ABOUT DOMINIC MURPHY

“Some white guy who’s won lots of awards for making beautiful stuff with naturalistic acting.” - Vera Chok, Feminist

WET BEHIND THE EARS

After studying film at Leeds Polytechnic, Dominic became a director on Janet Street Porter’s legendary ‘youth’ current affairs programme Network 7’ at the tender age of 23. The series won a BAFTA for originality and changed the language of factual television. ‘Arguably the most influential of all programmes aimed at a youth audience.’ [BFI]

During the following years Dominic directed documentaries, arts programmes, magazine shows, current affairs and drama, mostly within the adventurous remit of the early days of Channel 4. Work included a 1hr portrait of controversial filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky, a 1hr documentary on horror films researched by Mark Kermode, faked documentaries for a series called ‘True or False’, intimate portraits of unusual couples for ‘Sex Talk’, and weekly items for arts review show ’01 For London’.

YIKES! - WORKING WITH ACTORS

Over the course of three years Dominic studied method acting with renowned acting coach Jack Waltzer, who developed his technique in The Actor’s Studio with America’s foremost teachers of the Stanislavsky System. Waltzer coached major stars such as Sigourney Weaver and Dustin Hoffman. This method radically changed Dominic’s approach to performance and filmmaking.

THE FAST LANE

On entering the world of commercials Dominic was quickly included in Campaign magazine’s ’10 Hottest Directors in the World’. He won the coveted D&AD pencil with his first campaign and further work for major clients including VW, Adidas, Virgin, Sony, Peugeot, Vodaphone, Land Rover, Chrysler and many others won multiple awards worldwide, including two Cannes Gold Lions, the Andy’s Grand Prix.

DREAM COME TRUE

Dominic’s feature debut White Lightnin’ premiered at Sundance 2009 and was selected for Berlin, Edinburgh and many other festivals that year. Edinburgh IFF called it ‘jaw-dropping, a true original’, The Guardian called it ‘demented genius’. It appeared in Mark Kermode’s Top Ten films of 2009, scored 86% on Rotten Tomatoes and won multiple awards including Best Film and Best Actor at Mumbai IFF (jury headed by Paul Schrader), as well as the Hitchcock D’Or for Best Film at Dinard 2009.

THE SLOW LANE

In 2009 Dominic began regular meditation and mindfulness practice. He has spent time training with various traditions including with Thich Nhat Hanh and the community at Plum Village and with the Triratna movement. He has a strong daily practice and goes on several silent retreats each year. He has supported groups and meditation retreats, as well as Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) courses.

OLD DOG NEW TRICKS

In 2017 Qatari-American artist Sophia Al Maria invited Dominic to premiere his long-form experimental work www.a-d-g-z.com comprising of one continuous looping 53 minute shot, at the Bookworks launch of The Happy Hypocrite. In 2018 as part of an artist’s residency in Kuching, Borneo, Dominic collaborated with London-based Malaysian-Chinese writer and performance-maker Vera Chok to devise and facilitate an exploratory, performance-based workshop involving local people. The final event of the residency featured installation video combined with interactive process-based performance.

Dominic realised how mindfulness and meditation overlapped considerably with method acting techniques and saw that combining them could provide an excellent foundation for authentic acting as well as providing a healing element in a life-enhancing self-development process. In 2018 he began running his Method, Madness & Mindfulness workshops in various countries for people of all ages and backgrounds including: acting students, professional actors, young people, people in recovery from addiction and people interested in self-development

Dominic continues to develop various feature and TV projects.