Darren Aronofsky

Darren Aronofsky
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Name:
Darren Aronofsky
Who is:
,
Birth date:
(56 y.o.)
Place of birth:
New York
Height:
5'9 ft ()
Weight:
159 lb (72 kg)
Birth Sign:
(characteristic)
Chinese zodiac:
Links:

Photos: Darren Aronofsky

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Darren Aronofsky Biography

Darren Aronofsky is a talented American director and screenwriter. His works are considered to be incredibly unique and unorthodox and universally regarded as true masterpieces of the world movie industry. Net worth: $30 million.
Darren Aronofsky
Darren Aronofsky

Early life and childhood

Darren was born in Manhattan Beach – a prestigious and picturesque part of Brooklyn, New York City, traditionally home to Jewish and Italian communities. His paternal ancestors lived in Ukraine; his grandfather was Jewish, born in Odesa, and Darren's father Abraham grew up in Kyiv. He immigrated to the USA in middle age and became a chemistry teacher, where he met his future wife Charlotte, also of Jewish origin. Charlotte gave birth to their first child, Darren, in 1969 and daughter Patty just a few years later.
Young Darren Aronofsky
Young Darren Aronofsky
Darren's parents devoted tremendous time and energy to raising their children as well-educated, balanced individuals. Both children displayed remarkable talents from an early age: Patty aspired to become a professional ballet dancer and Darren was deeply interested in the movie and theatre industry and passionately attended Broadway shows with his family.
Darren was deeply interested in movie and theatre industry and passionately attended Broadway shows with his family
Darren was deeply interested in movie and theatre industry and passionately attended Broadway shows with his family
An active and curious child, Darren dove into religious and historical literature from an early age, attended one of New York City's top schools, and made his parents proud through numerous achievements and endeavors. Along with other outstanding students, he participated in international conferences and conventions and even attended scientific expeditions in Alaska and Kenya.

First steps in moviemaking

After graduating from high school, young Darren felt lost and decided to travel the world to find himself. His parents wisely funded this adventure, hoping it would help their son discover his path. After returning from his travels, he began preparing for Harvard University, enrolling in the social anthropology department in 1987.
Darren Aronofsky became a student of Harvard University social anthropology department in 1987
Darren Aronofsky became a student of Harvard University social anthropology department in 1987
At the time, Darren had no plans to become a film director. A talented artist and painter who lived in his dorm helped him discover his passion for filmmaking. Through this friendship, Darren began exploring how to convey human emotions on the big screen, ultimately falling in love with the art of cinema. Films by masters like Kurosawa and Fellini captivated Darren during his college years and proved incredibly influential in shaping his future as a director.
Movies of Kurosawa and Fellini were also incredibly influential in Darren Aronofsky's upbringing as a director
Movies of Kurosawa and Fellini were also incredibly influential in Darren Aronofsky's upbringing as a director
In 1990, Darren directed his first short film, Supermarket Sweep, starring his best friend Sean Gullette. The film earned a student film award nomination, and inspired by this success, Aronofsky shot his second work, Fortune Cookie, that same year.
In 1990 Darren had directed his first short film Supermarket Sweep
In 1990 Darren had directed his first short film Supermarket Sweep
After graduating from Harvard with honors, Darren decided to continue his studies at the American Film Institute Conservatory in Los Angeles. Two years later he graduated from the Institute with an MFA degree with another short film Protozoa as his graduation work.

Road to fame

Back in New York City, Aronofsky decided it was time to create his first feature film. Searching for funding, he turned to friends and family for money; to cut costs, he cast amateur actors and shot in black and white. Two years later, he presented his psychological thriller Pi to critics and audiences. The film told the story of a mathematician and his obsession with number theory. The movie earned Aronofsky two prestigious awards at the annual Sundance Film Festival and allowed him to pay all his debts and begin his preparation for another work.
Darren presented his debut psychological thriller Pi to critics and general public
Darren presented his debut psychological thriller Pi to critics and general public
In 2000 Darren Aronofsky released his second feature film Requiem for a Dream, which propelled the director to worldwide fame. The soul-crushing story of two addicted friends, played by Jared Leto and Marlon Wayans, left critics and viewers devastated. The movie has received multiple prestigious awards, including an Academy Award for Best Actress nomination for Ellen Burstyn. Little is known about the fact that Darren's parents and he himself had small roles in the film. Charlotte and Abraham enjoyed working on set so much that they abandoned their teaching careers to act in their son's future films.
Requiem for a Dream trailer
Darren's next movie The Fountain (2006) was a real struggle for a director. Cate Blanchett and Brad Pitt were supposed to star in a movie with a seventy-five million dollars budget, however, early in pre-production Pitt backed out of working with Aronofsky and the entire project was shelved for years. Darren was able to continue his work on a film only in 2004, recruited Hugh Jackman and his fiancée, Rachel Weisz, as lead actors. At this point the film's budget was slashed in half and, despite positive reviews from critics and audiences, failed to break even.
The Fountain trailer
Fortunately, Aronofsky's next movie The Wrestler (2008) starring Mickey Rourke brought the director both necessary finances and overwhelming success and worldwide fame. It became clear that Aronofsky's films deserved recognition among cinema's finest and were worthy of awards from the most prestigious film festivals.
Darren Aronofsky and Mickey Rourke
Darren Aronofsky and Mickey Rourke
According to Zoomboola.com, Black Swan (2010) drama movie only proved this already established notion and became the most popular and highest-grossing film of a director. Black Swan received multiple Academy Award nominations and brought its lead actress Natalie Portman her first Oscar. During this year Aronofsky scored his second successful producer job (with 2002 Below as his first experience in this field) with sports drama The Fighter.
Black Swan trailer
Noah (2014), based on the Biblical story from the Book of Genesis, was Aronofsky's next massive and ambitious project. The story of Noah's Ark had captivated Darren from a young age, so he dove straight into working on the script, casting, and filming. The Noah project proved incredibly expensive and difficult to film due to technical challenges and, despite a star-studded cast featuring actors like (Russell Crowe, Anthony Hopkins and Emma Watson), couldn't find success. To add insult to injury, the movie was banned in multiple Asian countries, Indonesia, and the Near East due to religious concerns.
Noah trailer
This failure couldn't stand in Aronofsky's path to success. After producing a couple of films for other directors (Jackie with Natalie Portman and Aftermath with Arnold Schwarzenegger), he returned to Biblical stories, which evolved into the modern psychological horror movie Mother!. The movie premiered in 2017 and starred Jennifer Lawrence, who had a fiery love affair with Darren during the filming.
No obstacle could ever stop Darren
No obstacle could ever stop Darren
The film received mixed reviews from audiences, with many criticizing Aronofsky for his unnecessarily complex script and unclear message. Despite several Golden Raspberry nominations, Mother! was nominated for the Golden Lion award and undoubtedly became one of the year's most defining moments in cinema.

