- Directed three different actors in Oscar-nominated performances: Jodie Foster, Sissy Spacek and Sigourney Weaver (Spacek won).
- On June 29, 2003, he was elected as the President of the Director's Guild of America. He replaced Martha Coolidge and was a DGA member since 1978.
- He was awarded the CMG (Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George) in the 2008 Queen's Birthday Honours List for his services to British film and television industries.
- He was offered the opportunity of directing That'll Be the Day (1973), but turned it down. On seeing the film when it was released, he realised that he had made a mistake and accepted the chance of directing the sequel Stardust (1974).
- In 1975, filming started on 'Trick or Treat' directed by him, produced by David Puttnam, starring Bianca Jagger and co-starring Nigel Davenport. However, about six weeks into the shoot, Bianca refused to do the nude shots, which she had originally agreed to, resulting in the film being abandoned.
- Michael David Apted passed away on January 7, 2021, only one month away from what would have been his 80th birthday on February 10.
- Former researcher at Granada Television.
- President of the Directors Guild of America (DGA) (2003-2009) and the secretary-treasurer (2011-2021).
- Member of the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) (Documentary Branch).
- Five of his favorite films were Night and Fog (1956), Wild Strawberries (1957), Kes (1969), This Is Spinal Tap (1984) and Pulp Fiction (1994).
- He has directed one film that has have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: Coal Miner's Daughter (1980).
- Father of Paul Apted.
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