Before Philip Barantini became known for keeping a camera moving through an entire episode, he was watching other directors work. As an actor, he would stay on set after his own scenes and ask questions. The interest was there. The confidence to call himself a director took longer.
His account at a Royal Television Society discussion makes the distance between those two things clear. Growing up in Huyton, he imagined directing belonged to people who had been to film school and already knew every answer. His eventual route was messier: acting jobs, restaurant shifts, bereavement, short films and collaborators who kept coming back.
Where did Philip Barantini begin?
At that RTS event, Barantini traced his fascination with screen work to a childhood Disneyland visit. A great aunt who worked at Granada Studios later helped him see that programmes were made much closer to home. Film and television stopped being entirely distant worlds.
He entered the business as an actor. BIFA’s biography dates that career to 1996 and lists appearances in Band of Brothers, Ned Kelly and Chernobyl. Those credits matter because the director of Adolescence had already spent years experiencing sets from the other side of the camera.
You can follow both parts of his career on Philip Barantini’s IMDb profile, which identifies him as a director, producer and actor. It is a useful reminder that his public breakthrough as a filmmaker came well after his first professional screen work.
Why did kitchen work become part of the story?
In his 2022 BFI interview, Barantini said acting had not brought the success he had hoped for. He needed money, started working in kitchens and eventually became a head chef after about a decade in that world.
It gave him more than a job between auditions. The pressure, exhaustion and relationships inside a restaurant became material he could write from. Boiling Point was loosely rooted in experiences he recognised, rather than a kitchen imagined entirely from outside it.
That interview also describes a painful personal turning point. His mother’s sudden death pushed him to stop postponing directing. He made a short, showed it to Stephen Graham and then pitched the restaurant idea. Graham’s interest became a bridge between a filmmaker with something to say and a film people would notice.
How did Boiling Point open doors?
The early directing work included Seconds Out, written by and starring Robbie O’Neill, and the short version of Boiling Point. His IMDb biography and credits trace those shorts into the 2021 restaurant feature and also record Villain, starring Craig Fairbrass, among his feature credits.
It was the feature Boiling Point, with Graham as chef Andy Jones, that made the strongest impression on his next collaborators. BIFA’s biography records four BAFTA nominations and eleven BIFA nominations for the film. A contained restaurant drama had become a substantial calling card.
James Cummings was central to that work. The BFI’s programme notes for the television sequel describe how Cummings first encountered Barantini on a university project: Cummings was writing, Barantini was acting. Their relationship continued into writing Boiling Point together. Cinematographer Matt Lewis was another important partner, helping turn the restaurant’s pressure into a continuous moving image.
What happened between Boiling Point and Adolescence?
Barantini did not simply wait for another restaurant film. His television work included the final episode of The Responder and all five episodes of ITV’s Malpractice. The thriller Accused followed too. His screen credits show a director building experience across different stories and formats.
Boiling Point also became a BBC series. The BFI programme notes credit him with directing its first two episodes, with Vinette Robinson’s Carly now leading her own kitchen. At the RTS discussion, the team described the commissioning interest that followed the film. The restaurant could sustain a wider world of characters, rather than simply repeating Andy’s night.
| Career chapter | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Acting from 1996 | Years on sets before becoming known as a director. |
| Early shorts | A way to finish work and show collaborators what he could do. |
| Boiling Point, 2021 | The feature breakthrough that led to new meetings and television opportunities. |
| Adolescence, 2025 | A wider audience and major directing recognition. |
| Music film and Enola Holmes 3 | Later work beyond the dramas that established his name. |
How did Adolescence become the next breakthrough?
In his March 2025 interview with Screen Daily, Barantini explained that meetings after Boiling Point included Plan B’s Jeremy Kleiner. Kleiner wanted a television project with Barantini and Graham, using a continuous take for each episode. An initial eight episode idea became four.
Graham developed the premise, and he and Jack Thorne wrote the series. Barantini had wanted to work with Thorne for years. Netflix joined in December 2023; filming began in West Yorkshire in July 2024. It was a new scale of opportunity built partly on an existing creative partnership.
The same interview shows the actor still inside the director. Talking about newcomer Owen Cooper, Barantini described the care needed when asking a young performer to enter difficult emotional territory. The camera method attracted attention, but working with actors remained central to the job.
For a conversation with the people themselves, watch Barantini and Thorne discuss writing and directing Adolescence with The Filmmakers Podcast below.
Where has his career gone since?
The continuous take also found a very different setting in ONE SHOT with Ed Sheeran. Netflix’s account of the 2025 music film credits Barantini as director, alongside Fulwell Entertainment and producer Ben Winston. Following a musician through New York opened up another use for an approach audiences had associated with tense drama.
Then came Enola Holmes 3. Netflix’s July 2026 release coverage confirms Barantini as director and Thorne as writer, with Millie Bobby Brown returning to the title role in a mystery set in Malta. It is already available to stream, rather than a future project awaiting release.
That later work makes the career more interesting than a single signature technique. The recurring thread is collaboration: Graham, Cummings, Lewis and Thorne appear at different turning points, while the projects change in subject and scale. Barantini’s story began with a fascination for how sets worked. It grew through years of work that did not initially look like a directing career.
Where can you follow his work?
- IMDb for acting and directing credits.
- Philip Barantini on Instagram for his public posts and project updates.
- The Filmmakers Podcast interview for a longer conversation about his collaboration with Jack Thorne.
A few questions about his career
Was Philip Barantini an actor before he directed?
Yes. His acting credits include Band of Brothers, Ned Kelly and Chernobyl. His directing career developed after years in front of the camera.
Are the Boiling Point short, film and series the same production?
No. They are separate stages of the project: a short, a feature and a television continuation. The series follows Carly’s kitchen rather than retelling the feature.
Did Barantini write Adolescence?
Stephen Graham and Jack Thorne wrote it. Barantini directed all four episodes and was an executive producer.
Is Enola Holmes 3 still upcoming?
No. Netflix’s July 2026 coverage lists it as streaming. Earlier interviews discussing preparation for the film describe an earlier stage of his career.
Taking your own film to an audience
If this story has you thinking about what happens after finishing a short, our guide to selling a short film directly to fans looks at the audience and release decisions. Vidreno On Demand offers public film purchases and rentals, separate from hosting videos on your own website.
