Photo: Gérald Garitan / CC BY-SA 4.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Simon West is the kind of English director Hollywood hired when it wanted big, glossy chaos delivered on time. Con Air in 1997 is his calling card for me, a perfectly absurd action ride that never pretends to be more than it is, and that confidence is exactly why it works. He later steered Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and rebooted The Mechanic, then took over The Expendables 2. I respect that he stays firmly in the action lane rather than chasing prestige. He is not a stylist you quote in film school, but when you want a setpiece to actually land, West reliably delivers the goods.
Overview
Simon Alexander West (born 17 July 1961) is an English filmmaker. He has primarily worked in the action genre, including as the director of Con Air (1997), Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001), The Mechanic (2011), and The Expendables 2 (2012). Outside of action, he directed the mystery thriller film The General's Daughter (1999) and the psychological horror film When a Stranger Calls (2006).
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Simon West
- Name (Japanese)
- サイモン・ウェスト
- Reading
- さいもん・うぇすと
- Born
- July 17, 1961 (age 64)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Cancer / Ox
- Origin
- Letchworth Garden City, United Kingdom
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- film director / actor / screenwriter / film producer / television director
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Private
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Film director — see all → · Actor — see all → · More people from United Kingdom →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.