Executive Producer
- Robert Mitchum: The Reluctant Star (1991) as Self
- Presumed Innocent (1990) Producer
- White Palace (1990) Executive Producer
- Havana (1990) Director
- Havana (1990) Producer
- Sanford Meisner: The American Theatre's Best Kept Secret (1990) as Self
- Sanford Meisner: The American Theatre's Best Kept Secret (1990) Executive Producer
- Sanford Meisner: The American Theatre's Best Kept Secret (1990) Other
- Robert Redford & Sydney Pollack: The Men and Their Movies (1990) as Self
- Sanford Meisner Master Class (1990) Director
- The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989) Executive Producer
- Broadway's Dreamers: The Legacy of the Group Theatre (1989) as Self (voice)
- Bright Lights, Big City (1988) Producer
- Hello Actors Studio (1988) as Self
- A Tiger's Tale (1988) Thanks
- Nine 1/2 Weeks (1986) Other
- Barbra Streisand: One Voice (1986) as Self - Audience Member (uncredited)
- Putting It Together: The Making of the Broadway Album (1986) as Self
- Out of Africa (1985) Producer
- Out of Africa (1985) Director
- Songwriter (1984) Producer
- Tootsie (1982) as George Fields
- Tootsie (1982) Producer
- Tootsie (1982) Director
- Natalie - A Tribute to a Very Special Lady (1982)
- The Making of 'Tootsie' (1982) as Self
- Absence of Malice (1981) Director
- Absence of Malice (1981) Producer
- Honeysuckle Rose (1980) Executive Producer
- The Electric Horseman (1979) as Man Who Makes Pass at Alice (uncredited)
- The Electric Horseman (1979) Director
- Bobby Deerfield (1977) Director
- Bobby Deerfield (1977) Producer
- Les Rendez-vous du dimanche (1975) as Self
- Three Days of the Condor (1975) Director
- Three Days of the Condor (1975) Producer
- The Yakuza (1974) Director
- The Yakuza (1974) Producer
- The Way We Were (1973) Director
- The Men Who Made the Movies: Howard Hawks (1973) as Narrator (voice)
- The Men Who Made the Movies: King Vidor (1973) as Self - Narrator (voice)
- Le Grand Échiquier (1972) as Self
- Jeremiah Johnson (1972) Director
- Great Performances (1971) as Self
- They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969) Director
- Castle Keep (1969) Director
- The Dick Cavett Show (1968) as Self - Guest
- The Scalphunters (1968) Director
- The Swimmer (1968) Co-Director
- This Property Is Condemned (1966) Director
- The Slender Thread (1965) Director
- Slattery's People (1964) Director
- The Fugitive (1963) Director
- Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre (1963) Director
- Arrest and Trial (1963) Director
- Breaking Point (1963) Director
- The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1962) Director
- War Hunt (1962) as Sgt. Owen Van Horn
- Ben Casey (1961) Director
- The Defenders (1961) Director
- Cain's Hundred (1961) Director
- The New Breed (1961) as Austin Rogers
- The New Breed (1961) as Bert Masters
- Target: The Corruptors! (1961) Director
- Frontier Circus (1961) Director
- The Young Savages (1961) Dialect Coach
- The Tall Man (1960) Director
- The Twilight Zone (1959) as Arthur Willis
- Startime (1959) as Harry
- Startime (1959) Dialogue
- The Turn of the Screw (1959) Dialogue Coach
- For Whom the Bell Tolls (1959) as Andres
- Have Gun, Will Travel (1957) as Joe Culp
- Playhouse 90 (1956) as Andres
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955) as Bernie Samuelson
- Golden Globe Awards (1944) as Self - Nominee
- Golden Globe Awards (1944) as Self - Nominee / Nominee
- Now Is Tomorrow as Capt. Stein