Nicholas Austin Pizzolatto (born October 18, 1975) is an American writer, producer and director. He is best known for creating the HBO crime drama series ''

True Detective ''True Detective'' is an American anthology crime drama television series created and written by Nic Pizzolatto. The series, broadcast by the premium cable network HBO in the United States, premiered on January 12, 2014. Each season of the ...

''.

Early life

Pizzolatto was born in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

. He is of

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

descent. Pizzolatto grew up poor in a working-class

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

family in New Orleans. At age five, he and his family moved to a rural area of

Lake Charles, Louisiana Lake Charles (French: ''Lac Charles'') is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the parish seat of Calcasieu Parish, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Founded in 1861 in Calcas ...

. Pizzolato graduated from Lake Charles' St. Louis Catholic High School in 1993 and left home when he was 17. Pizzolato attended

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 n ...

on a visual arts scholarship. He graduated from LSU with a

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 English and philosophy. Pizzolatto gave up writing following the death of a writing mentor and moved to

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

, where he worked as a

bartender A bartender (also known as a barkeep, barman, barmaid, or a mixologist) is a person who formulates and serves alcoholic or soft drink beverages behind the bar, usually in a licensed establishment as well as in restaurants and nightclubs, but ...

and technical writer for four years. He later enrolled in an MFA program in Creative Writing at the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkans ...

, and received the Lily Peter Fellowship for poetry and Walton fellowship in 2003. He graduated in 2005.

Career

Fiction writing

Short stories

He wrote two short stories when he was completing his MFA at the

– "Ghost-Birds" and "Between Here and the Yellow Sea" – which were sold to ''

The Atlantic Monthly ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

''. In 2004, his work was among the finalists for the

National Magazine Award The National Magazine Awards, also known as the Ellie Awards, honor print and digital publications that consistently demonstrate superior execution of editorial objectives, innovative techniques, noteworthy enterprise and imaginative design. Or ...

in Fiction. His collection of short fiction ''Between Here and the Yellow Sea'' was long-listed for the 2006

Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award __NOTOC__ The Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award—named in honour of Frank O'Connor, who devoted much of his work to the form—was an international literary award presented for the best short story collection. It was presented betwe ...

and was also named one of the top five fiction debuts of the year by ''Poets & Writers Magazine''. He also received an honorable mention from the Pushcart Prize, and his short story "Wanted Man" is included in ''Best American Mystery Stories 2009.''

Novels

His first novel, ''Galveston'', was published by

Scribner's Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner's or Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing American authors including Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Marjorie Kinnan Ra ...

in June 2010. It was translated into many languages. In 2005, Pizzolatto was named one of ''

Poets & Writers Poets & Writers, Inc. is one of the largest nonprofit literary organizations in the United States serving poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers. The organization publishes a bi-monthly magazine called ''Poets & Writers Magazine'', ...

'' magazine's best new writers. In 2010, ''Galveston'' earned him the ''Prix du Premier Roman Étranger'', the French Academy's award for Best First Novel, Foreign. It was also a 2010

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...

finalist for best first novel. ''Galveston'' also won third prize in the 2010 Barnes and Noble Discovery Award, and additionally won the 2011 Spur Award for Best First Novel from the Western Writers of America. A film adaptation of the novel was released in 2018, based partially on a screenplay by Pizzolatto himself (credited under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individu ...

Jim Hammett) and starring Ben Foster and

Elle Fanning Mary Elle Fanning (born April 9, 1998) is an American actress. She made her film debut as the younger version of her sister Dakota Fanning's character in the drama film '' I Am Sam'' (2001). As a child actress, she appeared in several films, i ...

Teaching

Before creating ''True Detective'', Pizzolatto taught fiction and literature as Kenan Visiting Writer (2005–2006) at

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United State ...

, in Spring 2008 at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

, and as Assistant Professor of English (2008–12) at

DePauw University DePauw University is a private liberal arts university in Greencastle, Indiana. It has an enrollment of 1,972 students. The school has a Methodist heritage and was originally known as Indiana Asbury University. DePauw is a member of both the ...

