Tom Harper
Tom Harper is a British film and television director, producer and writer. He is best known for his work on The Aeronauts, Wild Rose, Peaky Blinders, and the BBC TV mini-series War & Peace.
Tom Harper

ColliderVideo · ‘Wild Rose’: Jessie Buckley, Tom Harper, and Nicole Taylor on Their Glasgow Country Music Film at 0:08, cropped · CC BY 3.0
- Name
- Tom Harper
- Birthplace
- England
- Occupation
- * Film director
- Education
- The University of Manchester
- Born
- Tom Harper was born on 7 January 1980. · London.
- Nationality
- United Kingdom
- Languages
- English
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Tom Harper is a British film and television director, producer and writer. He is best known for his work on The Aeronauts, Wild Rose, Peaky Blinders, and the BBC TV mini-series War & Peace.
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In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Tom Harper • Birthplace — England • Occupation — * Film director • film producer • screenwriter • film editor • cinematographer • Years Active — 1998–present • Education — The University of Manchester
Early life and education
Early life and education
Harper grew up in a Quaker family. He "credits Quakerism with setting the tone in his attitudes towards pacifism and non-violence." Harper attended Acland Burghley School before going on to study at The University of Manchester.
Career
Career
Harper began his career making short films. He wrote and directed Cubs in 2006 about urban fox hunting which was nominated for a BAFTA in the Best Short Film category and won a BIFA. Harper then moved on to direct a range of film and television work which includes Misfits, The Scouting Book for Boys (2009), This Is England '86, The Borrowers (2011), Peaky Blinders (2013) and The Woman in Black: Angel of Death. In 2014, Harper re-teamed with Jack Thorne, the writer of The Scouting Book for Boys, to make War Book, which premiered at the London Film Festival and had its international premiere as the opening film of the International Festival of Film Rotterdam. The film received critical acclaim with The List calling it a "powerful, provocative and essential piece of modern British cinema". Harper was also a producer on the film. He directed the 2016 BBC TV mini-series War & Peace, starring Paul Dano, Lily James and James Norton for BBC1 and The Weinstein Company. The series topped ratings and won rave reviews. The series was nominated for 6 BAFTAs (including Best Drama Series) and won for Best Production Design. • Illustration — Jessie Buckley, Tom Harper, and Nicole Taylor interviewed about Wild Rose in 2018 Harper next directed the pilot episode of The Son for AMC based on Phillip Meyer's acclaimed novel. Pierce Brosnan played the lead, replacing Sam Neill (with whom Harper previously worked on Peaky Blinders) who was forced to pull out for "personal reasons." The series was picked up for a second season in May 2017. In 2017, Harper teamed up with Jack Thorne again, to make "The Commuter," starring Timothy Spall, the third episode of the Channel 4/Amazon Video anthology series Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams. Wild Rose starring Jessie Buckley (with whom Harper had worked previously on War and Peace) and Julie Walters, and written by Nicole Taylor, was filmed in Glasgow, Scotland, and Nashville, USA, in the summer of 2017. Owen Gleiberman described it in Variety as "a happy-sad drama of starstruck fever that lifts you up and sweeps you along, touching you down in a puddle of well-earned tears." The Aeronauts, based on James Glaisher and Henry Coxwell's famous 1862 flight, and starring Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones started its shoot in the summer of 2018. The script was written by Jack Thorne, their fifth collaboration, and Harper along with Todd Lieberman produced the film for Amazon Studios. Until March 2020, The Aeronauts was the most watched film of all time on Amazon Prime. Harper directed a short film to launch The Royal Albert Hall's 150th anniversary year. Entitled Your Room Will Be Ready, the film was shot in 2020 during the Covid pandemic and is a tribute to live music. Narrated by Mick Jagger it features more than 40 archive event clips including never-before-seen and rare material dating back to 1930s. A film, Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, based on the TV series, is in development and is being directed by Harper in January 2021. Following the announcement of the last series of Peaky Blinders, Knight clarified that it had been decided to produce a feature-length movie in place of a seventh series. Knight had previously suggested the film would arrive sometime in 2024, but, with filming beginning in September 2024, Knight later hinted at a 2025 release date. The film would eventually be released on 6 March 2026.
Filmography
Filmography
Short film • Year — Title — Director — Writer • 1998 — Eyelines • 2004 — Beat • 2006 — Cubs • 2007 — Cherries • 2011 — The Swarm
Television
Television
Miniseries • Year — Title — Notes • 2006 — Squat Street • 2009 — Demons — 3 episodes • 2010 — This Is England '86 — 2 episodes • 2015 — War & Peace TV series • Year — Title — Notes • 2007 — Coming Up — Episode: "Spoil" • 2009–2010 — Misfits — 4 episodes; also executive producer • 2013 — Peaky Blinders — 3 episodes • 2017 — Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams — Episode: "The Commuter" • 2024 — A Gentleman in Moscow — Executive producer TV movies • Dis/Connected (2008) • The Borrowers (2011)
Identity
Identity
Tom Harper is recorded with the occupation film screenwriter. Recorded with the occupation director. Recorded as film producer, screenwriter and director.

Tom Harper at the 44th International Film Festival Rotterdam, where "War Book" was the opening film
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Tom Harper was born at London.
Birthplace
London.
Birth place
Feature film
• Year — Title — Director — Producer — Writer • 2009 — The Scouting Book for Boys • 2014 — War Book • 2015 — The Woman in Black: Angel of Death • 2018 — Wild Rose • 2019 — The Aeronauts — Story • 2023 — Heart of Stone — Executive • 2026 — Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man — Executive
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
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