Michael Gracey

Producer / Director

Birthdate – June 10, 1976 (48 Years Old)

Birthplace – Melbourne, Australia 

Michael Gracey is a feature and music video director who began his filmmaking career as an animator, a commercials director, and a visual effects designer. He then made his feature directorial debut with the mega-hit biopic musical The Greatest Showman (2017), which starred Hugh Jackman as P.T. Barnum, Zac EfronMichelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson, and Zendaya and delivered a powerhouse box office ($459 million) for 20th Century Fox.

Gracey returned as director/co-writer/producer with another big-scale biopic musical, Better Man (2024), a fanciful account of the life and career of pop singer Robbie Williams, co-starring Williams himself and Jonno Davies in a motion capture performance (also as Williams, but as a CGI chimpanzee), with Steve Pemberton and Alison Steadman, and which premiered at the Telluride Film Festival and was released wide by Paramount Pictures (U.S.)/Entertainment Film Distributors (U.K.)/Roadshow Films (Australia).

Gracey was a lead producer only on director/writer Jeremy Zag’s computer-animated musical, Melody (date to be announced), with Katy Perry in the starring voice role.

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Personal Details

Michael Gracey was born and raised in Melbourne, Australia, by his parents. Gracey has one sister. Gracey attended and graduated from Xavier College in Melbourne, Australia.

Filmography

Better Man

(2024)

P!nk: All I Know So Far

(2021)

The Greatest Showman

(2017)

Better Man

(2024)

P!nk: All I Know So Far

(2021)

Better Man

(2024)

P!nk: All I Know So Far

(2021)

Some Facts About Michael Gracey

Theater of Life: Michael Gracey has commented “I love the idea that you can look around the world and see the theater of life. See the magical and imaginative happening every day, even in the mundane.”

 The Greatest Break: Gracey landed his feature director debut with The Greatest Showman on the work he did as director of a Japanese TV commercial with Hugh Jackman.

 

Awards

Three-time Nominee, Best Film/Best Director/Best Screenplay, Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards (2025).