. He moved to California to pursue a screenwriting career in the fall of 2010.

Television writing

In 2011, he wrote two episodes for the first season of the crime drama television series '' The Killing''. Pizzolatto was dissatisfied by the dynamic between the showrunner and the writers of the show; he remarked that, "I want to be the guiding vision. I don't do well serving someone else's vision." He decided to leave the show after spending two weeks in the writers room on the show's second season. In 2012, he created an original television series called ''

'', which was sold to HBO and completed shooting in June 2013, with Pizzolatto as executive producer, sole writer, and

showrunner A showrunner (or colloquially a helmer) is the top-level executive producer of a television series production who has creative and management authority through combining the responsibilities of employer and, in comedy or dramas, typically also the ...

. It premiered in January 2014, and became the most watched freshman show in the network's history. The show was critically acclaimed and was so popular the finale crashed HBO's

HBO Go HBO Go is a partly-inactive authenticated video on demand of the pay television service HBO. The service allowed subscribers to HBO via television providers to access its programming on-demand via the HBO website, mobile apps, and digital medi ...

streaming service. Pizzolatto listed several influences on the show's first season: philosophy books such as

Thomas Ligotti Thomas Ligotti (born July 9, 1953) is an American horror writer. His writings are rooted in several literary genres – most prominently weird fiction – and have been described by critics as works of ''philosophical'' horror, often formed into ...

's ''

The Conspiracy Against the Human Race ''The Conspiracy Against the Human Race: A Contrivance of Horror'' is a 2010 non-fiction book by American author Thomas Ligotti. Better known as a horror fiction author, with ''Conspiracy'' Ligotti offers a series of essays exploring his philosop ...

'',

Eugene Thacker Eugene Thacker is an American philosopher, poet, and author. He is Professor of Media Studies at The New School in New York City. His writing is often associated with the philosophy of nihilism and pessimism. Thacker's books include ''In the Dus ...

's ''In The Dust of This Planet'',

Ray Brassier Raymond Brassier (born 1965) is a British philosopher. He is member of the philosophy faculty at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon, known for his work in philosophical realism. He was formerly Research Fellow at the Centre for Resea ...

's ''Nihil Unbound'', Jim Crawford's ''Confessions of an Antinatalist'', and

David Benatar David Benatar (born 8 December 1966) is a South African philosopher, academic and author. He is best known for his advocacy of antinatalism in his book '' Better Never to Have Been: The Harm of Coming into Existence'', in which he argues that ...

's '' Better Never to Have Been''. Pizzolatto also mentions horror authors

Laird Barron Laird Samuel Barron (born 1970) is an American author and poet, much of whose work falls within the horror, noir, and dark fantasy genres. He has also been the managing editor of the online literary magazine '' Melic Review''. He lives in Ups ...

, John Langan, Simon Strantzas, and Ligotti. A new season of ''True Detective'' premiered on June 21, 2015, with Pizzolatto again writing/co-writing all the episodes. In late 2015, it was announced that Pizzolatto had signed a new deal with HBO through 2018. In August 2016, HBO announced a potential new series written by Pizzolatto and starring Robert Downey Jr., centering on the character of investigative attorney

Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and 4 short stories, all of which involve a c ...

. On August 25, 2017, it was announced that Pizzolatto had dropped out of the production in order to focus on the third season of ''True Detective'' and that he was being replaced as the project's writer by Rolin Jones and Ron Fitzgerald. In January 2020, FX announced that Pizzolatto had signed an overall deal with the network, with the first project being the drama series ''Redeemer''. The following year, negotiations for an early termination of the deal were underway after the development of ''Redeemer'' was canceled.

Screenwriting

Along with Richard Wenk, Pizzolatto co-wrote the screenplay for ''

The Magnificent Seven ''The Magnificent Seven'' is a 1960 American Western film directed by John Sturges. The screenplay by William Roberts is a remake – in an Old West–style – of Akira Kurosawa's 1954 Japanese film ''Seven Samurai'' (itself initially relea ...

'' (2016), a remake of the period-piece western ''

'' (1960) (which was itself a western remake of

Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker and painter who directed thirty films in a career spanning over five decades. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. Kurosawa displayed a bold, dyna ...

