Philip Barantini (born 13 July 1980) is a British director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Known for his intense one-shot works, he directed the film Boiling Point (2021), its follow-up series (2023) and the miniseries Adolescence (2025), all starring Stephen Graham. He has received two Primetime Emmy Awards and a BAFTA Award nomination.

As an actor, his notable roles include appearances in Dream Team, Band of Brothers, and The Responder.

Early life

Philip Barantini was born in Liverpool and grew up in Huyton, Merseyside.

Career

Early career

Barantini was at first an actor, notably starring as Sergeant Wayne A. "Skinny" Sisk in HBO's Band of Brothers (2001).[citation needed] His other television roles include Billy O'Neill in Dream Team (1998-2000), Bezpalov in Chernobyl (2019), and Steve in The Responder (2022).[citation needed]

Barantini starred as Steve Hart in the film Ned Kelly (2003) alongside Heath Ledger and Orlando Bloom.[citation needed] His other film roles included Joey in The Escapist (2002), David in Hard Boiled Sweets (2012), and John Morgan in A Violent Man (2022).[citation needed]

Whilst acting, Barantini expressed an interest in directing, taking opportunities to shadow other directors. He made his directorial debut with the short film Seconds Out (2019), shortly before filming and releasing his second short Boiling Point (2019), which reunited him with his friend and Band of Brothers co-star Stephen Graham. The short earned him the Lift-Off Season Award for Best Short at the Manchester awards.[citation needed]

Barantini's first feature film was the gritty crime thriller Villain, starring Craig Fairbrass.

2020–present: Boiling Point and other activities

Following the success of the 2019 kitchen drama, Barantini co-wrote a feature film, also titled Boiling Point (2021), with his one-time writing partner James Cummings. Barantini drew inspiration for many of the story arcs from his own experiences as a head chef as well as experiences of those who he knew who worked in the industry. The feature saw Stephen Graham reprise the lead role of chef Andy Jones and was filmed in one true take.

Graham described working on the single-shot feature as "the most exhilarating array of emotions I've ever felt on a film set in my life". The film was nominated for 11 BIFA awards in 2021, including Best Director and Best British Independent Film and won Best Cinematography for Director of Photography Matt Lewis and Best Casting for Carolyn McLeod. The film went on to be nominated for four BAFTAs at the 2022 ceremony, including a nomination for Outstanding British Film of the Year and Best Leading Actor for Stephen Graham.

In September 2021, Barantini directed the music video for Sam Fender's "Spit of You", which chronicled Fender's relationship with his father, portrayed in the video by Stephen Graham. The video won the UKMVA award for Best Rock Video in 2022, beating the likes of Muse and Florence + The Machine.

In February 2022, Barantini directed British thriller Accused written by James Cummings and Barnaby Boulton. The film starred Chaneil Kular and was released on 22 September 2023 in select territories on Netflix and on Tubi in the United States.

Barantini will direct the third film in Netflix's Enola Holmes film series. He will succeed Harry Bradbeer, who directed the first two films.

Television series

Barantini was given a role in the Liverpool-based TV drama The Responder, with Martin Freeman and was subsequently asked to direct the final episode. He directed the finale.

In 2022, Barantini directed the five-part ITV drama series Malpractice (2022) starring Niamh Algar.

A series sequel of Boiling Point was announced in 2022, and began filming in early 2023. The four-part series was released on BBC One in December 2023 and was co-produced by Matriarch Productions (headed by Stephen Graham and Hannah Walters) and Ascendant Fox, along with Barantini's own production company It's All Made Up Productions. Barantini was a producer, co-creator and director on the series, directing the first two episodes of the series with the final two directed by Mounia Akl. The series saw the return of many of the familiar characters from the feature and picked up a few months on from where the film ended.

Barantini commenced filming the four-part series Adolescence in summer 2024, directing all four episodes, which saw him reunite with long-term collaborator Stephen Graham. The series saw each episode filmed in one continuous shot and was produced by Warp Films, Plan B Entertainment, and Matriarch Productions for Netflix. The series was released on 13 March 2025.

