Felix Gary Gray (born July 17, 1969) is an American music video and film director.

Life and career

Gray was born in New York City, New York, a nephew of actor Phill Lewis. He was raised in South Central Los Angeles and Highland Park, Illinois. Gray has directed more than 30 music videos for musical artists such as Ice Cube, Queen Latifah, TLC, Dr. Dre, Jay-Z, and Mary J. Blige, and won several awards for his video work. He dropped out of a college in Northern California to pursue his film-making.

He made the transition into motion pictures with his first film, the surprising hit Friday (with rapper-producer friend Ice Cube), firmly establishing himself in the feature world. He next directed the award-winning heist picture Set It Off (with Jada Pinkett Smith) and then The Negotiator, whose $50 million budget was the highest ever given to an African-American director. Starring Academy Award winner Kevin Spacey and nominee Samuel L. Jackson, the drama earned Gray both Best Film and Best Director awards at the 1998 Acapulco Film Festival.

Perhaps Gray’s best known film is The Italian Job, featuring an all-star cast including Academy Award winner Charlize Theron, Edward Norton, and Mark Wahlberg. Gray designed car and boat chases through downtown Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Venice, Italy. The film grossed over $100 million domestically and won Best Director award at the 2004 American Black Film Festival.

Gray’s features also include the action-drama A Man Apart starring Vin Diesel and the crime comedy Be Cool. His new film, Law Abiding Citizen, starring Academy Award-winner Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler, was released 10/16/09.

Gray was seen on the MTV show Punk'd when The Rock was the subject of a practical joke on the set of his movie Be Cool. Gray and his Be Cool cast members (mostly uncredited) greeted The Rock after it had been revealed to him that he had just been Punk'd.

Directorial credits

Filmography

• Friday (1995)

• Set It Off (1996)

• The Negotiator (1998)

• Ryan Caulfield: Year One (1999) TV Series

• The Italian Job (2003)

• A Man Apart (2003)

• Be Cool (2005)

• Law Abiding Citizen (2009)

• The Brazilian Job (TBA)

Music videos

• "It Was a Good Day" by Ice Cube (1992)

• "Natural Born Killaz" by Dr. Dre and Ice Cube (1994)

• "Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik" by OutKast (1994)

• "Black Hand Side" by Queen Latifah (1994)

• "Keep Their Heads Ringin" By Dr. Dre (1995)

• "Waterfalls" by TLC (1995)

• "Diggin' On You" by TLC (1995)

• "If I Could Turn Back the Hands of Time" by R. Kelly (1999)

• "Ms. Jackson" by OutKast (2000)

• "How Come, How Long" by Babyface (2001)

• "I Ain't Goin' Out Like That" by Cypress Hill (2001)

• "When The Ship Goes Down" by Cypress Hill (2001)

• "Bang Bang Boom" by Drag-On (2004)

• "Show Me What You Got" by Jay-Z (2006)