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Matthew Vaughn
Vaughn in 2019
Born	Matthew Allard Robert Vaughn (1971-03-07) 7 March 1971 (age 53) Paddington, London, England
Occupations	Film director film producer screenwriter
Years active	1996–present
Spouse	Claudia Schiffer ​(m. 2002)​
Children	3

Matthew Allard de Vere Drummond (born Matthew Allard Robert Vaughn; 7 March 1971), known professionally as Matthew Vaughn, is an English filmmaker. He has produced films including Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) and Snatch (2000), and directed Layer Cake (2004), Stardust (2007), Kick-Ass (2010), X-Men: First Class (2011), and Argylle (2024). Vaughn also co-created the Kingsman comic book series and resulting franchise, directing, producing and co-writing the films Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014), Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017), and The King's Man (2021).

Early life

Vaughn was born in Paddington, London, England. Until 2002, he had thought that he was the child of a relationship between his mother, Kathy Ceaton (died 20 July 2013), and American actor Robert Vaughn. A paternity investigation in the 1980s revealed that Robert Vaughn was not his father, but Ceaton had never revealed otherwise to Vaughn. Upon asking his mother about his true paternity, she revealed that his father was George Albert Harley de Vere Drummond, an English banker. Early in Vaughn's life, before the paternity investigation, Robert Vaughn had asked for the child's surname to be Vaughn, and it continues as Vaughn's professional name, though he uses de Vere Drummond in his personal life, having changed it by deed poll in May 2002.

Vaughn was educated at Sussex House School in London and then Stowe School in Buckingham. Taking a gap year between Stowe and university, he travelled around the world on a Hard Rock Cafe tour. After arriving in Los Angeles he began working as an assistant to a film director. He later returned to London, and attended University College London studying anthropology and ancient history. He dropped out after a few weeks.

Career

Aged 25, Vaughn produced a low-budget thriller, The Innocent Sleep (1996), starring Annabella Sciorra and Michael Gambon. He continued as a producer on close friend Guy Ritchie's film Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. The film was a critical, popular and financial success, earning Vaughn and Ritchie £9 million each. Vaughn would later produce Ritchie's Snatch and Swept Away.

Vaughn made his directorial debut in 2004 with Layer Cake. The film was well received and its success led to Vaughn being tapped to direct X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), but he dropped out only two weeks before filming began. Subsequently, he said the film was "pretty good" given the limited time they had to make it, but he was critical of Brett Ratner's direction of the film. For his next project he co-wrote and directed Stardust, followed by a movie adaptation of Mark Millar's Kick-Ass in 2010. Vaughn directed and co-wrote the first film in the prequel trilogy of the X-Men film universe titled, X-Men: First Class (2011). Vaughn was signed to return to the series as director of the sequel, X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), but dropped out in favour of Bryan Singer who had directed the first two films in the original trilogy, X-Men and X2: X-Men United. Vaughn remained attached to the film by co-writing the script.

Vaughn's next directorial project, was Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014), an adaptation of the comic book The Secret Service created by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons from a concept by Millar and an initially uncredited Vaughn himself (Vaughn being credited as the comic's co-creator on all republications since 2014). The film was scripted by Vaughn and Jane Goldman, and produced by Vaughn's production company Marv Films. Vaughn returned to direct, produce, and co-write the Kingsman sequel, Kingsman: The Golden Circle, which was released in theaters in September 2017. Vaughn also directed and provided the story for The King's Man, the third installment in the franchise serving as a prequel to the original film. Delayed from November 2019 due to both the schedule shuffle following Disney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox and the subsequent COVID-19 pandemic, the film was released on 22 December 2021.

In March 2017, Collider reported that Vaughn was top choice to direct Man of Steel 2; in September of that year, Vaughn confirmed that he was in negotiations with the studio to helm the project. By March 2019, Vaughn stated that discussions with Warner Bros. had ended, and he was no longer involved with development of the film.

