Born in India but raised in the posh suburban Penn Valley area of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, M. Night Shyamalan is the son of two doctors. His passion for filmmaking began when he was given a Super-8 camera at age eight, and even at that young age began to model his career on that of his idol, Steven Spielberg. His first film, Praying with Anger, was based somewhat on his own trip back to visit the India of his birth. He raised all the funds for this project, in addition to directing, producing and starring in it. Wide Awake, his second film, he wrote and directed, and shot it in the Philadelphia-area Catholic school he once attended--even though his family was of a different religion, they sent him to that school because of its strict discipline.


The Village (2004): $10,700,000 (Story rights ($7.2 million); Writing services ($300,000); Producing ($3 million); Directing ($221,000).).
Signs (2002): $12,500,000 (writing, directing, and co-producing)
Unbreakable (2000): $10,000,000
The Sixth Sense (1999): $3,000,000

Episcopal Academy, the private school in Lower Merion, PA (one of the wealthiest suburbs in the U.S., and home at one time or another to the likes of Kobe Bryant and Blythe Danner, among others) where Shymalan was sent, is actually a private academy that is affiliated with the Episcopalian Church. His parents, wife and 9 other family members are MDs and/or Ph.Ds. His middle name "Night" was made up during college. One of the first scripts he sold was called "Labor of Love" about a man who walks across country to prove his love for his recently deceased wife. As of March 2001, it has still not been made. He is an avid comic book fan, which was made apparent in his film Unbreakable (2000). 1988 Graduate of Episcopal Academy. Became the highest paid screenwriter in Hollywood when Disney gave him $5 million to write Signs (2002). Said in the bonus disk that the movie Unbreakable (2000) was made from what started as only the first third of the original script. He said he felt no connection to the last two thirds of the text and decided to discard them. Ranked #23 in Premiere's 2004 annual Power 100 List. He was the 5th-highest ranked director. Had ranked #21 in 2003. His three supernatural thrillers, The Sixth Sense (1999), Unbreakable (2000), and Signs (2002), grossed over $1.3 billion worldwide. Made many films using a video camera when he was young. When his theatrical films go to DVD, he puts in a scene from one of his childhood films that marks his first attempt at the same kind of movie. The Sixth Sense (1999) includes the ghost story Nightmare on Old Gulf, Unbreakable (2000) includes the action movie Millionaire, Signs (2002) includes the monster movie Pictures, and The Village includes an untitled period piece. His Wide Awake (1998) was one of the year's lowest-grossing, least- profitable films; in contrast, The Sixth Sense (1999) was 1999's No.2 box-office phenomenon, surpassed only by Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999). Completed 45 homemade movies by age 17. Father of Saleka Shyamalan. Has a reputation for attaining A-list actors of his first choice to star in his films, in roles specifically written for them. Shyamalan was able to cast Bruce Willis in The Sixth Sense (1999), Samuel L. Jackson in Unbreakable (2000), Mel Gibson in Signs (2002), Joaquin Phoenix in The Village (2004), Paul Giamatti in Lady in the Water (2006), and Mark Wahlberg in his next project, The Happening (2008). His six favorite movies are Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), The Exorcist (1973), Die Hard (1988), Psycho (1960), Nayakan (1987) and Reservoir Dogs (1992).