Neil N. LaBute (born March 19, 1963) is an American film director, screenwriter, playwright and actor. He is most likely known for his first film, based on a play he wrote, In the Company of Men (1997), which won awards from the Sundance Film Festival, the Independent Spirit Awards and the New York Film Critics Circle. He has also written and directed the films Possession (2002) (based on the A.S. Byatt novel), The Shape of Things (2003) (based on his play of the same name), The Wicker Man (2006), Some Velvet Morning (2013), Dirty Weekend (2015), and directed the films Nurse Betty (2000), Lakeview Terrace (2008), and Death at a Funeral (2010). LaBute has also created the TV series Billy & Billie and directed/written a number of episodes for it, as well as directed a number of episodes for the AMC show Hell on Wheels.
LaBute was born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Marian, a hospital receptionist, and Richard LaBute, a long-haul truck driver. LaBute is of French Canadian, English, and Irish ancestry, and was raised in Spokane, Washington. He studied theater at Brigham Young University (BYU), where he joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. At BYU he also met actor Aaron Eckhart, who would later play leading roles in several of his films. He produced a number of plays that pushed the envelope of what was acceptable at the conservative religious university, some of which were shut down after their premieres. However, he also was honored as one of the "most promising undergraduate playwrights" at the BYU theater department's annual awards. LaBute also did graduate work at the University of Kansas,New York University, participated in a writing workshop at London's Royal Court Theatre, and the Royal Academy of London.