06.08.1970 (54 years) (Mahé, Puducherry, India)
Manoj Nelliyattu "M. Night" Shyamalan (; born August 6, 1970) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is known for making films with contemporary supernatural plots and twist endings. He was born in Mahé, India and raised in Penn Valley, Pennsylvania. His most well-received films include the supernatural thriller The Sixth Sense (1999), the superhero thriller Unbreakable (2000), the science fiction thriller Signs (2002), and the historical thriller The Village (2004). For The Sixth Sense, Shyamalan received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Director. Afterward, Shyamalan released a series of poorly received but sometimes financially successful movies, including the dark fantasy Lady in the Water (2006), the eco-thriller The Happening (2008), the film adaptation of The Last Airbender (2010), and the science fiction film After Earth (2013). Following the financial failure of After Earth, Shyamalan's career was revived with the successful release of the found footage horror film The Visit (2015) and the psychological thriller Split (2016). His next film is the superhero thriller Glass (2019), which is the third and final chapter of the Eastrail 177 Trilogy. In addition to his directorial work, Shyamalan was a producer for the horror film Devil (2010). He was also instrumental in the creation of the Fox science fiction series Wayward Pines (2015–2016), for which he executive produced and directed the pilot episode. Shyamalan is also known for filming and setting his films in and around Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he was raised. Most of his commercially successful films were co-produced and released by the Walt Disney Studios' Touchstone and Hollywood film imprints. In 2008, Shyamalan was awarded the Padma Shri by the government of India.