Riley Stearns

Riley Stearns
Born	(1986-06-29) June 29, 1986 (age 39) Austin, Texas, U.S.
Occupation	Filmmaker
Years active	2008–present
Spouse	Mary Elizabeth Winstead ​ ​ (m. 2010;div. 2017)​

Riley Stearns (born June 29, 1986) is an American filmmaker who has directed three feature films: Faults (2014), The Art of Self-Defense (2019), and Dual (2022). ^[1]

Early life

Stearns was born on June 29, 1986, in Austin, Texas, and grew up in Pflugerville, Texas. ^[2] He attended University of Texas at Austin, but dropped out after being turned down by the film program. ^[3]

Career

Initially wanting to be a musician, Stearns became involved in filmmaking after visiting various movie sets and after being advised on being a screenwriter by Final Destination 3 director James Wong. ^[4]

Stearns worked as a writer for Cartoon Network's Tower Prep , and for the television series My Own Worst Enemy and Bionic Woman . ^[5] His short film The Cub became his first film to be premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, and also to be featured by Vice Media. ^{[6] [7]}

He released his feature debut Faults in 2014. It was later chosen to be part of the Best Unproduced Scripts Black List of 2013.^{[ citation needed ]} Stearns wrote and directed a second feature, The Art of Self-Defense , which was released in 2019. ^[1] In 2022, he released his third feature film Dual . ^[8]

Personal life

In 2010, he married actress Mary Elizabeth Winstead, whom he met during an ocean cruise in 2002. ^[9] She starred in his first two short films, before starring in his feature film debut, Faults in 2014. ^[10]

The couple separated in 2017, and divorced later that year. ^[11]

Stearns is a black belt ^[12] in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and won a bronze medal at the 2022 ADCC Open in the 70kg Masters Pro division. ^[13]

Filmography

Short film

Year	Title	Director	Writer	Producer
2011	Magnificat	Yes	Yes	No
2012	Casque	Yes	Yes	Yes
2013	The Cub	Yes	Yes	Yes

Feature film

Year	Title	Director	Writer	Producer
2014	Faults	Yes	Yes	No
2019	The Art of Self-Defense	Yes	Yes	No
2022	Dual	Yes	Yes	Yes

References

1. Cordova, Randy (July 18, 2019). "'The Art of Self-Defense' filmmaker Riley Stearns talks toxic masculinity and tattoos" . The Arizona Republic . Retrieved March 25, 2020.
2. Rice, Laura (March 15, 2014). "SXSW Filmmaker Spotlight: Exploring Truths, Lies and Cults in 'Faults'". KUT News . Archived from the original on May 21, 2025. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
3. "Meet the 2014 AFI Filmmakers #1: 'Faults' Director On How Not to Lose Ten Pounds on Set". IndieWire . November 7, 2014. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
4. "Filmmaker Interview: RILEY STEARNS, writer/director of FAULTS". SAG Indie. March 4, 2015. Archived from the original on February 26, 2021. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
5. Interview: Riley Stearns Archived August 2, 2019, at the Wayback Machine . Film Comment. 23 February 2015
6. "The Cub by Riley Stearns: VICE Shorts". Vice Media. August 20, 2013. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
7. "Director Riley Stearns on his Short Film, 'The Cub'". Vice Media. August 21, 2013. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
8. "Riley Stearns explains the bizarre performances in his micro sci-fi movie Dual". Polygon. April 24, 2022. Archived from the original on January 31, 2023. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
9. "Mary Elizabeth Winstead: "Fargo Helped Me Embrace My Sexual Side"". Glamour. April 27, 2017. Archived from the original on October 19, 2020. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
10. "Filmmaker Interview: RILEY STEARNS, writer/director of FAULTS". SAG Indie. March 4, 2015. Archived from the original on February 26, 2021. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
11. Mary Elizabeth Winstead Splits from Husband Riley Stearns: 'We Are Still Ride or Die' Archived August 2, 2019, at the Wayback Machine . People. 14 May 2017.
12. "Instagram".
13. "Floarena" . Retrieved November 4, 2022.

External links

• Riley Stearns at IMDb