Doug Dearth is a multi-talented filmmaker who began his career as an actor, working with acclaimed directors including Clint Eastwood, Stephen Frears, and Harold Ramis. Drawn by his passion for music and storytelling, he transitioned behind the camera, collaborating with John Cusack’s New Crime Productions on Grosse Pointe Blank and serving as Music Coordinator on High Fidelity.
Doug went on to produce and co-produce award-winning films such as Grace Is Gone (Sundance Audience Award) and War, Inc., while also directing and producing acclaimed documentaries and TV specials for HBO, AMC, Discovery Channel, and Current TV. His directing work includes 9000 Needles, Underdogs, and Odd Man Rush.
Doug’s producing endeavors started when he took on the role of Associate Producer for HBO’s “The Jack Bull”. This marked the beginning of an enduring collaboration with Cusack’s New Crime Productions. He later served as both Co-Producer and Music Supervisor for the feature “Grace Is Gone” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award: Dramatic and the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award. He continued to showcase his growing expertise by serving as Co-Producer and Second Unit Director for the feature film “War Inc.”
Doug’s love for documentaries lead him to the realm of television, where he lent his skills to two one-hour TV specials for AMC’s highly-praised series “Into The Badlands”. Returning to AMC, he produced two documentary specials for the popular show “The Walking Dead” before filming the docu-series “Cooper’s Treasure”, which aired on The Discovery Channel. He then delved into the captivating realm of acupuncture with two compelling documentaries, “Return To Life” and “Acupuncture Fever: The History of Acupuncture in California.”
Doug made his directorial debut with the critically acclaimed documentary “9000 Needles”, “Under The Knife Abroad”, a one-hour documentary for Current TV. Then expanded his directorial horizons to the big screen with the release of the feature film “Underdogs” followed by “Odd Man Rush”, a quirky, coming-of-age film that won the hearts of sports fans and critics alike. Currently, he is set to direct the upcoming features “Last Day” and “Three Dog Night”, both of which he has also penned as writer.
Doug made his directorial debut in 2009 with the award winning documentary, “9000 Needles,” which was picked up for distribution and released in the fall of 2011. Shortly thereafter, he produced and directed “Under The Knife Abroad,” a one-hour documentary for the critically acclaimed Vanguard Documentary Series on Current TV. His most resent documentaries are “Inspired To Ride” and “The DR Diaries,” both of which he produced and directed.
Doug went on to direct the feature film “Underdogs,” which was released theatrically in the fall of 2013. Following that, he completed two one-hour TV specials for AMC’s “The Walking Dead,” which aired in July of 2014 . He then returned to AMC in 2015, to direct and produce a behind-the-scenes special for their new TV series “Into The Badlands.”
Currently, Doug is slated to direct the upcoming feature “Last Day” and is in development on “Three Dog Night,” a film in which he also serves as writer.
Doug is a mentor at the International Academy of Film and Television where he teaches a course in documentary filmmaking.
