Skip to main content
The Horror CodexBeta
HomeNicolas Winding Refn
Nicolas Winding Refn

Nicolas Winding Refn

Director·b. 1970·Copenhagen, Denmark

6 horror credits

Nicolas Winding Refn (Danish: [ˈne̝kolɑs ˈve̝nte̝ŋˈʁæfn̩]; born 29 September 1970) is a Danish film director, screenwriter, and producer.

He directed the Pusher trilogy (1996–2005), the crime drama Bronson (2008), and the adventure film Valhalla Rising (2009). In 2011, he directed the action drama film Drive (2011), for which he won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Director. He was also nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Direction. Refn's subsequent films were the stylistically driven action film Only God Forgives (2013) and the psychological horror film The Neon Demon (2016).

In 2019, he directed his first television series, Too Old to Die Young (2019), which premiered on Amazon Prime. After Amazon's Too Old to Die Young, Refn's next project took him to Netflix and saw him returning to his native Copenhagen for the first time since Pusher 3, which was the setting for his magical realism series, Copenhagen Cowboy. In 2008, Refn co-founded the Copenhagen-based production company Space Rocket Nation.

Director5 films

Her Private Hell

Her Private Hell

Director

2026
The Neon Demon

The Neon Demon

Director

2016 2.8
Only God Forgives

Only God Forgives

Director

2013 4.0
Fear X

Fear X

Director

2003
Bleeder

Bleeder

Director

1999 4.0

Writer5 films

Her Private Hell

Her Private Hell

Writer

2026
The Neon Demon

The Neon Demon

Screenplay / Story

2016 2.8
Only God Forgives

Only God Forgives

Writer

2013 4.0
Fear X

Fear X

Writer

2003
Bleeder

Bleeder

Screenplay

1999 4.0

Producer3 films

Her Private Hell

Her Private Hell

Producer

2026
The Neon Demon

The Neon Demon

Producer

2016 2.8
Bleeder

Bleeder

Producer

1999 4.0

Actor1 film

Dario Argento: Panico

Dario Argento: Panico

Self

2024