In 2018, Darren participated in Telling Stories Fest where he discussed his new project One Strange Rock, produced in partnership with National Geographic. Aronofsky served as producer of the 10-episode series, aiming to highlight the careless, ignorant, and harmful consequences of human activities that could lead to civilization's downfall. The series creators brought in American astronauts for filming and Will Smith as the show's host.
Simultaneously, Darren paired up with director Eliza McNitt to work on experimental VR project Spheres. At the end of summer 2018, White Boy Rick arrived - the next movie produced by Darren Aronofsky and starring Matthew McConaughey.

Personal life

Rachel Weisz was Darren Aronofsky's first wife. They met each other in 2001 and married around 2004, and their son Henry was born in late spring 2006.
Rachel Weisz – first and only wife of Darren Aronofsky
Rachel Weisz – first and only wife of Darren Aronofsky
Their marriage was short-lived, ending in divorce in 2010, though they maintained a friendly relationship. Rachel quickly moved on and married Daniel Craig, while Darren found comfort with Brandi-Ann Milbrad, though that relationship didn't last long.
Darren Aronofsky and Brandi-Ann Milbrad
Darren Aronofsky and Brandi-Ann Milbrad
During the filming of Mother! Aronofsky was spotted together with Jennifer Lawrence, star of the film. The couple kept their relationship under wraps, even traveling separately during the film's promotional tour to avoid speculation. Eventually, they grew tired of hiding and appeared together at a public event. Lawrence wore a long white dress that looked suspiciously like a wedding gown, sparking wild rumors that were only quelled by the actress's statement about ending her film career.
Darren Aronofsky and Jennifer Lawrence
Darren Aronofsky and Jennifer Lawrence
However, their romance ended along with the Mother! promotional tour. Jennifer cited their age difference as the reason for the breakup. Darren, seemingly thumbing his nose at his ex, soon began dating 26-year-old actress Suki Waterhouse, one year younger than Lawrence.
Darren Aronofsky and Suki Waterhouse
Darren Aronofsky and Suki Waterhouse
Watching this pattern unfold, the public quickly concluded that Darren and Jennifer's relationship wasn't genuine but merely a PR stunt. This seemed especially likely given that Lawrence quickly rebounded with Cooke Maroney.

In 2018, it became known that Darren Aronofsky began a relationship with a Russian actress, Aglaya Tarasova. Despite their 25-year age gap, the actress and director appear happy together at social events.
Darren and Aglaya
Darren and Aglaya

Darren Aronofsky now

In recent years, Darren has taken on fewer new projects. However, in 2020, Aronofsky discussed one upcoming project - a series called "Unlimited" for National Geographic. In it, he plans to use the famous actor, Chris Hemsworth.
Darren in 2020
Darren in 2020

Darren Aronofsky: latest news and articles

  • I remember, that after I watched «mother!» I was thinking about this film a few days. Then after that film, I watched the half of his filmography and now I have read his biography, thank you
    2021-05-04 23:47:29
  • Well, Requiem for a Dream by Aronofsky has no competitors. This film of all the time and I`ll never be tired to review it.
    2021-04-29 16:21:36
  • Aronofsky has not only one strong film, and they have have their own style. Black Swan is my favorite.
    2021-03-30 11:35:09
  • Aronofsky filmed Requiem for a Dream, my favorite movie, cult film. For that he has my respect and honor.
    2021-03-01 16:05:21
  • Black Swan is definitely the best film of Aronofsky. But this is my personal opinion of course.
    2021-02-01 19:33:16
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