Ian Sharp

Ian Sharp (born 13 November 1946, Clitheroe, Lancashire) is an English film and television director.

Sharp was educated at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Blackburn and Durham University (Hatfield College) where he gained an honours degree in Psychology and Modern Philosophy in 1968. During the seventies, he worked at the BBC making documentaries first for the General Features Department and then for Music and Arts, especially Arena and Omnibus. In 1978 the BBC gave him 3 months sabbatical to make a movie called The Music Machine, and it was this experience that led him to turn towards drama.

His first break came in 1980 with the ITV comedy drama series Minder. That was quickly followed by The Professionals, and he made a total of 6 episodes for those two series. Shortly after that, he directed Who Dares Wins (1982), his second feature film, for producer Euan Lloyd. Next came the first six episodes of Robin of Sherwood for ITV, and the ensuing few years consisted of mainly television work until Robert Zemeckis asked him to direct the second unit on Who Framed Roger Rabbit starring Bob Hoskins.

In 1994 he directed the action scenes for GoldenEye, starring Pierce Brosnan. His tank chase sequence and the daring dam jump which opens the picture are much respected in the industry.

He speaks fluent French and German and lives in Oxfordshire with his wife, the broadcaster and author Sue Cook.