Born Jan Tomas Forman in Cáslav, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic); educated at University of Prague (film); FAMU, Prague. Milos Forman stands as one of the few established foreign directors to find consistent success within the American film industry. Like Fritz Lang, Forman was an influential filmmaker in his homeland who went on to achieve equal influence in Hollywood. Forman's Czechoslovakian films, including LÁSKY JEDNÉ PLAVOVLÁSKY / LOVES OF A BLONDE (1965) and HORÍ, MÁ PANENKO / THE FIREMEN'S BALL (1968), marked a distinct thematic and stylistic break with the prior generation of filmmaking in that country, and they played a major role in shaping the Czech New Wave of the 1960s. These films were characterized by an ironic humor and detailed observation of character for which Forman has become well known. Forman came to the United States in 1968, following the Soviet invasion of his homeland. TAKING OFF (1971), his first American feature, was a critical if not commercial success, but it was with ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST (1975) that Forman solidified his stature in this country. CUCKOO'S NEST was a box-office smash which became only the second film in history to sweep the top five Academy Awards, winning for best director, picture, screenplay adaptation (Bo Goldman), actor (Jack Nicholson) and actress (Louise Fletcher). Forman followed this breakthrough with a series of screen triumphs that included HAIR (1979), RAGTIME (1981), AMADEUS (1984) and VALMONT (1989). A persistent theme in Forman's work is generational conflict, particularly as it is played out within a family context. Some critics have suggested that Forman's preoccupation with parent-child relationships stems from the loss of his own parents in Nazi concentration camps when he was eight years old. In Forman's first two features, CERNÝ PETR / BLACK PETER (1963) and LOVES OF A BLONDE, he deals with the theme in a gentle and humanistic manner, using it for subtle criticism of the socio-political climate in Czechoslovakia of the mid-60s. The political content of Forman's Czech films is rarely overt, but rather suggested through the harshly authentic depiction of a bleak environment and inflexible social order. To achieve this authenticity, Forman routinely used non-professional actors who were often instructed to improvise their dialogue to achieve a sense of spontaneity. The political implications of Forman's realism are complemented by his narratives, which, as in LOVES OF A BLONDE, often tell the story of young people struggling to find happiness and meaning within an established social order that has not provided for their personal and emotional fulfillment. In all his Czechoslovakian films, the political critique is gently ironic and the humanism abundant. Forman's first two American films bear strong thematic and stylistic resemblance to his Czechoslovakian work; TAKING OFF developed the generation gap theme and ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST explored the struggle of the individual against the establishment. Though his subsequent American films explore new genres -- the musical (HAIR) and the historical drama (RAGTIME and AMADEUS) -- they still exhibit Forman's humanistic concern for the individual. More recent directing credits include THE PEOPLE vs. LARRY FLYNT (1996), MAN ON THE MOON (1999), GOYA'S GHOST (2006), and AMARILLO SLIM (2008). He is the father of twin sons Matej Forman and Petr Forman (b. 1964), who are both actors. Forman's other twin sons, Andrew and James (b. 1998), were named after Andy Kaufman and Jim Carrey. Carrey portrayed Kaufman in Forman's film, MAN ON THE MOON.  Directing 1975: ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST  Directing 1984: AMADEUS  Nominated for Achievement in Direction 1996: THE PEOPLE vs. LARRY FLYNT 3 nominations, 2 Awards