Ashok Amritraj is Chairman and CEO of the Hyde Park Entertainment Group, and was formerly CEO of National Geographic Films. An internationally renowned award-winning producer, Amritraj has made over 100 films during the span of his 35-year career, with worldwide revenues in excess of $2 billion. He has partnered with every major studio in Hollywood and produced films starring the likes of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Robert De Niro, Bruce Willis, Sandra Bullock, Sylvester Stallone, Angelina Jolie, Cate Blanchett, Dustin Hoffman, Andrew Garfield, Steve Martin, Rajinikanth, Antonio Banderas, Jennifer Aniston, Nicolas Cage, and many more. Amritraj’s extraordinary career from Wimbledon tennis player to billion dollar Hollywood producer is matched only by his commitment to education, diversity, and gender equality. Dedicating a significant amount of his time to philanthropic endeavors worldwide, in 2016 Amritraj was appointed as the first United Nations India Goodwill Ambassador for the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. In December 2018, by decree of the President of the Republic of France, Amritraj was appointed a Chevalier of the Ordre National du Merité. Amritraj has grown Hyde Park into a cutting-edge independent alternative to the traditional Hollywood system, fully realizing his vision for a progressive global company that incorporates the most essential elements of a full-fledged studio. Hyde Park’s mandate encompasses feature film, television, digital, documentary, and local language content, with the Company possessing development, production, and financing capabilities in addition to handling worldwide sales and marketing. Amritraj has had box office hits such as , starring Nicolas Cage, Bringing Down the House, starring Steve Martin, Premonition, starring Sandra Bullock, Walking Tall starring The Rock, and many more, as well as critically acclaimed titles including 99 Homes starring Andrew Garfield and Michael Shannon, Blue Valentine starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams, and Shopgirl, starring Steve Martin and Claire Danes. Amritraj’s current projects include: Tennis icon and African-American civil rights activist Arthur Ashe’s Biopic in Partnership with Warner Music Group, Pashmina, a Major Animated Musical in partnership with Netflix, to be directed by Gurinder Chadha, Remote Control starring Gerard Butler in Partnership with STX Films, the remake of the iconic Blake Edwards’ film "10" with Warner Brothers, and Fordlandia, a Television event series, to be directed by Werner Herzog at AMC Studios. Amritraj continues his commitment to diversity and inclusion with the recently announced Hyde Park Entertainment Asia with its first slate focusing on Indian/Asian filmmakers & stories for both English and local language audiences. The initial slate includes the explosive thriller and Pulitzer Prize finalist Maximum City written and to be directed by auteur filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, and the gripping Drama Paradise Towers based on the best selling novel from one of India’s most celebrated directors, Zoya Akhtar, who brings the project to the screen. Hyde Park Entertainment Group and its artists have received awards and recognition from the major award shows and film festivals including the Oscars, the BAFTA awards, the Emmys, the Independent Spirit Awards, the Cannes Film Festival, the Golden Globes, and many more. Amritraj serves on the Executive Committee for Diversity and Inclusion and on the Producers Executive Board of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and on the advisory board for the Dodge Film School at Chapman University. In 2015, he was bestowed an honorary Doctorate of the Arts from the University of East London.
Early life
Ashok lived in Chennai, his mother's name is Maggie Dhairyam and father's name is Robert Amritraj. He has two brothers, Vijay Amritraj and Anand Amritraj, both international tennis players.
