Thomas Joseph McCarthy (born June 7, 1966) is an American film director, screenwriter, and actor who has appeared in several films, including ''

Meet the Parents ''Meet the Parents'' is a 2000 American comedy film written by Jim Herzfeld and John Hamburg and directed by Jay Roach. It chronicles a series of unfortunate events that befall a good-hearted but hapless nurse ( Ben Stiller as Greg Focker) while ...

'' and '' Good Night, and Good Luck'', and television series such as ''

The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American crime drama television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The Wire'' premiered on June 2 ...

'', ''

Boston Public ''Boston Public'' is an American drama television series created by David E. Kelley and broadcast on Fox. Set in Boston, the series centers on Winslow High School, a fictional public high school in the Boston Public Schools district. It feature ...

'', ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering ...

'' etc. McCarthy has received critical acclaim for his writing/direction work for the

independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, i ...

s ''

The Station Agent ''The Station Agent'' is a 2003 American independent psychological comedy-drama film written and directed by Tom McCarthy in his directorial debut. It stars Peter Dinklage as a man who seeks solitude in an abandoned train station in the Newfound ...

'' (2003), '' The Visitor'' (2007), '' Win Win'' (2011), and ''

Spotlight Spotlight or spot light may refer to: Lighting * Spot lights, automotive auxiliary lamps * Spotlight (theatre lighting) * Spotlight, a searchlight * Stage lighting instrument, stage lighting instruments, of several types Art, entertainment, an ...

'' (2015), the last of which won the

Academy Award for Best Picture The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) since the awards debuted in 1929. This award goes to the producers of the film and is the only categ ...

, won McCarthy the

Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best Story. Beginning with th ...

, and earned him a nomination for the

Academy Award for Best Director The Academy Award for Best Director (officially known as the Academy Award of Merit for Directing) is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given in honor of a film director who has exhibi ...

. Additionally, McCarthy co-wrote the film '' Up'' (2009) with Bob Peterson and

Pete Docter Peter Hans Docter (born October 9, 1968) is an American animator, film director, screenwriter, producer, voice actor, and chief creative officer of Pixar. He is best known for directing the Pixar animated feature films '' Monsters, Inc.'' (20 ...

, for which they received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay. McCarthy also wrote the film '' Million Dollar Arm'' (2014) and served as a director and executive producer for the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

television series '' 13 Reasons Why'' (2017).

Early life

McCarthy was raised in New Providence, New Jersey, one of five children of Carol and Eugene F. "Gene" McCarthy; Gene worked in the textile industry. McCarthy was raised Catholic, in a family of Irish descent. McCarthy is a graduate of

New Providence High School New Providence High School is a comprehensive public high school in the borough of New Providence, in Union County, United States, operating as the lone secondary school in the New Providence School District, serving students in ninth through ...

in New Providence, New Jersey and

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classified ...

, Class of 1988, where he was a member of the improv comedy troupe My Mother's Fleabag; and the Yale School of Drama, where he studied under Earle R. Gister.

Career

McCarthy spent several years doing stand-up comedy and theater in Minneapolis and Chicago before going into television and film. He starred in ''

Flags of Our Fathers ''Flags of Our Fathers'' (2000) is a book by James Bradley with Ron Powers about his father, Navy corpsman John Bradley, and five United States Marines, who were made famous by Joe Rosenthal’s '' Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima'' photograph. ...

'' as James Bradley, and in the final season of ''

'' as the morally challenged reporter

Scott Templeton M. Scott Templeton is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by actor Tom McCarthy. The actor joined the starring cast as the series' fifth season began. Biography Templeton is a young reporter who allows his extreme ambiti ...

. He made his Broadway debut in the 2001 revival of ''Noises Off!.'' McCarthy's directorial debut, ''

'', which he also wrote, won the Audience Award and the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at the

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A ...

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,6 ...

