Michael Cuesta

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Michael Cuesta (born July 8, 1963 in New York City) is an American film and television director and writer. He is best known for co-writing and directing the indie film L.I.E. (2001), which received critical praise and won two Independent Spirit Awards.

Cuesta earned a BFA in photography from the School of Visual Arts in 1985. The success of L.I.E. helped him move into TV, where he became a regular director for Six Feet Under (2001–2005), including the Season 4 premiere, “Falling into Place.” He also directed the film 12 and Holding (released 2006) and worked on an adaptation of The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint.

In television, Cuesta directed the pilot of Showtime’s Dexter (2006) and several episodes, and he directed the Season 2 finale of HBO’s True Blood. He worked on a project called Babylon Fields, which was not picked up, though NBC later bought the rights and filmed a pilot in 2014. He directed and executive produced the pilot of CBS’s Blue Bloods (2010) and directed the Season 1 episode “Chinatown.” He was nominated for an Emmy for directing Homeland’s pilot.

Cuesta directed the film Roadie (starring Ron Eldard) in 2011, which premiered at film festivals and was released by Magnolia Pictures in 2012. He was set to direct Kill the Messenger with Jeremy Renner for a 2014 release, with filming in 2013. In 2015 he was named the director of a Fox pilot based on Frankenstein.