Life and Career
McTiernan was born in Albany, New York, and attended the Juilliard School before graduating with an M.F.A. from the AFI Conservatory.
In 1986, he wrote and directed his first feature, Nomads, starring Pierce Brosnan. While not successful, it did land him the job of directing the smash science fiction action film Predator starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. In the wake of that films' success, he followed it up with a string of hits, including Die Hard starring Bruce Willis; The Hunt for Red October with Alec Baldwin and Sean Connery, and Medicine Man, also starring Connery.
In 1993, he helmed Last Action Hero, an action-comedy vehicle for Arnold Schwarzenegger. The film was rushed into production, and became a victim of its own overblown hype when it opened to mixed reviews and lackluster box office, however it gained a cult following. In 1995, he rebounded with Die Hard with a Vengeance, the second sequel to Die Hard.
In 1999, he took on the remake of The Thomas Crown Affair starring Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo, which opened to solid reviews and strong box office; he also directed the troubled production of The 13th Warrior, adapted from the novel Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton. In 2002, he directed Rollerball, a remake of the 1975 movie starring James Caan, but the film came and went without much fanfare. In 2003, his thriller Basic with John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson had a much more successful run.
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