Paco Cabezas (Francisco “Paco” Cabezas)

Paco Cabezas (full name Francisco Cabezas). Francisco “Paco” Cabezas grew up in Andalusia and pursued his passion for storytelling at the Centro Andaluz de Teatro, where he made short films and stage plays . He then moved to Madrid, working in a video store while finishing his first shorts. At age 29, he debuted as a feature film director with Aparecidos (The Appeared) in 2007, which blended horror with social drama. He followed with Carne de neón (Neon Flesh), first as a short and then adapted into a full-length feature in 2010.

Cabezas relocated to Los Angeles and built a résumé in genre filmmaking and television: writing Spanish-language horror-comedies (Sexykiller, Spanish Movie), and branching into English-language action and thriller films like Rage (2014) and Mr. Right (2015). In TV, he directed episodes of Penny Dreadful, Fear the Walking Dead, The Strain, The Alienist, Into the Badlands, Deadly Class, American Gods, Penny Dreadful: City of Angels, In From the Cold, and The Umbrella Academy, working across horror, fantasy, and drama

Career highlights:

Starting from modest beginnings in Andalusia, Cabezas harnessed formal theatre training and self-made shorts to break into feature films in Spain (Aparecidos, Neon Flesh). His breakout to international cinema came with Rage (2014), starring Nicolas Cage, signaling his entry into Hollywood. He continued with Mr. Right (2015), a cult favorite starring Sam Rockwell and Anna Kendrick.

Transitioning into television, Cabezas directed across major genre series (Penny Dreadful, Fear the Walking Dead, The Alienist, American Gods, Umbrella Academy), showcasing his versatility and earning him recognition in the English-speaking TV market . His work on Wednesday season 2 represents a high-profile collaboration with Netflix and Tim Burton’s creative team.