An esteemed stage director, Hytner first gained prominence in his native England staging operas at the Kent Opera and the English National Opera. From 1985 to 1989, he was associate director at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester, where he oversaw such productions as "As You Like It" (1985) and "Edward II" (1986). In 1989, the Cambridge-educated Hytner became an associate director of the Royal National Theatre where he staged "Ghetto" (1989) and Alan Bennett's adaptation of "The Wind in the Willows" (1990). Also in 1989, he made his musical directing debut with the London production of "Miss Saigon", starring Lea Salonga and Jonathan Pryce, and its American debut the following year. Hytner received a 1994 Tony for staging an acclaimed revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Carousel".
Hytner's 1991 production of Alan Bennett's "The Madness of George III" won critical praise at the National Theatre and toured the US. He made his feature film debut adapting the production as "The Madness of King George" (1994), which preserved Nigel Hawthorne's brilliant portrayal of the monarch who has begun to exhibit bizarre behavior. Hytner's second feature was also a literary adaptation: the feature version of Arthur Miller's play "The Crucible" (scheduled for release in 1996). An allegorical drama about the 17th Century Salem witch trials, "The Crucible" boasted a top-notch cast, including Daniel Day-Lewis, Joan Allen, Winona Ryder and Paul Scofield.
The director continued to film adaptations with his third effort, "The Object of My Affection" (1998). Based on Stephen McCauley's novel, it centered on the relationship between an unwed pregnant woman (Jennifer Aniston) and her best friend, a gay man (Paul Rudd).