John Boorman attended Catholic school (Salesian Order) although his family was not, in fact, Roman Catholic. His first job was for a drycleaner. Later he worked as a critic for a women's journal and for a radio station until he entered the television business, working for the BBC in Bristol. There he started as assistant but worked later as director on documentaries, such as The Newcomers. His friendship with Lee Marvin allowed him to work in Hollywood (e.g. Point Blank and Hell in the Pacific) from where he returned to the UK (e.g. Leo the Last, Zardoz or _Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977)_ ). He became famous for Excalibur, The Emerald Forest an his autobiographic story Hope and Glory where he tells his own experiences as a child after World War II and which brought him another Academy Award Nomination after Deliverance.


Attended Catholic school (Salesian Order) although his family was not Roman Catholic. Apparently his parents thought that Catholic school teachers would be less likely to be drafted into WWII. Father of Katrine Boorman, Charley Boorman, Telsche Boorman, and Daisy Boorman. Said he cast Nicol Williamson and Helen Mirren as Merlin and Morgana, respectively, against both their protests, in Excalibur (1981) because he thought their real-life dislike for each other would give their scenes more of an edge. Biography in: John Wakeman, editor. "World Film Directors, Volume Two, 1945-1985." Pages 141-145. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1988. Member of the jury at the Venice Film Festival in 1991. 1997: Achievement Award presented by Film Institute of Ireland. Was sent an early draft of a script for Rocky by producer Robert Chartoff. He wrote back to say that not only was he not interested but that he strongly advised Chartoff to drop the project completely.