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Themes have always been vital to James Foley's filmmaking. The complexities of his films have drawn the best and brightest actors-ranging from Gene Hackman and Al Pacino to Sean Penn and Kevin Spacey.

His debut film, the teen thriller Reckless starring Aidan Quinn and Daryl Hannah, established his unique ability to combine suspense with complicated, unsentimental character portraits. He next directed the critically admired At Close Range, starring Sean Penn, Christopher Walken, Christopher Penn and Mary Stuart Masterson in a story that probed to the dark heart of family ties by exploring the relationship between a criminal father and his coming-of-age sons.

Switching gears again, Foley directed Madonna in her first major leading role in the screwball comedy Who's That Girl?, before delving into the noir world of Jim Thompson in the acclaimed After Dark, My Sweet, starring Jason Patric, Rachel Ward and Bruce Dern. Foley also directed Glengarry Glenn Ross, featuring a stellar cast including Jack Lemmon, Al Pacino and Kevin Spacey, the no-holds-barred screen version brought Mamet's scorchingly funny tale of moral chaos to cinematic life.

Foley's other films include Two Bits, Fear, The Chamber, and The Corrupter. Twice in his career, Foley has stepped briefly away from cinema for forays into innovative television, directing David Lynch's Twin Peaks and Robert Altman's Gun series on ABC.