Gary McKendry is a Northern Irish film and television commercial director. His short film Everything in This Country Must was nominated for an Academy Award in 2005.

McKendry was born and raised in Ballyclare, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. He attended the Belfast College of Art for a year before enrolling at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London. Graduating with a degree in art and film, McKendry worked as a storyboard artist in London, before moving to Australia where he worked as an advertising art director. He was offered a job with the American ad agency Chiat/Day and moved to New York City, where he later worked for Ogilvy & Mather and Margeotes Fertitta.