Joseph Aaron Carnahan (born May 9, 1969) is an American

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, pr ...

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

, producer and

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

whose films include ''

Blood, Guts, Bullets and Octane ''Blood, Guts, Bullets, and Octane'' is a 1998 American independent action comedy film written, produced, edited, directed and starring Joe Carnahan in his feature-length directorial debut. For years the film was under negotiation for developme ...

''; '' Narc''; ''

Smokin' Aces ''Smokin' Aces'' is a 2006 American action comedy film written and directed by Joe Carnahan. The film centers on the chase for Las Vegas magician turned mafia informant Robert 'Buddy Aces' Israel ( Jeremy Piven), on whom a one-million-dollar boun ...

''; ''

The A-Team ''The A-Team'' is an American action-adventure television series that ran on NBC from January 1983 to March 1987 about former members of a fictitious United States Army Special Forces unit. The four members of the team were tried by court ma ...

''; '' The Grey''; and ''

Boss Level ''Boss Level'' is a 2020 American science fiction action film directed by Joe Carnahan and written by Carnahan and Chris and Eddie Borey, from a story by the Boreys. It stars Frank Grillo as a retired special forces soldier who tries to escape a ...

''. He also wrote and directed several episodes for the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

television series ''

The Blacklist ''The Blacklist'' is an American crime thriller television series that premiered on NBC on September 23, 2013. The show follows Raymond "Red" Reddington (James Spader), a former U.S. Navy officer turned high-profile criminal who voluntarily s ...

''. He is the brother of screenwriter

Matthew Michael Carnahan Matthew Michael Carnahan (sometimes credited as Matt Carnahan) is an American screenwriter who wrote the feature film '' The Kingdom'' (2007), and the film adaptation of the hit BBC television drama serial '' State of Play''. Carnahan also wrot ...

and producer Leah Carnahan.

Early life

Carnahan was raised in

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...

and

Northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...

. Carnahan graduated from Fairfield High School in 1987 where he also played football. He attended college at

San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different ...

but later transferred to

California State University, Sacramento California State University, Sacramento (CSUS, Sacramento State, or informally Sac State) is a public university in Sacramento, California. Founded in 1947 as Sacramento State College, it is the eleventh oldest school in the 23-campus California ...

, and earned his

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

in Filmography there. *^a "CSU Sacramento, B.A. Film Studies (1994)." Carnahan eventually became employed in the Promotional Department of

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

KMAX-TV KMAX-TV (channel 31) is a television station in Sacramento, California, United States, affiliated with The CW. It is owned by the CBS News and Stations group alongside Stockton, California, Stockton-licensed CBS owned-and-operated station KOVR ...

, producing short films and television spots. *^a "...(who started right here at Good Day Sacramento,)." — ¶ 1.

Film career

In 1998 he won some cult and critical acclaim for his film ''

'' which premiered in September 1997 at the New York Independent Feature Film Market and later at the 1998

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 ...

. He directed the 2002 Detroit-set thriller '' Narc'', starring

Ray Liotta Raymond Allen Liotta (; December 18, 1954 – May 26, 2022) was an American actor. He was best known for his roles as Shoeless Joe Jackson in ''Field of Dreams'' (1989) and Henry Hill in Martin Scorsese's ''Goodfellas'' (1990). He was a Primet ...

and

Jason Patric Jason Patric (born June 17, 1966) is an American film, television and stage actor. He is known for his roles in films such as ''The Lost Boys'', ''Rush (1991 film), Rush'', ''Sleepers (film), Sleepers'', ''Geronimo: An American Legend'', ''Your ...

