10. Tom Hooper (40)
Filmography Red Dust (2004), The Damned United (2009), The Kings Speech (2010), Les Miserables (2012). The only individual on this list to have won the coveted Academy Award For Best Director, Tom Hooper took home the gong for The Kings Speech, his second film, in 2011, though some might argue that David Fincher, also nominated for The Social Network, may have been the more deserving recipient that year. Nevertheless, Hooper has more than established himself as one of the best British directors in the business. Having worked on Eastenders for two years around the turn of the millennium, Hooper secured the directors chair for the sixth series of Prime Suspect, working with Helen Mirren, who he would direct again two years later in a miniseries about Queen Elizabeth I. American network HBO would air this series after its debut on British television, as well as Longford, Hoopers next project. This led to him being selected by Tom Hanks to direct another miniseries, John Adams, which received 23 Emmy nominations. A move to mainstream film was inevitable and 2009 saw Hooper release the Damned United, a highly enjoyable piece about managerial legend Brian Cloughs tenures at Derby County and Leeds United. Perhaps someday he may (fingers crossed) release a sequel about Cloughs subsequent time in charge of Nottingham Forest, but given the success of the Kings Speech and his latest film, the highly profitable Les Miserables, Hooper is likely to be in demand amongst the Hollywood studios for the next few years at least.