Stephen Manuel was born in 1971 in Dublin, Ireland, but spent his childhood in the black forest area of southern Germany. This unique upbringing allowed him to become proficient in two languages from a young age, speaking German from kindergarten and English from his parents at home. As a result, his friends often found it difficult to understand him due to his bilingual background.
Manuel's love for film began when his father would take him to the local cinema, as there was no television in the house at the time. He developed a fascination with movies, particularly Superman, James Bond, and the Smurfs, and soon began making short films using the school's camera equipment and later, his own video camera at the age of 16.
At 17, Manuel entered several short films into an amateur film festival and won first prize. This achievement sparked his passion for filmmaking, and he continued to work on short films while interning and later as a production assistant for a local film production company.
After winning several short film awards, Manuel enrolled in the prestigious Film Academy Baden-Wuerttemberg in Germany in 1994. Directly after graduating, one of his short films caught the attention of German late-night talk show host Harald Schmidt, who offered him a job as a segment director on his show.
Manuel worked on the "Harald Schmidt Show" for several years, creating over 100 short parody and comedy sketches. This led to opportunities for commercials and action series, including German prime-time action series "Der Clown" and "Alarm Fuer Cobra 11".
In 2001, Manuel was offered his first TV movie, "Schwartz & MacMurphy - Die Grosstadtsherrifs", an action film for RTL Germany. He followed this with his first international production, several episodes of the Canadian sci-fi show "Lexx - The Dark Zone".
In 2002, Manuel directed the slapstick feature "Der Letzte Lude" for German cinemas. The following year, he directed a Christmas special TV movie, "Amundsen The Penguin", a children's action film starring a young girl and a penguin, for major German TV station ARD.
Manuel's subsequent work includes directing seven episodes of the German comedy series "Axel Will's Wissen", which was nominated for best comedy series and best actress at the German comedy prize in Cologne in 2005. He also directed the comedy series "Spoons" for Pro 7 and several English-language movies for the international TV and DVD market.
Some of his notable English-language films include "Perfect Hideout" starring Billy Zane, "Fatal Rescue" starring Steve Guttenberg, "Lucky Fritz" starring Corey Feldman, "Shoot The Duke" starring Stephen Baldwin, and "Iron Doors" starring Axel Wedekind. Additionally, Manuel has continued to direct commercials throughout his career, winning several awards including "Effies" and an ADC Germany award.
