Trivia

Filmed documentaries in Vietnam during the war. He would later make the gritty, Vietnam war film Hamburger Hill (1987).

Rarely works with the actors on more than one film, and as a result has worked with a variety of actors such as Donald Sutherland, Michael Caine, Forest Whitaker, Frank Whaley, Vanessa Redgrave, Liam Neeson, Helen Hunt, Don Cheadle, and Edward Fox.

Studied at the London School of Film Technique in 1959.

First started work with the Rank Organisation and British Movietone News. He worked extensively for English television until 1980.

He made his directorial debut for television in 1966 with East of Howerd (1966) which was followed in 1979 with the Alec Guinness series Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979). His first film was The Dogs of War (1980) in 1989 which was followed by Champions (1984), Next of Kin (1989) and A Month by the Lake (1995).

Has a twin brother David.

Taught Latin in a preparatory school to fund his enrollment into the London Film School.

Father Charles Irvin was a mechanical engineer who during the World War II joined the Royal Engineers and was deployed to the Middle East where he was involved in the construction of the Iran-Iraq Pipeline transporting oil from the Middle East. Mother Elsie Winifred Bending was a homemaker.

Rowed competitively for Durham College.

Filmed the television movie Noah's Ark (1999) which featured Alexis Denisof and Emily Mortimer. Both have portrayed characters in the Richard Sharpe series, starring Sean Bean.