Cast & creator
Gus Van Sant
Best known for Entourage, Good Will Hunting, Good Will Hunting
Gus Green Van Sant, Jr. (born July 24, 1952) is an American director, screenwriter, painter, photographer, musician, and author. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Achievement in Directing for his 1997 film Good Will Hunting and his 2008 film Milk, and won the Palme d'Or at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival for his film Elephant. He lives in Portland, Oregon. His early career was devoted to directing television commercials in the Pacific Northwest. In his films, he has dealt with themes concerning homosexuality and other marginalized subcultures. His filmography as writer and director includes an adaptation of Tom Robbins' novel Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, which features a diverse cast (Keanu Reeves, Roseanne Barr, Uma Thurman, and k.d. lang, with cameos by William S. Burroughs and Heather Graham, among others); and My Own Private Idaho, also starring Reeves as well as River Phoenix. He wrote the screenplays for most of his early movies, and wrote one novel, Pink. A book of his photography has also been published, called 108 Portraits.
Also known as: Gus Van Sant Jr., 거스 밴 샌트
147
film credits
13
television credits
52
1971–2026 · acting roles
6.3
average across scored titles
Signature credits
Known for
Across film & television
Filmography (160)
Showing 160 of 160 credits
Entourage
Gus Van Sant
2004
Good Will Hunting
Director
1997Good Will Hunting
Sound Re-Recording Mixer
1997
Portlandia
Gus Van Sant
2011
FEUD
Executive Producer
2017FEUD
Director
2017
Boss
Executive Producer
2011Boss
Director
2011
Dead Man's Wire
Director
2026
Leçon de Cinéma
Self
2004
The Story of Film: An Odyssey
Self
2011
My Own Private Idaho
Man Behind Hotel Counter (uncredited)
1991My Own Private Idaho
Director
1991My Own Private Idaho
Screenplay
1991
Finding Forrester
Library Assistant (uncredited)
2000Finding Forrester
Director
2000
To Die For
Director
1995
The Sea of Trees
Director
2016
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
Gus Van Sant
2001
Promised Land
Director
2012Promised Land
Executive Producer
2012
When We Rise
Executive Producer
2017When We Rise
Director
2017
Paris Je T'aime
Director
2006Paris Je T'aime
Writer
2006
Kids
Executive Producer
1995
Elephant
Screenplay
2003Elephant
Editor
2003Elephant
Director
2003
The Greatest Event in Television History
Self
2012
Certain Women
Thanks
2016
I'm Still Here
Thanks
2010
Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot
Willamette Week Editor
2018Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot
Director
2018Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot
Editor
2018Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot
Screenplay
2018Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot
Story
2018
Drugstore Cowboy
Himself (uncredited)
1989Drugstore Cowboy
Director
1989Drugstore Cowboy
Screenplay
1989
Milk
Director
2008Milk
Sound Re-Recording Mixer
2008
Psycho
Man Talking to Man in Cowboy Hat (uncredited)
1998Psycho
Director
1998Psycho
Producer
1998
Laurence Anyways
Executive Producer
2012
The Canyons
Dr. Campbell
2013
Zeroville
Film Archive Curator
2019
The Trainer
Gus Van Sant
2024
Hi Octane
Self
1994
To Each His Own Cinema
Director
2007
Paranoid Park
Guy Reading Newspaper (uncredited)
2007Paranoid Park
Screenplay
2007Paranoid Park
Director
2007Paranoid Park
Editor
2007
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues
Director
1994Even Cowgirls Get the Blues
Writer
1994Even Cowgirls Get the Blues
Editor
1994Even Cowgirls Get the Blues
Executive Producer
1994
Gerry
Director
2002Gerry
Editor
2002Gerry
Writer
2002
Howl
Executive Producer
2010
I Am Michael
Executive Producer
2015
Restless
Director
2011Restless
Producer
2011
Last Days
Phone Voice (voice)
2005Last Days
Director
2005Last Days
Screenplay
2005Last Days
Editor
2005
Nicole Kidman: Eyes Wide Open
Self (interview)
2023
Mala Noche
Guy at Hotel (uncredited)
1987Mala Noche
Director
1987Mala Noche
Screenplay
1987Mala Noche
Producer
1987Mala Noche
Editor
1987
Virginia
Executive Producer
2010
Le Marais
Writer
2006Le Marais
Director
2006
My Own Private River
Director
2012
Wild Tigers I Have Known
Executive Producer
2006
About Cinema
Self
2015
Fabulous! The Story of Queer Cinema
Self
2006
I Don't Belong Anywhere: The Cinema of Chantal Akerman
Self
2015
Speedway Junky
Executive Producer
1999
Xavier Dolan: Bound to Impossible
Self
2016
Thanksgiving Prayer
Director
1991Thanksgiving Prayer
Producer
1991
Rescued from the Closet
Self
2001
Shit Year
Thanks
2010
Ain't It Funny
Dad
2017
William S. Burroughs: A Man Within
Self
2010
Here’s Looking at You, Boy
Self
2007
The Director's Vision: Hollywood's Best Discuss Their Craft
himself
1998
Tarnation
Executive Producer
2003
The Making of Drugstore Cowboy
1999
Reflecting on a Journey: Good Will Hunting 15 Years Later
Self
2012
Illegal Civilization 3
Self
2018
Cinema16: American Short Films
Director
2006
Strutter
Thanks
2013
Made in the USA
Self
1993
Best of Chris Isaak
Director
2006
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Funky Monks
Self
1991
A Special Day
Self
2012Nightmare Typhoon
Gus
Nightmare Typhoon
Director
Age Out
Executive Producer
2018
The Advocate for Fagdom
Self
2011Last Days
Original Film Writer
Accidents Happen
Thanks
2009
David Bowie: Best of Bowie
Director
2002
At the Video Store
Self
2019
The Discipline of D.E.
Director
1982
8
Director
20088
Editor
2008
In the Mood for Doyle
Self
2007
Critic
Self
2008
The Making of Last Days
Self
2004
Strange Parallel
Self
1998
Saltlake Van Sant
Self
2003
On the Set of 'Elephant': Rolling Through Time
Himself
2004On the Set of 'Elephant': Rolling Through Time
Executive Producer
2004
Ballad of the Skeletons
Director
1997Ballad of the Skeletons
Writer
1997
Two Films, One Legacy
2011Flea Sings
Director
1991
Guns on the Clackamas
1995
Ouverture Of Something That Never Ended
Creator
2020
Ouverture of Something That Never Ended
Director
2020Ouverture of Something That Never Ended
Writer
2020
Little Johnny
Director
1972My Friend
Director
Psycho Path
Self - Director
1999Psycho Path
Executive Producer
1999
Five Ways to Kill Yourself
1987Five Ways to Kill Yourself
Director
1987Five Ways to Kill Yourself
Writer
1987
Andy by Gus
2023Andy by Gus
Music
2023De Witt Clinton Choir
Director
2000Untitled Hoyt Richards Film
Director
Joe Gives Up and Moves to Montana
Producer
2021Switzerland
Director
1985Explain it Like I’m Five
Director
Psycho Shampoo
Director
1979
Four Boys in a Volvo
Director
1996
Making Paranoid Park
2008
Mansion on the Hill
Director
2008Killing Gawker
Director
Ken Death Gets Out of Jail
Director
1988
Thank You for Supporting the Arts
2018
My New Friend
Director
1987The Happy Organ
Director
1971
1/2 of a Telephone Conversation
Director
1973
Property
Sound
1979Easter
Director
2000
Junior
Himself
1988Junior
Director
1988
About Elephant
Self
2003Antinous
Producer