Vaughn began working on spy film Argylle in 2021, an original story written by Jason Fuchs and starring an ensemble cast including Henry Cavill, Sam Rockwell, Bryce Dallas Howard, Samuel L. Jackson, Bryan Cranston and John Cena. The film premiered in January 2024, and was released by Universal Pictures and Apple Original Films.

In January 2024, Vaughn announced that he would be producing a third Kick-Ass film, titled Stuntnuts Does School Fight, directed by his longtime stunt coordinator Damien Walters in his feature film debut, which had secretly already been greenlit and had completed filming. also announcing two further films in the Hit-Girl & Kick-Ass franchise to be in development, to be produced by him as a trilogy, under the working titles Vram and Kick-Ass.

Personal life

On 25 May 2002, Vaughn married German supermodel Claudia Schiffer in Suffolk. The couple have a son and two daughters, the youngest born in 2010. They have homes in Notting Hill, London, Northamptonshire and Coldham Hall, Stanningfield, Suffolk.

Filmography

Film

Producer only

• The Innocent Sleep (1996)
• Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
• Snatch (2000)
• Mean Machine (2001)
• Swept Away (2002)
• A Short Film About John Bolton (2003)
• Harry Brown (2009)
• Kick-Ass 2 (2013)
• Fantastic Four (2015)
• Eddie the Eagle (2016)
• Rocketman (2019)
• Bloodshot (2020) (Executive producer)
• Silent Night (2021)
• Tetris (2023)
• Stuntnuts: The Movie (TBA)
• Stuntnuts Does School Fight (TBA)

Television

Executive producer

• Lock, Stock... (2000)
• Swag (2003)
• Make My Day (2003) (Documentary)

Video game

Producer

• Kick-Ass: The Game (2010)

Frequent collaborators

Actors and actresses

WorkActor
	Layer Cake	Stardust	Kick-Ass	X-Men: First Class	Kingsman: The Secret Service	Kingsman: The Golden Circle	The King's Man	Argylle	Stuntnuts: The Movie
Randall Batinkoff			Y	Y
Geoff Bell		Y			Y
Sofia Boutella					Y			Y
Henry Cavill		Y						Y
Sophie Cookson					Y	Y
Taron Egerton					Y	Y
Colin Firth					Y	Y
Jason Flemyng	Y	Y	Y	Y
Dexter Fletcher	Y	Y	Y
Michael Gambon	Y					Y
Tamer Hassan	Y		Y
Edward Holcroft					Y	Y
Samuel L. Jackson					Y			Y
Aaron Taylor-Johnson			Y				Y
Corey Johnson			Y	Y	Y
Sienna Miller	Y	Y
Sam Rockwell								Y	Y
Mark Strong		Y	Y		Y	Y
Samantha Womack					Y	Y

Film crew

WorkCrew
	Layer Cake	Stardust	Kick-Ass	X-Men: First Class	Kingsman: The Secret Service	Kingsman: The Golden Circle	The King's Man	Argylle	Stuntnuts: The Movie
Adam Bohling	Y		Y		Y	Y	Y	Y
Ben Davis	Y	Y	Y				Y
Jane Goldman		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
Eddie Hamilton			Y	Y	Y	Y
Jon Harris	Y	Y	Y		Y		Y
Henry Jackman			Y	Y	Y	Y
Matthew Margeson			Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
George Richmond					Y	Y		Y
Lee Smith				Y				Y
Take That		Y		Y	Y

