Václav Marhoul (Czech: [ˈvaːtslaf ˈmarɦoul]; born 30 January 1960; Prague) is a Czech film director, screenwriter and actor. He studied at Prague's FAMU, graduating in 1984. He directed his first film Mazaný Filip, based on Raymond Chandler's books, in 2003. In 2008, his second film Tobruk was premiered. His next film The Painted Bird, based on Jerzy Kosiński's novel of the same title, premiered at the 76th Venice International Film Festival. He also starred in several films such as Gympl (2007), Ulovit miliardáře (2009) and Cesta do lesa (2012). He is set to make his English-language debut with a biographical film about Joseph McCarthy, with Michael Shannon in the lead role, and co-starring Emilia Clarke, Dane DeHaan and Scoot McNairy.