David Yates

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David Yates is married to Yvonne Walcott, who is the aunt of Arsenal football player Theo Walcott.

David Yates (born 30 November 1963) is an English director of film and television, best known for directing the final four films in the Harry Potter franchise.

David Yates achieved international attention for his award-winning short films early in his career, which led to him becoming a prolific television director with credits including the BBC costume drama The Way We Live Now, the acclaimed political thriller State of Play and the BAFTA-lauded two-part drama Sex Traffic. Due to the success of these dramas and subsequent projects, Yates is considered as one of Britain’s most celebrated directors of film and television.  Throughout his works, Yates uses hand-held cameras to visually provoke the subject matter; the technique is noted as one of his directorial trademarks.

David Yates was born in St Helens, Merseyside, England. He was raised in the village of Rainhill and was inspired to pursue a career in filmmaking after watching Steven Spielberg‘s 1975 film Jaws. When Yates was fourteen, his mother bought him a Super 8mm camera; this he used to shoot various films and videos in which his friends and family featured. He then attended St Helens College where he completed the courses of sociology, political studies and literature before moving on to the University of Essex and Georgetown University in Washington, D.C

In the 1980s, Yates made his first serious film When I Was a Girl with the assistance of Cre8 Studios in Swindon. The short film, which was shot in Swindon town under a grant from Southern Arts, entered the festival circuit where it was named Best Short Film at the San Francisco International Film Festival, in addition to obtaining other awards. It also contributed to Yates’ acceptance into the National Film and Television School and led to the BBC hiring him to direct Oranges and Lemons, a short drama film in 1991. Before completing film school, he began to direct, produce and write the screenplay to the dramatic short The Weaver’s Wife. He also made his fourth short film Good Looks, which was presented at the Chicago International Film Festival. After graduating in 1992, Yates directed an episode of the film studies programme Moving Pictures, which oversaw low-budget filmmaking in Britain.

Filmography