Sean McNamara Biography:
Date of Birth: May 9, 1962
Born in Burbank, Sean McNamara has been involved in the entertainment business since the early 1980s. In 1984, he produced the popular Kids Incorporated series that launched the careers of young actors such as Jennifer Love Hewitt. A decade later, he was writing and directing for the popular Nickelodeon children's series The Secret Life of Alex Mack.
In 1997, he cast 10-year-old Hilary Duff in the video Casper Meets Wendy, effectively launching her career. In 2000, he cast Shia LaBeouf in the Disney Channel's sitcom Even Stevens, and the partnership was a good one for both of them. LaBeouf became a star thanks to the show, and has moved on to lead roles in feature films, while McNamara received three Directors Guild nominations and a BAFTA children's award for his work on the popular series.
Just two years later, he began serving as executive producer and writer/director on That's So Raven, which soon had the distinction of being Disney Channel's highest rated program. McNamara has also directed several feature films, including Race to Space (2001) starring James Woods, which won several awards at international film festivals. He reunited with Duff for the big screen release Raise Your Voice (2004), about a small town girl who attends a performing arts summer school.
McNamara received a fourth DGA nomination in 2007 for directing the childrens video production The Cutting Edge: Going for the Gold, starring Christy Carlson Romano, whom McNamara knew from when she played the older sister in Even Stevens. McNamara found time from his busy TV directing schedule to helm the big screen feature Soul Surfer (2011), starring AnnaSophia Robb in the true life story about a champion teenage surfer who lost an arm to a shark.
Along with partner David Brookwell, McNamara runs Brookwell McNamara Entertainment, which produces and creates new shows for various networks. He is married to Ellen Ensher McNamara and lives in Los Angeles.