Alex Ross Perry is an American filmmaker and actor. Prolific in independent film, he is best known for writing and directing Listen Up Philip (2014) and Her Smell (2018).
Perry grew up in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, where he worked on a local television news program during high school.[1] After graduating, he moved to New York City to attend NYU.[1][2] He graduated from NYU's film program in 2006. From 2005 to 2007, Perry worked at the East Village-based video store Kim's Video,[1][2][3] where he met many of the cast and crew members who later worked on his films, including director of photography Sean Price Williams.[1][2][3] He was influenced by Philip Roth,[2][4] Vincent Gallo,[2][4] Jerry Lewis,[2][4] and Thomas Pynchon.[2]
Perry's first feature, Impolex, premiered in 2009. Made on a budget of $15,000[5] and shot on 16mm film stock, the film is an absurdist comedy inspired by Thomas Pynchon's novel Gravity's Rainbow.[2] It was released theatrically in 2011.[5]
Perry's second feature, The Color Wheel, premiered at festivals in 2011. The film, a dark screwball comedy influenced by the work of Philip Roth,[1][2][4] was co-written by Perry and Carlen Altman; the two also play the lead roles in the film. It was named the best undistributed film of 2011 by the Indiewire[6] and Village Voice[7] polls, and placed 12th in a similar poll conducted by Film Comment.[8] It was released theatrically on May 18, 2012.
Perry's next film, the comedy Listen Up Philip, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival[9] in 2014.
Perry's fourth film, Queen of Earth, stars Elisabeth Moss, Katherine Waterston, Patrick Fugit, Kentucker Audley, and Kate Lyn Sheil. It had its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival on February 7, 2015,[10] and was released in a limited release and through video on demand on August 26, 2015.[11] In April 2015, Disney hired Perry to write a live-action adaptation of the Winnie the Pooh franchise, with the resulting Christopher Robin released to theaters in August 2018.[12] He also optioned Don DeLillo's The Names for a feature adaptation.[13]
In 2017 he directed the music video for Aly & AJ's single "Take Me", and in 2019, also directed the music video for the single Church for the same band.
His films Golden Exits and Her Smell were released in 2018 and 2019, respectively.
In 2022, he directed the music video for Pavement's single "Harness Your Hopes",[14] "Bones" for Soccer Mommy[15] and the long form mockumentary "Metal Myths: Ghost Pt. 2" for Ghost.[16]
In 2024, Perry's documentary-fiction hybrid film about Pavement, Pavements,[17] a continuation of his collaboration with the band, premiered. The film incorporates concert footage from an original jukebox musical Perry staged, Slanted! Enchanted! A Pavement Musical, featuring Zoe Lister-Jones, Michael Esper, and Kathryn Gallagher.[18]
On 23 July 2025, Variety revealed that Perry was among the filmmakers who directed a segment for V/H/S/Halloween, Shudder's 8th instalment in their horror anthology V/H/S franchise. The film was released in October 2025.[19]
In 2016, after nine years of dating, Perry married visual artist Anna Bak-Kvapil.[20] They have one child.[21] Perry is a vegan.[22]
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Editor | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Impolex | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 2011 | The Color Wheel | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 2013 | The Sixth Year | Yes | Yes | Yes | Segment director: "Episode 5" Additional screenplay material | |
| 2014 | Listen Up Philip | Yes | Yes | |||
| 2015 | Queen of Earth | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| 2017 | Golden Exits | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| 2018 | Nostalgia | Yes | Yes | |||
| Christopher Robin | Yes | |||||
| Her Smell | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
| 2020 | Paul Schrader: Man in a Room | Yes | Yes | Documentary short | ||
| 2023 | The Sweet East | Yes | ||||
| 2024 | Rite Here Rite Now | Yes | Concert film; co-directed with Tobias Forge | |||
| Pavements | Yes | Yes | ||||
| 2025 | Videoheaven | Yes | Yes | Documentary film[23][24] | ||
| V/H/S/Halloween | Yes | Yes | Kidprint segment |
Acting credits
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Tiny Furniture | Ashlynn's Friend |
| 2011 | The Color Wheel | Colin |
| Happy Life | Donald | |
| Green | Phillip Roth expert | |
| 2012 | Somebody Up There Likes Me | Pizza Customer #1 |
| 2015 | 7 Chinese Brothers | Hats at Cars |
| Devil Town | Detective Ira Goldberg | |
| 2016 | Joshy | Adam |
| 2024 | An Almost Christmas Story | Dave the Dog (voice) |
Music videos[25]
| Year | Title | Artist(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | "I Can Only Stare" | Sleigh Bells |
| 2017 | "Take Me" | Aly & AJ |
| 2019 | "Church" | |
| "Don't Go Changing" | ||
| "Good Woman" | Anika Pyle | |
| "Sludge" | Vivian Girls | |
| "Yellow is the Color of Her Eyes" | Soccer Mommy | |
| 2021 | "Justine Go Genesis" | Sleigh Bells |
| 2022 | "In the Eyes of Our Love" | Yumi Zouma |
| "Where the Light Used to Lay" | ||
| "Astral Projection" | ||
| "Harness Your Hopes" | Pavement | |
| "Metal Myths" | Ghost | |
| "Bones" | Soccer Mommy | |
| 2023 | "Days Move Slow" | Bully |
| "Jesus He Knows Me" | Ghost | |
| "Tidal Session" | Momma | |
| "The Flood" | Zilched | |
| "Ghostwriter" | Speedy Ortiz | |
| 2024 | "Stopping and Staring" | Gustaf |
| "Missing Out" | Maya Hawke | |
| "Dark" | ||
| "I'm A Man" | Kim Gordon | |
| 2025 | "Bunky Pop" | Sleigh Bells[26] |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
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_(cropped).jpg "Alex Ross Perry")
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