. Following ''Narc'', he directed an entry in the

BMW Films The BMW film series ''The Hire'' is a series of eight short films (averaging about ten minutes each) produced for the Internet in 2001 and 2002. A form of branded content, the shorts were directed by popular filmmakers from around the globe and ...

titled ''Ticker'' starring

Clive Owen Clive Owen (born 3 October 1964) is an English actor. He first gained recognition in the United Kingdom for playing the lead role in the ITV series ''Chancer'' from 1990 to 1991. He received critical acclaim for his work in the film '' Close ...

and

Don Cheadle Donald Frank Cheadle Jr. (; born November 29, 1964) is an American actor. He is the recipient of multiple accolades, including two Grammy Awards, a Tony Award, two Golden Globe Awards and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. He has also earned nom ...

. At one point he was solicited to direct '' Mission: Impossible III'', produced by

Tom Cruise Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962), known professionally as Tom Cruise, is an American actor and producer. One of the world's highest-paid actors, he has received various accolades, including an Honorary Palme d'Or and three Go ...

and Paula Wagner (who also executive produced ''Narc''), however he subsequently left the production due to conflicting views on the tone of the film. It was also announced in October 2005 Carnahan would be directing a film based on the life of convicted drug dealer Will Wright, but the project seems to be abandoned. His next film, ''

'', was produced in 2006 and released in January 2007. He also co-wrote the screenplay of '' Pride and Glory'', released in 2008 nearly a year behind schedule. He was attached to direct an adaptation of

James Ellroy Lee Earle "James" Ellroy (born March 4, 1948) is an American crime fiction writer and essayist. Ellroy has become known for a telegrammatic prose style in his most recent work, wherein he frequently omits connecting words and uses only short, s ...

's novel ''

White Jazz ''White Jazz'' is a 1992 crime fiction novel by James Ellroy. It is the fourth in his L.A. Quartet, preceded by '' The Black Dahlia'', '' The Big Nowhere'', and '' L.A. Confidential''. James Ellroy dedicated ''White Jazz'' "TO ''Helen Knode''." ...

'' with

George Clooney George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, four Golden Globe Awards, and two Academy Awards, one for his acting and the ot ...

producing and starring, but Clooney later pulled out from the production and in 2009, Ellroy stated that all adaptations of the film were dead. In 2007, Carnahan penned ''Remarkable Fellows'' for Universal with

Jason Bateman Jason Kent Bateman (born January 14, 1969) is an American actor, director and producer known for his roles of Michael Bluth in the Fox/Netflix sitcom '' Arrested Development'' and of Marty Byrde in the Netflix crime drama series '' Ozark'' (20 ...

set to star, but the film never went into production. In 2010,

Brian Bloom Brian Keith Bloom (born June 30, 1970) is an American actor and screenwriter. He co-wrote the screenplay and starred in ''The A-Team'', produced by brothers Tony and Ridley Scott. Bloom is the voice of Captain America in '' The Avengers: Earth ...

and Carnahan were then hired by Fox for the revamping of their long-gestating '' A-Team'' project, based on the hit '80's television series. He also showed interest in directing film adaptations for

Garth Ennis Garth Ennis (born January 16, 1970) is a Northern Irish–American comics writer, best known for the Vertigo series ''Preacher'' with artist Steve Dillon, his nine-year run on Marvel Comics' Punisher franchise, and '' The Boys'' with artist Dar ...

' graphic novel ''

Preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach components such as ...

'' and

David Michelinie David Michelinie (; born May 6, 1948) is an American comic book writer best known for scripting Marvel Comics' '' The Amazing Spider-Man'' and '' Iron Man'' and the DC Comics feature Superman in ''Action Comics''. Among the characters he create ...

's '' Taskmaster''. In 2011, he directed the thriller '' The Grey'', starring

Liam Neeson William John Neeson (born 7 June 1952) is an actor from Northern Ireland. He has received several accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and two Tony Awards. In 2020, he was placed 7th on '' Th ...