's 1954 film ''

Seven Samurai is a 1954 Japanese epic samurai drama film co-written, edited, and directed by Akira Kurosawa. The story takes place in 1586 during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. It follows the story of a village of desperate farmers who hire sev ...

'').

Antoine Fuqua Antoine Fuqua (born May 30, 1965) is an American filmmaker, known for his work in the action and thriller genres. He was originally known as a director of music videos, and made his film debut in 1998 with ''The Replacement Killers''. His critica ...

directed, and the film, released on September 23, 2016, starred

Denzel Washington Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has been described as an actor who reconfigured "the concept of classic movie stardom". Throughout his career spanning over four decades, Washington ha ...

Chris Pratt Christopher Michael Pratt (born June 21, 1979) is an American actor. He rose to prominence for playing Andy Dwyer in the NBC sitcom '' Parks and Recreation'' (2009–2015). He also appeared in The WB drama series '' Everwood'' (2002–2006) ...

Vincent D'Onofrio Vincent Philip D'Onofrio (; born June 30, 1959) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his supporting and leading roles in both film and television. He has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. His roles include Private Leonar ...

, Lee Byung-hun,

Ethan Hawke Ethan Green Hawke (born November 6, 1970) is an American actor and film director. He has been nominated for four Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award. Hawke has directed three feature films, three off-Broadway plays, and a doc ...

Peter Sarsgaard John Peter Sarsgaard (; born March 7, 1971) is an American actor. His first feature role was in '' Dead Man Walking'' in 1995. He then appeared in the 1998 independent films ''Another Day in Paradise'' and ''Desert Blue''. That same year, Sarsga ...

and others. Pizzolatto adapted his 2010 novel ''Galveston'' for the film of the same name; however, he requested to be credited under the pseudonym Jim Hammett following director

Mélanie Laurent Mélanie Laurent (; born 21 February 1983) is a French actress, filmmaker, and singer. The recipient of two César Awards and a Lumières Award, she is an accomplished actress in the French film industry. Globally, she is best known for her rol ...

's contributions to the screenplay, despite not being formally engaged as a writer on the project, feeling the final script did not reflect his own. Producer Tyler Davidson confirmed the news to ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular ...

'', saying, "My personal opinion is that Nic did not feel the final script reflected his work as the sole credited writer, and his representatives advised us to credit him with his pseudonym." In December 2018, Pizzolatto revealed that he had assisted '' Deadwood'' creator

David Milch David Sanford Milch (born March 23, 1945) is an American writer and producer of television series. He has created several television shows, including ABC's ''NYPD Blue'' (1993-2005), co-created with Steven Bochco, and HBO's '' Deadwood'' (2004 ...

in writing the screenplay for the

film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dia ...

. In return, Milch helped him with the third season of ''True Detective'' by co-writing the fourth episode as well as giving Pizzolatto advice on crafting the season. In April 2019, it was announced that Pizzolatto had written the screenplay for the film ''Ghost Army'' for

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

. The film is to be headlined and directed by

Ben Affleck Benjamin Géza Affleck (born August 15, 1972) is an American actor and filmmaker. His accolades include two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and a Volpi Cup. Affleck began his career as a child when he starred in the PBS education ...

. In April 2020, Pizzolatto said he was interested in writing a ''

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939. I ...

'' film, saying: "Batman is the only character in the world I didn't create that I want a shot at. And he's the only piece of geek culture I have any affinity for."

