About M. Night Shyamalan
Manoj Nelliyattu "M. Night" Shyamalan ( SHAH-mə-lahn, Malayalam: [mɐnoːdʒ n̪elːijaːʈːə̆ ʃ(j)aːmɐɭɐn]; born August 6, 1970) is an American filmmaker. His films often employ supernatural plots and twist endings. The cumulative gross of his films exceeds $3.3 billion globally. Shyamalan has received various accolades, including nominations for two Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards and a Golden Globe. Shyamalan was born in Mahé, India, and raised in Penn Valley, Pennsylvania. His early films include Praying with Anger (1992) and Wide Awake (1998) before his breakthrough film The Sixth Sense (1999), which earned him Academy Award nominations for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. He then released Unbreakable (2000), Signs (2002) and The Village (2004). After a string of poorly received films—Lady in the Water (2006), The Happening (2008), The Last Airbender (2010), and After Earth (2013)—he experienced a career resurgence with The Visit (2015) and Split (2016). These were followed by Glass (2019), Old (2021), Knock at the Cabin (2023), and Trap (2024). Shyamalan was also one of the executive producers and occasional director of the 20th Television science fiction series Wayward Pines (2015–2016) and the Apple TV+ psychological horror series Servant (2019–2023), for which he also served as showrunner. Shyamalan made his first film, the semi-autobiographical drama Praying with Anger, while still a student at NYU, using money borrowed from family and friends. When reading about the Lakota, he discovered a person whose name was translated as 'Night' in English. Shyamalan gained international recognition when he wrote and directed 1999's The Sixth Sense, starring Bruce Willis, which became the second-highest grossing horror movie of all time.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.