. Carnahan was one of the executive producers for

's ''

'', starring

James Spader James Todd Spader (born February 7, 1960) is an American actor. He has portrayed eccentric characters in films such as the drama ''Sex, Lies, and Videotape'' (1989) for which he won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor, the action scienc ...

and

Megan Boone Megan Boone (born April 29, 1983) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as FBI agent and profiler Elizabeth Keen on the NBC drama series '' The Blacklist''. She had a recurring role in '' Law & Order: LA'' and an episodic appe ...

, during its first season. He directed the pilot, and went on to co-write and direct the ninth episode, "Anslo Garrick". Carnahan also wrote the story for episode 16, "Mako Tanida". He is currently writing the script for the film adaptation of the

Mark Millar Mark Millar (; born 24 December 1969) is a Scottish comic book writer and television producer who first came to prominence with a run on the superhero series '' The Authority'', published by DC Comics' Wildstorm imprint. Millar has written e ...

comic book series ''Nemesis'' with his brother Matthew and will be directing. He is also set to direct

Mark Bowden Mark Robert Bowden (; born July 17, 1951) is an American journalist and writer. He is a national correspondent for ''The Atlantic''. He is best known for his book '' Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War'' (1999) about the 1993 U.S. military r ...

's book ''

Killing Pablo ''Killing Pablo: The Hunt for the World's Greatest Outlaw'' (2001) is a book by Mark Bowden that details the efforts by the governments of the United States and Colombia, their respective military and intelligence forces, and Los Pepes to stop ...

''. Carnahan executive produced the NBC political thriller '' State of Affairs'', starring

Katherine Heigl Katherine Marie Heigl ( ; born November 24, 1978) is an American actress and former fashion model. She played Dr. Izzie Stevens on the ABC television medical drama '' Grey's Anatomy'' from 2005 to 2010, a role that brought her recognition and ...

and

Alfre Woodard Alfre Woodard (; born November 8, 1952) is an American actress. She has received various accolades, including four Primetime Emmy Awards (tying the record for the most acting Emmys won by an African-American performer, along with Regina King), ...

, which premiered November 17, 2014. He directed and co-wrote the pilot. In April 2022,

Lionsgate Films Lionsgate Films (formerly known as Cinépix Film Properties) is an American film production and film distribution studio, headquartered in Santa Monica and founded in Canada, and is the flagship division of Lionsgate Entertainment. It is the la ...

revealed that Carnahan will direct ''Shadow Force'', starring

Kerry Washington Kerry Marisa Washington (born January 31, 1977) SidebarCertificate of Live Birth: Isabelle Amarachi Asomugha(County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health). Gives Kerry Washington birth dateArchivedfrom the original on May 2, 2016.Note: Fi ...

and

Omar Sy Omar Sy (, ff, 𞤌𞤥𞤢𞤪 𞤅𞤭, Omar Si; born 20 January 1978) is a French actor, best known in France for his sketches with Fred Testot on the '' Service après-vente des émissions'' television show on Canal+ (2005–2012). He gain ...

Personal life

Carnahan serves on the Creative Council of Represent.Us, a

nonpartisan Nonpartisanism is a lack of affiliation with, and a lack of bias towards, a political party. While an Oxford English Dictionary definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., in most cases, nonpartisan refers sp ...

anti-corruption organization.

Filmography

Film

Short films

Television

Producer

* ''The Devil Takes a Holiday'' (Associate) * ''

The Fourth Kind ''The Fourth Kind'' is a 2009 science fiction psychological horror thriller film directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi and featuring a cast of Milla Jovovich, Elias Koteas, Corey Johnson, Will Patton, Charlotte Milchard, Mia Mckenna-Bruce, Yulian Ve ...

'' * ''Wheelman'' * '' Into the Ashes'' (Executive) * ''Point Blank''

Frequent collaborators

References

External links

*
Interview with Joe Carnahan at LeisureSuit.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carnahan, Joe 1969 births American male bloggers American bloggers California State University, Sacramento alumni Male actors from Sacramento, California Living people Male actors from Delaware Male actors from Detroit Film directors from Michigan Action film directors