Paul Greengrass

Paul Greengrass directed Captain Phillips, which starred Tom Hanks, based on a true story of the Captain of the MV Maersk Alabama when he was taken hostage by Somalian pirates in 2009. The film received widespread critical acclaim and was nominated for six Academy Awards®, nine BAFTA Awards and four Golden Globe Awards.

Greengrass previously directed the Iraq War thriller Green Zone, which starred Matt Damon, and The Bourne Ultimatum, which received three Academy Awards® and two BAFTA Awards in 2008. The Bourne Ultimatum also won the Empire Award for Best Film and brought Greengrass Best Director of the Year honors at the London Film Critics' Circle Awards. Greengrass received multiple nominations for his direction on the film, including BAFTA Awards and Empire Awards nominations, among others.

In 2004, Greengrass directed The Bourne Supremacy. The action-thriller grossed more than $50 million during its domestic opening weekend and went on to earn more than $175 million at the U.S. box office and more than $288 million worldwide.

In between Bourne blockbusters, Greengrass wrote, directed and produced United 93, the powerful dramatic feature that told the story, in real time, of passengers and crew rallying against hijackers on September 11, 2001. In 2007, he earned an Academy Award® nomination for Best Achievement in Directing and a Best Original Screenplay nomination from the Writers Guild of America. He won BAFTA's David Lean Award for Direction, Best Director of the year from the London Film Critics' Circle, and best Director from both the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the National Society of Film Critics, among others.

In 2002, Greengrass wrote and directed the documentary-style feature-film Bloody Sunday, depicting the 1972 civil rights march in Derry, Northern Ireland, in which 13 unarmed civilians were shot dead by British soldiers. Bloody Sunday won the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival and the World Cinema Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival. Greengrass was named Best Director at the British Independent Film Awards.

Greengrass has also had a long and distinguished career in British television. He has written and directed television films concerned with social and political issues, including The Murder of Stephen Lawrence (BAFTA winner for Best Single Drama Award in 2000 and the Special Jury Prize at the Banff World Television Festival), as well as The Fix, The One That Got Away and Open Fire.

In 2004, Greengrass produced and co-wrote the television film Omagh, set in the aftermath of the notorious Real IRA car bombing that killed 29 people in Omagh, Northern Ireland. Omagh won BAFTA's Best Single Drama Award in 2005 and was named Best Irish Film at the Irish Film and Television Awards (IFTA) in 2004. The film was also nominated for the IFTA's Best Script award.

Greengrass spent the first decade of his career covering global conflict for the ITV current affairs program World in Action. He has written and directed many documentaries, including the Live Aid documentary Food, Trucks and Rock and Roll. He is also an author and co-wrote the controversial bestseller "Spycatcher" with Peter Wright, former assistant director of Britain's MI5.

Greengrass was born in Cheam, Surrey, England, and studied at Queens' College, Cambridge University.

Universal Pictures US