Nimród Antal

Nimród E. Antal is a Hungarian-American filmmaker. He is best known for directing the films Vacancy, Predators, and Retribution.

Life and career

Antal was born in Los Angeles, California, to parents of Hungarian descent. In 1991, following his father's advice, Antal moved to Hungary to study at the Hungarian Film Academy in Budapest. After graduating, he worked in the Hungarian film and television industry; in 2005, he returned to Los Angeles and continued to work in the film and television industry in Hollywood.

Directing

Antal wrote and directed the Hungarian-language film Kontroll, which won numerous awards, including the Award of the Youth at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival and the main prize at the Chicago International Film Festival, as well as a European Film Award nomination for Best Director and being selected as Hungary's submission to the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. The backdrop of the film is the Budapest Metro subway system. Kontroll, refers to the act of ticket inspectors checking to ensure a rider has paid their fare.
Antal's first American feature film, Vacancy, starring Kate Beckinsale and Luke Wilson, was released on April 20, 2007. His second American film, Armored, was released in December 2009. Robert Rodriguez hired him to direct the film Predators. He directed the Metallica 3D concert movie/narrative film
titled Metallica: Through the Never.
Antal returned to Hungary to make The Whisky Bandit, a biopic of infamous Hungarian bank robber Attila Ambrus.
Antal has directed for three television series, two of which were executive produced by M. Night Shyamalan – first, as a guest director on Wayward Pines, then as a regular director for Servant. In 2022, he directed two episodes of Stranger Things season 4.

Acting

Antal has appeared in acting roles in some Hungarian films, the most known among these are András Salamon's Közel a szerelemhez and Balra a nap nyugszik, directed by András Fésös. Antal had major supporting parts in both of these films. He also had a cameo in Robert Rodriguez's 2010 film Machete.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Director	Writer
2003	Kontroll
2007	Vacancy
2009	Armored
2010	Predators
2013	Metallica: Through the Never
2017	The Whiskey Bandit
2023	Retribution
2025	Afterburn

Television

Year	Title	Episode
2015	Wayward Pines	"A Reckoning"
2019–2021	Servant	"Bear"
2019–2021	Servant	"Cricket"
2019–2021	Servant	"Marino"
2019–2021	Servant	"Goose"
2022	Stranger Things	"Chapter Five: The Nina Project"
2022	Stranger Things	"Chapter Six: The Dive"