David R. Ellis

David Richard Ellis (born September 8, 1952 in Santa Monica, California) is an American film director and former stuntman. Ellis began his career in the film industry as a supporting actor in juvenile roles; his big screen debut was in the 1975 Kurt Russell film The Strongest Man in the World. One year later, he switched to stunts in the film Baby Blue Marine and worked from then on as a stuntman. His next career move came in 1981 with the promot... more

David Richard Ellis (born September 8, 1952 in Santa Monica, California) is an American film director and former stuntman. Ellis began his career in the film industry as a supporting actor in juvenile roles; his big screen debut was in the 1975 Kurt Russell film The Strongest Man in the World. One year later, he switched to stunts in the film Baby Blue Marine and worked from then on as a stuntman. His next career move came in 1981 with the promotion to stunt coordinator. After a successful five years in this position, he worked from 1986 on as an assistant director or Second Assistant Director, in charge of action sequences from films such as The Matrix Revolutions and Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. In 1996, Ellis made his debut as a director in the Disney live-action film Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco, and has attained more attention for directing Final Destination 2 (2003), the continuation of the financially successful horror film franchise. He has also... less