At age 66, Patrice Leconte clearly has no intention of slowing down. He's been making movies since he was 15 years old, and over his career has made films in a wide variety of genres, from present-day thrillers to period dramas. But he has only just made his first English-language film.

A PromiseAlan Rickman stars in 'A Promise'

Born in Paris, Leconte made a series of smaller-scale features from the 1960s to the 1980s, then crossed over to international audiences with his 1989 festival hit Monsieur Hire, starring Michel Blanc and Sandrine Bonnaire.

Since then, he's worked with the top stars of French cinema, including Jean Rochefort in The Hairdresser's Husband (1990), Philippe Noiret and Miou-Miou in Tango (1993), Charles Berling and Fanny Ardant in Ridicule (1996), Vanessa Paradis in The Girl on the Bridge (1999), Juliette Binoche and Daniel Auteuil in The Widow of Saint-Pierre (2000), Johnny Hallyday in Man on the Train (2003), Fabrice Lucchini in Intimate Strangers (2004) and Dany Boon in My Best Friend (2006).

More: read Rich Clines review of 'A Promise'

Now with A Promise, Leconte directs his first English-language film, set in 1912 Germany with a strong British cast including Rebecca Hall, Alan Rickman and Game of Thrones star Richard Madden. For his next film, Leconte is returning to the French language with Une Heure de Tranquillite (One Quiet Hour), starring Carole Bouquet and Christian Clavier.

Meanwhile, Hollywood continues to be inspired by his work, remaking Man on the Train in 2011 with Donald Sutherland and Larry Mullen Jr. Remakes of Intimate Strangers and My Best Friend are in the works.