Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is an English film director and producer. Best known for directing films in the science fiction and historical drama genres, his work is known for its atmospheric and highly concentrated visual style. Scott has received many accolades throughout his career, including the BAFTA Fellowship for lifetime achievement from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in 2018. In 2003, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for services to the British film industry. He was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2007, and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2011. An alumnus of the Royal College of Art in London, Scott began his career in television as a designer and director before moving into advertising, where he honed his filmmaking skills by making mini-films for television commercials. He made his debut as a film director with The Duellists (1977) and gained wider recognition with his next film, Alien (1979). Three years later he would direct Blade Runner, which Scott calls his "most complete and personal film". Though his films range widely in setting and period, they frequently showcase memorable imagery of urban environments, spanning 2nd-century Rome in Gladiator (2000), 12th-century Jerusalem in Kingdom of Heaven (2005), Medieval England in Robin Hood (2010), Ancient Memphis in Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014), contemporary Mogadishu in Black Hawk Down (2001), or the futuristic cityscapes of Blade Runner and different planets in Alien, Prometheus (2012), The Martian (2015) and Alien: Covenant (2017). Several of his films are also known for their strong female characters, such as Thelma & Louise (1991). Scott has been nominated for three Academy Awards for Directing, which he received for Thelma & Louise, Gladiator and Black Hawk Down. Gladiator won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and he received a nomination in the same category for The Martian. In 1995, both Scott and his brother Tony received a British Academy Film Award for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema. In a 2004 BBC poll, Scott was ranked 10 on the list of most influential people in British culture. Early life Scott was born on 30 November 1937 in South Shields, County Durham to Elizabeth () and Colonel Francis Percy Scott. His grand-uncle Dixon Scott was a pioneer of the cinema chain and opened many cinemas around Tyneside. One of his cinemas, Tyneside Cinema, is still operating