Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is an English film director and producer. His best-known films include Scott's commercial breakthrough Alien (1979), sci-fi classic Blade Runner (1982), Black Rain (1989), Thelma & Louise (1991), best picture Oscar-winner Gladiator (2000), Hannibal (2001), Black Hawk Down (2001), Kingdom of Heaven (2005), American Gangster (2007), Robin Hood (2010), and Prometheus (2012). Scott is known for his atmospheric, detail-crammed visual style, which has been influential on many directors. Though his films range widely in setting and period, they frequently showcase memorable imagery of urban environments, whether 12th century Jerusalem (Kingdom of Heaven), contemporary Osaka (Black Rain) or Mogadishu (Black Hawk Down), or the future cityscapes of Blade Runner. Scott has been nominated for three Academy Awards for Directing (for Thelma and Louise, Gladiator and Black Hawk Down), plus two Golden Globe and two BAFTA Awards. He was knighted in the United Kingdom's 2003 New Year Honours. He is the older brother of film director Tony Scott. Scott was born in the coastal town of South Shields, England, the son of Elizabeth and Colonel Francis Percy Scott.