References

1. "Vaughn hits out at fame obsession".
2. "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
3. ^ "Vaughn's truth about son Matthew". Evening Standard. 25 April 2002. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
4. ^ "Matthew Vaughn: The director's cut". The Independent. 3 October 2004. Archived from the original on 12 May 2022. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
5. "CLAUDIA GETS A 'C' ON HER LABOR DAY". New York Daily News.
6. "No. 56586". The London Gazette. 7 June 2002. p. 6913.
7. "Movies – Interviews: Matthew Vaughn", bbc.co.uk; retrieved 22 June 2012.
8. "Interview Matthew Vaughn". Archived from the original on 1 November 2007. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
9. Hiscock, John (5 October 2007). "Matthew Vaughn: The Brit who's making the stars shine". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 11 December 2010.
10. Fleming, Mike (4 May 2010). "Fox Signs Vaughn To Direct 'X-Men: First Class'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
11. Child, Ben (31 January 2012). "Matthew Vaughn to direct sequel to X-Men: First Class". The Guardian. London.
12. Phegley, Kiel (10 January 2012). "Millarworld Exclusive: Inside "The Secret Service"". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on 12 January 2012. Retrieved 12 January 2012. Mark Millar: "This education of a 21st Century super-spy forms the structure of the story. I can't give too much away because Matthew Vaughn and I co-conceived the thing with Dave , and Vaughn is literally right now writing the screenplay of the movie, so we're on a non-disclosure agreement for a little while yet. But basically, if I had to say anything else about it, I would say that this is our version of S.H.I.E.L.D. or U.N.C.L.E. or any of those brilliant super-spy concepts, but seen through that skewed perspective we brought to superheroes in 'Kick-Ass.' It feels very, very fresh. I don't think there's ever been a comic like this and all three of us are very excited about it. I've wanted to work with Dave since I was sixteen it had to be something big."
13. Fleming, Mike Jr. (27 March 2013). "Update: Fox Wins Rights To Matthew Vaughn's Next Pic 'The Secret Service', Sets November 2014 Release Date". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
14. "Matthew Vaughn Eyes Newcomer Taron Egerton for 'Secret Service' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. 25 July 2013. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
15. "Who Will Team Up With Colin Firth in Matthew Vaughn's 'Secret Service'?". Variety. 27 June 2013. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
16. "Samuel L. Jackson to Play Villain in Matthew Vaughn's 'Secret Service' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. 2 August 2013. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
17. "Sophie Cookson Lands Female Lead in Matthew Vaughn's 'Secret Service' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. 5 September 2013. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
18. Fleming, Mike. "Matthew Vaughn's 'The Secret Service' Gets A Femme Fatale in Sofia Boutella". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 28 February 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
19. Chitwood, Adam (13 March 2017). "Warner Bros. Eyeing Matthew Vaughn to Direct Man of Steel 2". Collider. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
20. Lyus, Jon (15 September 2017). "Matthew Vaughn Confirms Talks for the Next Superman Film". HeyUGuys. Archived from the original on 10 December 2019. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
21. Han, Karen (30 May 2019). "Rocketman producer Matthew Vaughn explains what his Man of Steel 2 may have looked like". Polygon. Archived from the original on 30 May 2019. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
22. Wiseman, Andreas (8 July 2021). "Henry Cavill, Sam Rockwell, Bryce Dallas Howard, Bryan Cranston, Dua Lipa, Samuel L. Jackson, John Cena, Catherine O'Hara Set For New Matthew Vaughn Spy Franchise 'Argylle'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
23. Kroll, Justin; Fleming, Mike Jr. (4 August 2021). "Apple Lands Matthew Vaughn's Star-Studded Spy Film 'Argylle' In Massive Package Deal". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 4 August 2021. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
24. ^ Massoto, Erick (24 January 2024). "'Kick-Ass' Reboot Will Be Part of a New Trilogy [Exclusive]". Collider. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
25. "". Vogue. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
26. Michaud, Sarah (15 January 2010). "Claudia Schiffer Expecting Third Child". People. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
27. "Claudia Schiffer names new baby daughter". Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
28. "Celebrity couple's love for Suffolk". East Anglian Daily Times. Retrieved 17 March 2011.

External links

• Matthew Vaughn at IMDb
• Interview, Superherohype.com; accessed 28 February 2015

• 1971 births
• Action film directors
• Alumni of University College London
• English film directors
• English film producers
• English male screenwriters
• English screenwriters
• Hugo Award–winning writers
• Living people
• Mass media people from Bury St Edmunds
• People educated at Sussex House School
• People educated at Stowe School