- Born
- Birth nameMichael Edwin Briant
- Nickname
- MichaelE
- Born in 1942, Michael went full time to the Italia Conti Stage School in Archer Street, London W1 when he was 12. Three months later he gave his first professional performance as an elf and a rainbow child at the Royal Festival Hall. The following year he played the lead Crispian.
As a child/young actor he worked extensively in the theaters, film and television - touring for Carl Clopet, regularly appearing at Bromley Rep and playing leads in many television productions. In his teens he became an ASM and played several roles at the Little Theater - Great Yarmouth.
When Michael was 21 he joined the BBC as an AFM in Drama department and a year later became a Production Assistant. At 23 he took the Directors Course and whilst still on the staff as a PA directed series like The Newcomers (1965), Z Cars (1962) and Doctor Who (1963). After three years of bouncing between PA and Director. Ronald Marsh - head of Serials offered him a years worth of directing work and he became a freelance TV drama director.
A successful career directing popular drama followed, winning him an Emmy for A Tale of Two Cities for which he also wrote the adaptation. After considerable success directing many shows for Gerard Glaister he formed a production company Linked Ring Films and produced and directed the feature, Tangiers (1982).
A single production in the Netherlands led to a stream of work in Amsterdam where he introduced the British methods of making Drama and Situation Comedy. All his productions in Aalsmere won awards including Best Drama.
In order to fulfill a lifetime ambition he set sail in his own yacht and with a camera in one hand and a sextant in the other proceeded to make a circumnavigation in between other directing assignments. The film he shot during the voyage became the very popular series Blue Water Destinations and Blue Water Cruising. He now has his own edit and dubbing facility as well as cameras and sound equipment.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Michael Briant
- Of the six Doctor Who (1963) serials he directed, it was one of his favourites was The Robots of Death: Part One (1977). It is also a favourite of the series' fans, being voted the sixth greatest story of the original run in Outpost Gallifrey's 40th anniversary poll in 2003. The one he most enjoyed making was The Sea Devils and feels it was probably his best 'Who'.
- He used to live in La Rochelle on the West coast of France in an old house near the Vieux Port which has its own studio and edit facility but has now moved (2019) to the old town of Boulogne sur Mer where he lives when not in his boat in Martinique.
- He has now sold Bambola the yacht he sailed around the world making films with and has purchased Eloise - catamaran which he hopes will provide a more stable platform for his productions.
- Television was growing at a rate and the creative side was run by people from the theatre or film industry. Directors in those days did the casting, were consulted during the writing process and had a freedom impossible today.
- I would have paid to do the directing work that came my way - certainly it was a bit intimidating sometimes, very scary even, but it never was boring and I was allowed to experiment and sometimes to fail - the most exciting thing I can imagine.
- Television has now grown up and on soaps the role of the director is primarily to point cameras. The speed and instant acting required today has taken much of the fun out of the work and many - particularly BBC soaps - are run by committee. Not sure if this is good or bad, but for young directors it is very sad.
- I am sad that I was probably very difficult to work with. Directors have to follow their own dream but sometimes I wish I had done it a bit more diplomatically and politely. You have a choice as a director - do what you believe to be right - that which pleases you or try to please other people - producers et al. The former does not always make you friends and the latter does not make good productions. There is a line between the ideas of the producer and what a director can bring to the story. The good producers find directors who are creative and imaginative. When you let slip the dogs of war there is no knowing who they will bite - the inferior producers select directors who will toe the line, be really respectful and obey orders.
- [on David Maloney] So sorry and sad to hear of David's death. He was one of the really nice people of television. A very clever and talented producer and director, it was always a pleasure to work for him when he was producing. Blake's 7 (1978) would never have gone as bravely or successfully without David at the helm. A delight to be a co-director on the same or similar productions, and as his sometime-production manager I learned a great deal from him. He managed always to keep a wry sense of humor and proportion whilst doing excellent work. Not many achieve that. The business and the world will be a lesser place without him.
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