Gus Van Sant
Gus Van Sant is an American director born in Louisville, Kentucky, celebrated for moving fluidly between accessible mainstream drama and formally experimental independent cinema. Good Will Hunting, co-written by and starring Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, became a mainstream success and won Van Sant an Academy Award nomination for Best Director, while My Own Private Idaho, an earlier work following young hustlers on the streets of Portland, showed his interest in marginalized queer characters and lyrical, dreamlike structure. Elephant, a spare, real-time depiction of a school shooting shot largely in unbroken tracking takes, won the Palme d'Or and confirmed his formally daring side, while Milk, a biographical drama about assassinated gay rights leader Harvey Milk, returned to more conventional awards-season territory. Van Sant's ability to alternate between commercial accessibility and rigorous formal experimentation has made him one of the most versatile American directors of his generation.
Gus Van Sant
37 Directed
4 Series
Gus Van Sant is an American director born in Louisville, Kentucky, celebrated for moving fluidly between accessible mainstream drama and formally experimental independent cinema. Good Will Hunting, co-written by and starring Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, became a mainstream success and won Van Sant an Academy Award nomination for Best Director, while My Own Private Idaho, an earlier work following young hustlers on the streets of Portland, showed his interest in marginalized queer characters and lyrical, dreamlike structure. Elephant, a spare, real-time depiction of a school shooting shot largely in unbroken tracking takes, won the Palme d'Or and confirmed his formally daring side, while Milk, a biographical drama about assassinated gay rights leader Harvey Milk, returned to more conventional awards-season territory. Van Sant's ability to alternate between commercial accessibility and rigorous formal experimentation has made him one of the most versatile American directors of his generation.
Movies
Director
Good Will Hunting
1997
Director
The Sea of Trees
2016
Director
Dead Man's Wire
2026
Director
My Own Private Idaho
1991
Director
Psycho
1998
Director
Milk
2008
Director
Finding Forrester
2000
Director
Elephant
2003
Director
Paris Je T'aime
2006
Director
Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot
2018
Director
To Die For
1995
Director
Drugstore Cowboy
1989
Director
Promised Land
2012
Director
Gerry
2002
Director
Restless
2011
Director
Last Days
2005
Director
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues
1994
Director
To Each His Own Cinema
2007
Director
Paranoid Park
2007
Director
Thanksgiving Prayer
1991
Director
Le Marais
2006
Director
Mala Noche
1987
Director
8
2008
Director
Ballad of the Skeletons
1997
Director
David Bowie: Best of Bowie
2002
Director
The Discipline of D.E.
1982
Director
Four Boys in a Volvo
1996
Director
My New Friend
1987
Director
Five Ways to Kill Yourself
1987
Director
Ken Death Gets Out of Jail
1988
Latest Trailers
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Full Filmography
Dead Man's Wire
Director
2026
Film
Ouverture of Something That Never Ended
Director
2020
Film
Ouverture Of Something That Never Ended
Creator
2020–
TV
Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot
Director
2018
Film
FEUD
Director · 6 episodes
2017–
TV
When We Rise
Director · 1 episode
2017–
TV
The Sea of Trees
Director
2016
Film
Promised Land
Director
2012
Film
Boss
Director · 1 episode
2011–
TV
Photos
Frequently Asked Questions
How old is Gus Van Sant and where are they from?
Gus Van Sant is 74 years old, born on July 24, 1952 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA.
What are the most famous roles of Gus Van Sant?
Gus Van Sant is best known for directing Good Will Hunting, Milk, Elephant.
How many movies has Gus Van Sant directed?
Over a 55-year career (since 1971), Gus Van Sant has directed or written 37 films and worked on 4 TV shows.
What was Gus Van Sant's first movie?
The career of Gus Van Sant began with Killing Gawker ().
What is Gus Van Sant's most recent movie or series?
Gus Van Sant's most recent release is Dead Man's Wire, which premiered on January 9, 2026.
What TV shows has Gus Van Sant created or directed?
On television, Gus Van Sant has appeared in FEUD, Boss, When We Rise, Ouverture Of Something That Never Ended.
Gus Van Sant
1952-07-24 · Louisville, Kentucky, USA
Gus Green Van Sant, Jr. (born July 24, 1952) is an American director, screenwriter, painter, photographer, musician, and author. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Achievement in Directing for his 1997 film Good Will Hunting and his 2008 film Milk, and won the Palme d'Or at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival for his film Elephant. He lives in Portland, Oregon.
His early career was devoted to directing television commercials in the Pacific Northwest. In his films, he has dealt with themes concerning homosexuality and other marginalized subcultures.
His filmography as writer and director includes an adaptation of Tom Robbins' novel Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, which features a diverse cast (Keanu Reeves, Roseanne Barr, Uma Thurman, and k.d. lang, with cameos by William S. Burroughs and Heather Graham, among others); and My Own Private Idaho, also starring Reeves as well as River Phoenix.
He wrote the screenplays for most of his early movies, and wrote one novel, Pink. A book of his photography has also been published, called 108 Portraits.