Will Sharpe

Will is an English-Japanese writer, director and actor. He is best known for writing, directing, and starring-in dark comedy-drama FLOWERS, which premiered on Channel 4 in 2016, and in the US on digital platform Seeso as their first original comedy-drama. Starring Olivia Colman, Julian Barratt, Daniel Rigby and Sophia Di Martino, FLOWERS is a black comedy that tackles mental health, and follows the four eccentric members of the Flowers family as the navigate their lives together, and their own inner demons. The first series was nominated for a BAFTA for ‘Best Scripted Comedy’, and the second series aired in 2018 to widespread critical acclaim.

Will’s previous work includes BLACK POND, which Will wrote and co- directed with Tom Kingsley. In 2012, they were nominated for a BAFTA for Outstanding Debut. BLACK POND was also nominated for the Audience Award at SXSW 2012 and a British Independent Film Award in 2011. Together they were named in Variety’s top ten European directors to watch, and won the Evening Standard Film award for Best Newcomer. Will was nominated for Best First Feature Film at the Writers Guild Awards too.  His most recent work is THE ELECTRICAL LIFE OF LOUIS WAIN; the upcoming biographical film has been written and directed by Sharpe, and will star Benedict Cumberbatch, Claire Foy, Andrea Riseborough, and Toby Jones.

Quotes for the first series of FLOWERS:

‘We were witnessing, I think, the invention of a new genre’ – The Observer
‘Originality on this scale is amazing’ – The Times
‘Flowers is f*cking great… such a fully formed perfect thing’ – Paul Thomas Anderson
‘… Genuinely original… Flowers is dark. But not just shockingly dark, gloriously dark, rich and imaginative, bold, challenging and startling, with a worrying hint of truth about it.’ – The Guardian
‘Blossomed into that rare thing on TV: something original. It was as if The Royle Family had been directed by Wes Anderson, visually innovative yet at heart humane…really rather wonderful’ – The Telegraph
‘One of the most singular small screen visions in a long time’ – The Telegraph
‘Takes you from tears to laughter in the space of a minute and finds the humour in the grimness of life, without making a joke of the characters’ suffering.’ Kasio Degado, Radio Times

The FLOWERS2 trailer is viewable here and here are some press quotes:

The Spectator

“Exhilaratingly original”

The Guardian

“the kind of comedy to inspire devotion”

The Telegraph: ***** “swings from soaring highs to devastating lows… quite unlike anything else on TV”.

Den of Geek “the most compelling thing on TV ”

The Telegraph: ***** “very, very, good…fiercely imaginative aesthetic”: =

The Guardian: “Utter Brilliance”