- His middle name "Night" was made up during college.
- Became the highest paid screenwriter in Hollywood when Disney gave him $5 million to write Signs (2002).
- His six favorite movies are Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), The Exorcist (1973), Die Hard (1988), Psycho (1960), Nayakan (1987) and Reservoir Dogs (1992).
- Made many films using a video camera when he was young. When his theatrical films go to DVD, he puts in a scene from one of his childhood films that marks his first attempt at the same kind of movie. The Sixth Sense (1999) includes the ghost story Nightmare on Old Gulf, Unbreakable (2000) includes the action movie Millionaire, Signs (2002) includes the monster movie Pictures, and The Village includes an untitled period piece.
- His three supernatural thrillers, The Sixth Sense (1999), Unbreakable (2000), and Signs (2002), grossed over $1.3 billion worldwide.
- He is an avid comic book fan, which was made apparent in his film Unbreakable (2000).
- Maintains his offices and screening room in a converted barn in suburban Philadelphia.
- Completed 45 homemade movies by age 17.
- Turned down the opportunity to direct the Harry Potter franchise on three separate occasions. He was first offered Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) on a recommendation from friend Steven Spielberg (who had previously been considered to direct), but turned it down due to post-production commitments on his own film Unbreakable (2000). After the massive success of his own film, Signs (2002), Shyamalan was once again offered Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) and later Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), turning down the former to direct his own project The Village (2004) and the latter to work on his since aborted adaptation of the Yann Martel novel The Life of Pi.
- His Wide Awake (1998) was one of the year's lowest-grossing, least- profitable films; in contrast, The Sixth Sense (1999) was 1999's No.2 box-office phenomenon, surpassed only by Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999).
- The silver charm worn around his neck was given to him by his father and contains Sanskrit proverbs to keep him safe.
- Has made on-screen appearances in several of his own movies, beginning with a lead role in his debut feature, Praying with Anger (1992), and including subsequent supporting roles and cameo appearances in the films The Sixth Sense (1999), Unbreakable (2000), Signs (2002), The Village (2004) and Lady in the Water (2006).
- Has a reputation for attaining A-list actors of his first choice to star in his films, in roles specifically written for them. Shyamalan was able to cast Bruce Willis in The Sixth Sense (1999), Samuel L. Jackson in Unbreakable (2000), Mel Gibson in Signs (2002), Joaquin Phoenix in The Village (2004), Paul Giamatti in Lady in the Water (2006), and Mark Wahlberg in The Happening (2008).
- Was offered the opportunity to direct The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) but turned it down.
- His parents, wife, and 9 other family members are MDs and/or Ph.Ds.
- His inspiration for The Sixth Sense (1999) was based on an episode from The Tale of the Dream Girl (1994) directed by David Winning.
- Name pronounced "SHAH-ma-lawn".
- Was offered the chance to write and direct new versions of both Spider-Man (circa 2000) and either Superman or Batman (circa 2002), but having already directed a superhero project of his own with Unbreakable (2000) turned them down.
- He and Dan Aykroyd, are the only two men to direct themselves in performances that "won" them a Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor. Shyamalan "won" the award for, and also directed, the film Lady in the Water (2006).
- Was set to direct an original screenplay for Fox called The Connected; a supernatural thriller about a father's search for his missing child. Shyamalan had already cast Bruce Willis, Bradley Cooper and Gwyneth Paltrow in the lead roles with a tentative start date set for early 2011, but for unknown reasons the project collapsed.
- Has worked with two Academy Award-nominated child actors. He directed the first one to a nomination--Haley Joel Osment in The Sixth Sense (1999)--and then helped introduce the second, Abigail Breslin in Signs (2002) prior to her nomination for Little Miss Sunshine (2006).
- Was attached to write and direct an adaption of the Yann Martel novel The Life of Pi intended for production in 2005. When the project stalled, Shyamalan left the movie to direct his own screenplay for Lady in the Water (2006). The Life of Pi was subsequently passed over to Alfonso Cuarón and then later to Jean-Pierre Jeunet (both subsequently dropped out) before eventually being brought to the screen by director Ang Lee.
- One of the first scripts he sold was called "Labor of Love" about a man who walks across country to prove his love for his recently deceased wife. As of January 2017, it has still not been made.
- Shymalan lives in Wayne, Pennsylvania, part of the affluent "Main Line" suburban region of Philadelphia.
- Said in the bonus disk that the movie Unbreakable (2000) was made from what started as only the first third of the original script. He said he felt no connection to the last two thirds of the text and decided to discard them.
- Directed two Oscar-nominated performances: Haley Joel Osment and Toni Collette both in The Sixth Sense (1999).
- Has in his office posters from 3 of his most favorite movies: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), The Exorcist (1973), and Die Hard (1988).
- His favorite films are The Godfather (1972), Jaws (1975), The Exorcist (1973), Being There (1979) and Rebecca (1940).
- Episcopal Academy, where Shyamalan was sent, is actually a private academy that is affiliated with the Episcopalian Church. It is a private school in Lower Merion, PA, one of the wealthiest suburbs in the U.S. and home at one time or another to the likes of Kobe Bryant and Blythe Danner, among others.
- Graduated from New York University.
- Acted in the NYU short film "The Guru", written and directed by Rob Schneider.
- Ranked #23 in Premiere's 2004 annual Power 100 List. He was the 5th-highest ranked director. Had ranked #21 in 2003.
- Ranked #21 in Premiere's 2003 annual Power 100 List. Had ranked #64 in 2002.
- Ranked #30 on Premiere's 2005 Power 50 List. Had ranked #23 in 2004.
- Father of Saleka Shyamalan.
- Lives on the same street as Allen Iverson.
- After attending private schools Waldron and then Episcopal Acaedmy, he received a Distinguished Alumni Award from the latter in 2001.
- Son of Jayalakshmi Shyamalan and Nelliate C. Shyamalan.
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