Awards

The first two short stories Pizzolatto submitted sold simultaneously to ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

''. His collection of short fiction ''Between Here and the Yellow Sea'' was long-listed for the 2006

and named one of the top five fiction debuts of the year by ''Poets & Writers Magazine''. Pizzolatto was a finalist for the

for Fiction in 2004. He received an honorable mention from the Pushcart Prize, and his story "Wanted Man" is included in ''Best American Mystery Stories 2009.'' While he was a graduate student at the University of Arkansas Programs in Creative Writing, Nic earned a number of awards in both fiction and poetry including a Lily Peter Fellowship in Poetry and a Walton Fellowship in Fiction. His novel ''Galveston'' won third prize in the 2010 Barnes and Noble Discovery Award, and was a finalist for the 2010

for best first novel. It won the 2011 Spur Award for Best First Novel from the Western Writers of America. In France, ''Galveston'' was awarded the '' Prix du Premier Roman étranger'' (Best Foreign First Novel) for 2011, by a jury of literary critics. In 2015 it won Best Translated Crime Novel by the Swedish Crime Writers Academy. In the Netherlands ''Galveston'' won the 2016 De VN Thriller Award. For the

66th Primetime Emmy Awards The 66th Primetime Emmy Awards honored the best in U.S. prime time television programming from June 1, 2013 until May 31, 2014, as chosen by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The ceremony was held on Monday, August 25, 2014, at the Nok ...

, Pizzolatto was nominated for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for "The Secret Fate of All Life". For the 67th Writers Guild of America Awards, Pizzolatto and the series won for Best Drama Series and Best New Series. In 2015, Pizzolatto was nominated for a

Producers Guild of America Award The Producers Guild of America Awards were originally established in 1990 by the Producers Guild of America as the Golden Laurel Awards, created by PGA Treasurer Joel Freeman with the support of Guild President Leonard Stern, in order to honor ...

for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama for ''True Detective''. In 2015, Pizzolatto was named British GQ Writer of the Year. Pizzolatto and ''True Detective'' won the 2015

British Academy Television Award for Best International Programme The British Academy Television Award for Best International Programme, or BAFTA TV Award for Best International, is an award presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, according to BAFTA the category is for "a single programme or ...

Personal life

Pizzolatto lives in Austin, TX with his daughter Allegra Pizzolatto. He got engaged to singer-songwriter Suzanne Santo in December 2021.

Filmography

Films

* ''

'' (2016, co-writer) * ''

Galveston Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Ga ...

'' (2018, writer, as Jim Hammett) * '' Deadwood: The Movie'' (2019, co-writer, uncredited) * '' The Guilty'' (2021)

Television series

Writer

Publications

* Pizzolatto, Nic. 2003
"Ghost-Birds"
''

'' October 2003 issue. (short story). * Pizzolatto, Nic. 2004
"Between Here and The Yellow Sea"
''

'' November 2004 issue. (short story). * Pizzolatto, Nic. 2004
"1987, The Races".
'' The Missouri Review.'' 27, no. 1: 83-93. (short story) * Pizzolatto, Nic. 2005
"Haunted Earth".
''

The Iowa Review ''The Iowa Review'' is an American literary magazine that publishes fiction, poetry, essays, and reviews. History and profile Founded in 1970, ''Iowa Review'' is issued three times a year, during the months of April, August, and December. Origin ...

.'' 35, no. 2: 14-24. (short story) * Pizzolatto, Nic.
Between Here and the Yellow Sea: Stories.
' San Francisco, CA: MacAdam/Cage, 2005. (a collection of 9 short stories) * Pizzolatto, Nic. 2009
"Graves of Light".
''

Ploughshares ''Ploughshares'' is an American literary journal established in 1971 by DeWitt Henry and Peter O'Malley in The Plough and Stars, an Irish pub in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Since 1989, ''Ploughshares'' has been based at Emerson College in Boston. ...

.'' 35, no. 4: 140-156. (short story) * Pizzolatto, Nic.
Galveston: A Novel.
' New York: Scribner, 2010.

Notes and references

External links

* *
Master class with Mr. True Detective (translation)Original, in Danish
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pizzolatto, Nic 1975 births 21st-century American novelists American crime fiction writers American male novelists American male screenwriters American male short story writers American short story writers American television producers American television writers American writers of Italian descent DePauw University faculty Living people Louisiana State University alumni American male television writers Showrunners True Detective University of Arkansas alumni University of Chicago faculty University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill faculty Writers from New Orleans Writers Guild of America Award winners Novelists from Illinois Novelists from Indiana Novelists from Louisiana 21st-century American screenwriters 21st-century American male writers