Finnish filmmaker Mauritz Stiller was BOTD in 1883. Born in Helsinki, Finland, at the time part of the Russian Empire, he fled the country when conscripted into the Russian army and settled in Sweden. He began working in Sweden’s burgeoning film industry, firstly as a screenwriter and actor, before achieving national success directing the 1928 feature film Thomas Graal’s First Child. In 1924, Stiller cast a young Swedish actress named Greta Gustafsson in The Saga of Gosta Berling, launching her to stardom. He suggested changing her surname to Garbo, and brought her to Hollywood, where he had accepted a directing contract with MGM. Fired from his first movie The Temptess following disagreements with studio executives, he moved to Paramount, directing three successful films before again being dismissed. Disgruntled with Hollywood, he returned to Sweden in 1927, dying the following year aged just 45. His protégée Garbo went on to become one of Hollywood’s most luminous stars. Like her, Stiller was discreetly gay, and kept details of his personal life and relationships secret. In 1960, he was posthumously awarded a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.