Stephen Moynihan is an Irish movement director, choreographer, intimacy coordinator, performance coach, and creature movement specialist working across film, television, theatre, and motion performance. With over 20 years of experience, he specialises in physical storytelling, actor movement, creature performance, primate movement, and designing movement languages for screen and stage.
A graduate of London Contemporary Dance School, Stephen has built an international career collaborating with acclaimed directors, choreographers, and creative teams, including Akram Khan, Polly Bennett, Alex Reynolds, and Damien Jalet. His work spans movement direction, choreography, creature movement, intimacy direction, and performance development for actors working in narrative film and television.
Stephen's screen credits include major productions such as Ted Lasso, House of the Dragon, The Witcher, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, The Northman, and Lady Chatterley's Lover, where he contributed to choreography, creature movement, and intimacy movement. He has also provided fight choreography for the BBC short film Flint and continues to work across feature films and high-end television productions, including projects with Mammoth Screen.
Alongside his work in creature performance, Stephen has developed specialist movement research in primate behaviour, lunar movement, and zero-gravity performance, creating authentic physical languages that bridge biomechanics, imagination, and storytelling. His practice combines detailed movement analysis with character development, helping performers embody complex physical worlds while remaining emotionally truthful.
In theatre, Stephen has worked with leading companies including Headlong Theatre and the Abbey Theatre, Dublin. His recent credits include The Boy and The God and His Daughter, directed by Caitríona McLaughlin and written by Marina Carr. He was also Associate Choreographer (Cover) on Elektra in London's West End, starring Brie Larson and Stockard Channing. Other choreography and movement direction credits include Frankenstein (UK Tour), The School for Scandal, and Spitfire Girls with Tilted Wig, supported by the National Theatre.
Stephen has also collaborated on commercials and music videos with production companies including Object & Animal, Riff Raff Films, and Greatcoat Films, as well as cultural institutions such as the Barbican.
Known for his collaborative approach, Stephen works closely with directors, actors, cinematographers, VFX teams, and creative departments to develop movement that is both visually compelling and dramatically precise. Whether creating a creature vocabulary, coaching actors in physical characterisation, designing choreography, or integrating movement into performance, his work is always rooted in narrative, psychology, and embodied storytelling.
Alongside his creative practice, Stephen teaches movement and performance at leading institutions including Rose Bruford College, Drama Studio London, and Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. He is a certified Intimacy Coordinator through the National Film and Television School (NFTS), a qualified Wellbeing Coordinator for the Screen Sector through University College Cork and Screen Ireland, and a certified Mental Health First Aider.
Stephen also co-hosts the Shapes in Motion podcast, where he speaks with leading artists from theatre, film, television, dance, animation, and performance about movement, creativity, and the evolving role of physical storytelling across the creative industries.