Paul Thomas King (born July 1978) is an English screenwriter and director. He works in television, film and theatre and specialises in comedy. He directed all 20 episodes of the surreal comedy series The Mighty Boosh (2004–2007), and in 2005 he earned a British Academy Television Award nomination for Best New Director. His work on the family comedy films Paddington (2014) and its 2017 sequel earned him British Academy Film Award nominations for Best British Film and Best Adapted Screenplay. In 2023, he directed and co-wrote Wonka, a film which serves as a backstory to the literary character Willy Wonka and explores his early days as a chocolatier. Description above from the Wikipedia article Paul King (director), licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Biography from TMDB.
- July 29, 1978 (48)
- Chicago, Illinois, USA
- Director, writer and producer
- 8 on MovieCove · 19 credits in all
What are Paul King's films like?
Across their 6 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 5
Light 4 · Serious 1 · Dark 0
Grounded 0 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 3
Gentle 2 · Charged 3 · Intense 0
A split, not a type: Steady 3 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 0 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 2
Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 4 · Relentless 0
Casual 3 · Engaged 2 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 4 · Affecting 1 · Heavy 0
Resolved 5 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy4
- Bittersweet1
- Cyclical1
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Paul King's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 7 of their 8 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Paul King's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
19 credits, 8 with a MovieCove page; 6 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Paddington in Peru(2024)
Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films
Wonka(2023)
Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films
Space Force(2020)
Midcredits score: 34th percentile of all shows
Pele, Argentina and The Dictators (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)
Paddington 2(2017)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films
Miranda: Morecambe & Wise and Me (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)
Little Britain Sketch (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)
Paddington(2014)
Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all filmsBehind the Scenes - Bunny and the Bull (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)
Bunny and the Bull(2009)
Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films
The Mighty Boosh Live: Future Sailors Tour (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)
The Mighty Boosh Live (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)
Man to Man with Dean Learner (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)
The Mighty Boosh(2003)
Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all shows
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all showsLabubu (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Prince Charming (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Untitled Fred Astaire Biopic (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Wonka 2 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 19 titles, 15 of them dated from 2004 to 2024.
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
Awards
7 major nominations and no wins, 2005–2024.
- BAFTA Award, nominated · Outstanding British Film of the Year
- BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Screenplay (Adapted)
- BAFTA Award, nominated · Outstanding British Film of the Year
- BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Adapted Screenplay
- BAFTA Award, nominated
- BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Comedy Programme
- BAFTA Award, nominated · Best New Director (Fiction)
Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.
How do Paul King's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 76th percentile, the median of all 5; across their 5 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 73rd percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up5
- 50th to 74th2
- 25th to 49th1
Shape of the crowd
None of their 8 titles divides audiences: 4 are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved3
- Crowd Pleaser4
- Mixed1
Reviewers score the atmosphere 74/100 and the pacing 59/100 in their films, across 5 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Paul King's work okay for kids?
Across up to 5 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore, sex & nudity, profanity and alcohol & drugs run lighter than most films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does Paul King work with?
People who share at least 2 of Paul King's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Simon Farnaby shares the most, 4.
Writers
- Simon FarnabyShared titles: Paddington in Peru (2024), Wonka (2023), Paddington 2 (2017), Bunny and the Bull (2009)See all 4 shared titles with Simon Farnaby
- Mark BurtonShared titles: Paddington in Peru (2024), Paddington 2 (2017)See all 2 shared titles with Mark Burton
- Michael BondShared titles: Paddington in Peru (2024), Paddington (2014)See all 2 shared titles with Michael Bond
Actors
- Ben WhishawShared titles: Paddington in Peru (2024), Paddington 2 (2017), Paddington (2014)See all 3 shared titles with Ben Whishaw
- Hugh BonnevilleShared titles: Paddington in Peru (2024), Paddington 2 (2017), Paddington (2014)See all 3 shared titles with Hugh Bonneville
- Imelda StauntonShared titles: Paddington in Peru (2024), Paddington 2 (2017), Paddington (2014)See all 3 shared titles with Imelda Staunton
- Julie WaltersShared titles: Paddington in Peru (2024), Paddington 2 (2017), Paddington (2014)See all 3 shared titles with Julie Walters
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Erik WilsonShared titles: Paddington in Peru (2024), Paddington 2 (2017), Paddington (2014)See all 3 shared titles with Erik Wilson
- Mark EversonShared titles: Paddington 2 (2017), Paddington (2014), Bunny and the Bull (2009)See all 3 shared titles with Mark Everson
- Dario MarianelliShared titles: Paddington in Peru (2024), Paddington 2 (2017)See all 2 shared titles with Dario Marianelli
Producers
- Rosie AlisonShared titles: Paddington in Peru (2024), Wonka (2023), Paddington (2014)See all 3 shared titles with Rosie Alison
- David HeymanShared titles: Wonka (2023), Paddington 2 (2017), Paddington (2014)See all 3 shared titles with David Heyman
- Rob SilvaShared titles: Paddington in Peru (2024), Wonka (2023)See all 2 shared titles with Rob Silva
- Ron HalpernShared titles: Paddington in Peru (2024), Paddington (2014)See all 2 shared titles with Ron Halpern
