Born in Minneapolis, MN; educated at Occidental College, CA (political science). Successful cartoonist who met John Cleese while working on the magazine Help! and subsequently became the resident animator with Monty Python's Flying Circus. Gilliam made his solo directing debut with JABBERWOCKY (1977), a grisly medieval interpretation of the Lewis Carroll poem, and scored a popular success with the delightfully "adult" children's feature TIME BANDITS (1981). Gilliam's greatest success came when he moved away from Pythonesque humor to direct BRAZIL (1985), a visually stunning, Orwellian look into a totalitarian future. After he fought and won an extended battle with Universal to gain final cut on the picture, it was released to considerable critical acclaim and hailed by many as one of the best films of the 1980s. Gilliam's next feature, THE ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN (1988), was an expensive, visually sumptuous commercial flop which failed to reach the kind of crossover audience that had patronized TIME BANDITS. Having gained a somewhat exaggerated reputation for being an extravagant perfectionist with a tendency to go over schedule and budget with his visionary ambition, Gilliam regained his standing in Hollywood with THE FISHER KING (1991), in which the director was able to combine mainstream appeal (due largely to the casting of Robin Williams) with the eccentric fantasy of his previous films. Later directing credits include TWELVE MONKEYS (1995), FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS (1998), THE BROTHERS GRIMM and TIDELAND (both 2005), and THE IMAGINARIUM OF DR. PARNASSUS (planned for 2009).  Nominated for Writing (Best Screenplay written directly for the screen) 1985: BRAZIL (w. Tom Stoppard & Charles McKeown) 1 nomination