Stephen Herek is an American film director, producer and screenwriter who has been active in the movie industry since the 1980s. He is best known for directing films such as Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989), The Mighty Ducks (1992), and Mr. Holland’s Opus (1995).
He was born in 1957 in Princeton, New Jersey and grew up in Catonsville, Maryland. After high school he attended Towson University where he graduated with a BFA degree in theater arts. He then went on to study filmmaking at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, where he graduated with honors.
Herek first made his mark on Hollywood with his debut film, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure – a comedy starring Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter which became a major hit. Since then he has directed several other successful films such as The Rocketeer (1991) starring Billy Campbell, Donnie Darko (2001) starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Critters 4 (1992), 101 Dalmatians (1996) starring Glenn Close and Steve Martin, Life or Something Like It (2002) starring Angelina Jolie, and Raising Helen (2004) starring Kate Hudson. He also wrote and directed the television movie Aliens In The Family in 1986.
In addition to his film work Herek has also been involved with many educational initiatives throughout his career including working as an adjunct professor at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts teaching courses on directing and producing movies; as well as serving on the Board of Directors for the International Documentary Association. He currently serves on the Board of Governors for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.