Antoine Fuqua - Biography

Armed with good looks and a cool demeanor, Antoine Fuqua was a well-known award-winning commercial and music video director, well before his hype hit the film-arena. But after directing his film short titled, "Exit" and gaining valuable experiences from Propaganda Films, Fuqua's plans of becoming an engineer quickly changed to becoming a director. And if there were any lingering doubts, those were soon diminished after the Fuqua's feature debut, "The Replacement Killers" (1998) was released. Closely compared to director John Woo, Fuqua provided non-stop action and constant visual stimulation, which made it virtually impossible not to be entertained. "The Replacement Killers," which starred Chow Yun-Fat and Mira Sorvino, was simple in form but rich with visuals. Two years later, Fuqua returned with the action feature "Bait," which starred comedian Jamie Foxx as a trash-talking thief who is used as 'bait' to lure a cyber-villian.

In 2001, Fuqua confirmed his place as a young director of unique vision and craft when he released the LAPD corruption drama, "Training Day." Filmed entirely on location in Los Angeles, "Training Day" told the story of an idealistic young cop (Ethan Hawke) who gets a hard lesson about life in the streets from a veteran (Denzel Washington). The shining star power of Denzel Washington (who played the most morally ambiguous role of his thriving career) and Ethan Hawke, made the edgy drama crackle with energy. Fuqua's ability to capture the "raw-ness" of the Washington's character and the innocence of Hawke's was accomplished as the two were awarded a leading man Oscar and supporting role Oscar nomination (respectively). Fuqua returned, in 2003, with the Navy SEAL drama "Tears of the Sun," a heroic tale for which Fuqua dedicates to the men and women in the military. His next big budget outing, in 2004, was a reinterpretation of the "King Arthur" myth, with the mystic elements removed and the story set in a supposedly accurate historic context.