Awards and nominations

AwardYearCategoryWorkResultRef.
British Academy Film Awards2022Outstanding British Film of the YearBoiling PointNominated
British Independent Film Awards2019Best British Short FilmBoiling Point (Short 2019)Nominated
2021Best DirectorBoiling PointNominated
Best British Independent FilmNominated
Broadcasting Press Guild Awards2024Best Drama SeriesBoiling PointNominated
Encounters Short Film and Animation Festival2019Brief Encounters Best of British – Special MentionBoiling Point (Short 2019)Won
Gotham TV Awards2025Breakthrough Limited SeriesAdolescenceWon
Primetime Emmy Awards2025Outstanding Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series or MovieAdolescenceWon
Outstanding Limited or Anthology SeriesWon
Romford Film Festival2020Jury PrizeSeconds OutWon
Seoul International Drama Awards2025Best DirectorAdolescenceWon
Taormina Film Fest2022Cariddi d'OroBoiling PointWon
Best DirectorWon
UK Music Video Awards2022Best Rock VideoSam Fender's Spit of YouWon

Filmography

Short film

YearTitleDirectorWriterProducer
2019Seconds OutYesYes
Boiling PointYesYes
2020Spanish PigeonYes

Executive Produer

  • Wanderlust (2016)
  • A Place for Everything (2017)

Acting roles

YearTitleRole
2011Wake Up England! The Day that Morning was BrokenJonny Redeyes
2012Sh-Boom!Danny
2013CamelotHenry
2014LittleKarl
2016Set AdriftJohn
WanderlustTim
2017A Place for EverythingDaniel Morsley
2019HatimaSteve
Stop and SearchTerry (Policeman)

Feature film

YearTitleDirectorExecutive ProducerWriter
2017An Actor's Life (Less Ordinary)Yes
2020VillainYesYes
2021Boiling PointYesYesYes
2023AccusedYesYes
2026Enola Holmes 3Yes

Supervising producer

  • Nightshooters (2018)

Producer

  • Levelling the Score (2019)
  • Wasteman (2025)

Acting roles

YearTitleRole
2002The EscapistJoey
2003Ned KellySteve Hart
The Boys from County ClareAlex
2012Hard Boiled SweetsDean
2013Young, High and DeadJohn
2014The SpoilerSunderland
CrypticJohn Jonas
2015World War Dead: Rise of the FallenLiam
2017An Actor's Life (Less Ordinary)Philip
2018NightshootersChad
2021A Violent ManJohn Morgan

Television

YearTitleDirectorExecutive ProducerNotes
2022The ResponderYesSeries 1, Episode 5
2023MalpracticeYesYesSeries 1
Boiling PointYesYesAlso creator
2025AdolescenceYesYesMiniseries

Associate producer

Acting roles

YearTitleRoleNotes
1998Big CatJason WoodmanEpisode: "A Family Affair"
1998–2000Dream TeamBilly O'Neil139 episodes
2001Band of BrothersPrivate Wayne A. "Skinny" Sisk9 episodes
2002The American EmbassyJasonEpisode: "China Cup"
2007DoctorsDanny LeightonEpisode: "Playing Dad"
200810 Days to WarRanger GiddinsEpisode: "Our Business Is North"
The BillDave PattersonEpisode: "Loved and Lost"
2009MinderWes GrayEpisode: "Thank Your Lucky Stars"
2012Mrs. Brown's BoysIT ManEpisode: "iMammy (Batteries Not Included)"
2016The MusketeersRobertEpisode: "Fool's Gold"
CasualtyPaul PrenticeEpisode: "This Life"
2018GenesisRichard BroadmanEpisode: "iMammy (Batteries Not Included)"
HumansPaul2 episodes
2019ChernobylBezpalov2 episodes
2021TimeFloyd Walker2 episodes
2022–2024The ResponderSteveRecurring

External links