At 100, David Attenborough still has Emmy momentum with ‘Ocean’

The career of famous English broadcaster David Attenborough spanned almost as many decades as his life. The historian, who turns 100 on May 8, began his career as a producer with the BBC nearly 75 years ago, in 1952. His hosting journey began soon after with the network’s 1954 multi-part nature documentary, Zoo Quest.

It would be 30 years before Attenborough received his first Emmy nomination, in 1985, for writing the PBS series. The Living Planet: A Portrait of Earth. His first narrator nod didn’t come until another 30 years later, in 2016, for a six-part BBC series. Life story. In 2018, Attenborough won his first Emmy for the BBC sequel Sea Life The second blue planet.

Two more impressive wins for Al Rawi followed in 2019 for Our planetthe first ever nature doc produced by Netflix, and in 2020 will be shown on the BBC Seven worlds, one planet. This year, Attenborough may score his 13th National Geographic Award nomination The Ocean with David Attenboroughstreaming on Disney+ and Hulu. The project, which champions the wonders of marine life and explores the challenges they face, received a perfect score of 100 on Rotten Tomatoes.

“The extraordinary thing about David at 100 is that his energy, curiosity and passion for the natural world are as strong as ever,” says director and executive producer Keith Scholey, who has worked with Attenborough for more than 40 years. “Over the course of his remarkable career, he has built an unparalleled level of trust with audiences around the world. This trust, combined with the power of storytelling and narration, has helped make… circumference A film that truly connected with audiences around the world and supported real-world policy change by driving meaningful global conversations about protecting our oceans.

This story first appeared in the June standalone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To obtain the magazine, click here to subscribe.

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