. The film also won the

BAFTA Award The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cer ...

for Best Original Screenplay and the

Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay The Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay is one of the annual awards given by the Film Independent, a non-profit organization dedicated to independent film and independent filmmakers. It was first presented in 1994 with David O. Russ ...

and the Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award. ''The Station Agent'' also won awards at film festivals ranging from San Sebastian to

Stockholm Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropo ...

, Mexico City, and Aspen. McCarthy's second feature film was '' The Visitor'', which premiered at the 2007

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a perman ...

. For ''The Visitor'', McCarthy won the 2008

Independent Spirit Award for Best Director The Film Independent's Spirit Award for Best Director is one of the annual Independent Spirit Awards. It was first presented in 1985 with Joel Coen and Martin Scorsese being the first winners of the category for ''Blood Simple'' and '' After Hours' ...

. McCarthy appeared in the 2009 dramas ''

The Lovely Bones ''The Lovely Bones'' is a 2002 novel by American writer Alice Sebold. It is the story of a teenage girl who, after being raped and murdered, watches from her personal Heaven as her family and friends struggle to move on with their lives while she ...

'' and ''

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

''. In 2010, McCarthy was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the animated film '' Up''. In 2010, McCarthy directed the unaired pilot for the HBO series ''

Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of '' A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the fir ...

,'' but the final cut of the episode was poorly received by showrunners

David Benioff David Friedman (; born September 25, 1970), known professionally as David Benioff (), is an American writer, director and producer. Along with his collaborator D. B. Weiss, he is best known as co-creator and showrunner of '' Game of Thrones'' (2 ...

and D. B. Weiss. McCarthy was replaced by

Tim Van Patten Timothy Van Patten (born June 10, 1959) is an American director, actor, screenwriter, and producer. He has directed episodes of ''Perry Mason'', ''Boardwalk Empire'', '' Black Mirror'', '' Deadwood'', '' Ed'', '' Game of Thrones'', '' The Pacific ...

, who directed the final version of the pilot that aired in 2011. The experience discouraged McCarthy from returning to television directing for several years. He also co-wrote and directed 2011's '' Win Win'' based on his experiences as a wrestler at New Providence High School. McCarthy's 2015 film, the independent drama film ''

'', received widespread acclaim following its release. The film received six

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

nominations, three

Golden Globe Awards The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

nominations, two

Screen Actors Guild Awards Screen Actors Guild Awards (also known as SAG Awards) are accolades given by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). The award was founded in 1952 to recognize outstanding performances in movie an ...

nominations, and eight

Critics' Choice Movie Awards The Critics' Choice Movie Awards (formerly known as the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award) is an awards show presented annually by the American-Canadian Critics Choice Association (CCA) to honor the finest in cinematic achievement. Writ ...

nominations. McCarthy directed the first two episodes of '' 13 Reasons Why'', from Anonymous Content and

Paramount Television The original incarnation of Paramount Television was the name of the television production division of the American film studio Paramount Pictures, that was responsible for the production of Viacom television programs, until it changed its name ...

. The show is based on the 2007 ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' bestselling YA book by

Jay Asher Jay Asher (born September 30, 1975) is an American writer and novelist. He is best known for writing the bestselling 2007 book ''Thirteen Reasons Why''. Early life Asher was born in Arcadia, California, on September 30, 1975. He is half Jewish. ...

. In 2019, he signed a first look TV deal with Fox 21 Television Studios (now

20th Television 20th Television (formerly 20th Century Fox Television, 20th Century-Fox Television, and TCF Television Productions, Inc.) is an American television production company that is a division of Disney Television Studios, part of The Walt Disney Comp ...

Filmography

Film

Acting credits

Television

Acting credits

Other awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:McCarthy, Tom 1966 births Living people American male film actors American male screenwriters American male television actors American people of Irish descent Best Original Screenplay BAFTA Award winners Boston College alumni Independent Spirit Award for Best Director winners People from New Providence, New Jersey Yale School of Drama alumni 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Film directors from New Jersey Independent Spirit Award winners Best Original Screenplay Academy Award winners Best Screenplay AACTA International Award winners Catholics from New Jersey Screenwriters from New Jersey Yale University alumni