30 Facts About Tony Scott

Anthony David Leighton Scott was an English film director and producer.

Tony Scott was known for directing highly successful action and thriller films such as Top Gun, Beverly Hills Cop II, Days of Thunder, The Last Boy Scout, True Romance, Crimson Tide, Enemy of the State, Man on Fire, Deja Vu, and Unstoppable.

Tony Scott was the younger brother of film director Sir Ridley Tony Scott.

Tony Scott was born in Tynemouth, Northumberland, North East England, the youngest of three sons of Elizabeth and Colonel Francis Percy Tony Scott, who served in the Royal Engineers.

Dixon Tony Scott, a grand uncle, was a pioneer of the cinema chain, opening cinemas around Tyneside.

Tony Scott was a pupil at Rosebank School in Hartlepool, West Hartlepool College of Art and graduating from Sunderland Art School with a fine arts degree.

Tony Scott continued his studies in art in Leeds after failing to gain admission to the Royal College of Art in London.

Again following in Ridley's footsteps, Tony Scott graduated from the Royal College of Art, although he intended to become a painter.

The success of his elder brother's fledgling television commercial production outfit, Ridley Scott Associates, drew Tony's attention to film.

Tony Scott took time out in 1975 to direct a television adaptation of the Henry James story The Author of Beltraffio.

Tony Scott always applauded the way I wanted to approach things.

Tony Scott persisted in trying to embark on a feature film career.

Tony Scott re-teamed with Simpson and Bruckheimer in 1987 to direct Eddie Murphy and Brigitte Nielsen in the highly anticipated sequel Beverly Hills Cop II.

That year, in 1987, Tony Scott had signed a deal with Paramount Pictures to develop films for a non-exclusive agreement, which will serve as producers and directors on the studio.

Once again directing Tom Cruise, Tony Scott returned to the Simpson-Bruckheimer fold to helm the big-budget racing film Days of Thunder.

In 1993, Tony Scott directed True Romance costing just $13 million, from a script by Quentin Tarantino.

In 1996, Tony Scott directed The Fan, starring Robert De Niro, Wesley Snipes, Ellen Barkin and Benicio del Toro.

Tony Scott subsequently directed another thriller starring Denzel Washington, Man on Fire, released in April 2004.

Tony Scott teamed up with Ridley to co-produce the TV series Numb3rs, which aired from 2005 to 2010, with Tony Scott directing the first episode of the fourth season.

In 2006, he contributed voice-over to a song called Dreamstalker on Hybrid's album I Choose Noise; Tony Scott collaborated with Hybrid on several films through their mutual friend, the highly successful film score composer, Harry Gregson-Williams.

In 2010, the Tony Scott brothers produced the feature film adaptation of the television series The A-Team.

Shortly before his death, Tony Scott produced Coma, a medical thriller miniseries, the Coca-Cola short film The Polar Bears and the thrillers Stoker and The East, the latter two with his brother, Ridley.

Tony Scott developed a film adaptation of Clifford Irving's novel Tom Mix and Pancho Villa for over a decade.

In late 2006, Tony Scott announced a remake of the action thriller The Warriors.

Katey Rich of Cinema Blend wrote that Tony Scott had a "trademark frenetic camera style", which Tony Scott spoke about in June 2009, in reference to The Taking of Pelham 123:.

Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter wrote that after Top Gun, Tony Scott "found his commercial niche as a brash, flashy, sometimes vulgar action painter on celluloid," citing Beverly Hills Cop II, Days of Thunder, The Last Boy Scout, True Romance, and The Fan as examples.

Tony Scott subsequently met film and TV actress Donna Wilson, who was 24 years his junior, on the set of Days of Thunder in 1990; they married in 1994.

Tony Scott gave birth to their twin sons, Frank and Max, in 2000.

Tony Scott's body was recovered from the water by the Los Angeles Port Police.

Tony Scott had been working on the film before his death.