John David Logan (born September 24, 1961) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and producer. He is known for his work as a screenwriter for films such as

Ridley Scott Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is an English film director and producer. He directs films in the Science fiction film, science fiction, Crime film, crime, and historical drama, historical epic genres, with an atmospheric and highly co ...

's ''

Gladiator A gladiator ( , ) was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their ...

'' (2000),

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November17, 1942) is an American filmmaker. One of the major figures of the New Hollywood era, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Martin Scorsese, many accolades, including an Academ ...

's '' The Aviator'' (2004) and '' Hugo'' (2011),

Tim Burton Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and producer. Known for popularizing Goth subculture, Goth culture in the American film industry, Burton is famous for his Gothic film, gothic horror and dark fantasy films. ...

's '' Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street'' (2007) and

Sam Mendes Sir Samuel Alexander Mendes (born 1 August 1965) is a British film and stage director, producer, and screenwriter. In 2000, Mendes was appointed a CBE for his services to drama, and he was Knight Bachelor, knighted in the 2020 New Year Honours ...

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

films ''

Skyfall ''Skyfall'' is a 2012 spy thriller film and the twenty-third in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. The film is the third to star Daniel Craig as fictional MI6 agent James Bond and features Javier Bardem as Raoul Silva, ...

'' (2012), and '' Spectre'' (2015). He has been nominated three times for

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

, and has won a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

and a

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...

Early life and education

Logan's parents emigrated to the United States from Northern Ireland via Canada. The youngest of three children, he has an older brother and sister. Logan grew up in California and

Millburn, New Jersey Millburn is a suburban Township (New Jersey), township in southwestern Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, within the U.S. state of New Jersey, and part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's ...

, where he graduated from Millburn High School in 1979. He moved to

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

to attend

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

, where he graduated in 1983.

Career

Stage

Logan was a successful playwright in Chicago for many years before turning to screenwriting. His first play, ''Never the Sinner'', tells the story of the infamous Leopold and Loeb case. Subsequent plays include ''Hauptmann'', about the Lindbergh baby kidnapping, and ''Riverview'', a musical melodrama set at Chicago's famed amusement park. His play '' Red'', about artist

Mark Rothko Mark Rothko ( ; Markus Yakovlevich Rothkowitz until 1940; September 25, 1903February 25, 1970) was an American abstract art, abstract painter. He is best known for his color field paintings that depicted irregular and painterly rectangular reg ...

, was produced by the

Donmar Warehouse The Donmar Warehouse is a 251-seat, not-for-profit Off-West End theatre in Covent Garden, London, England. It first opened on 18 July 1977. Sam Mendes, Michael Grandage, Josie Rourke and Michael Longhurst have all served as artistic direc ...

, London, in December 2009, and on Broadway in 2010, where it received six

Tony Awards The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cere ...

, the most of any play, including best play, best direction of a play for

Michael Grandage Michael Grandage Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 2 May 1962) is a British theatre director and producer. He is currently artistic director of the Michael Grandage Company. From 2002 to 2012 he was artistic director of the Donmar Warehouse ...

and best featured actor in a play for

Eddie Redmayne Edward John David Redmayne OBE (; born 6 January 1982) is an English actor. His accolades include an Academy Award, a Tony Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, and two Olivier Awards. Redmayne began his professional ac ...

. Redmayne and Alfred Molina had originated their roles in London and also performed on Broadway, for a limited run ending in late June. Two plays by Logan premiered in 2013; '' Peter and Alice'', directed by Michael Grandage and starring

Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Widely considered one of Britain's greatest actors, she is noted for her versatility, having appeared in films and television, as well as for her numerous roles on the stage ...

and

Ben Whishaw Benjamin John Whishaw (born 14 October 1980) is an English actor. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Ben Whishaw, various accolades, including three British Academy Television Awards, two Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Aw ...

opened in London at the

Noël Coward Theatre The Noël Coward Theatre, formerly known as the Albery Theatre, is a West End theatre in St. Martin's Lane in the City of Westminster, London. It opened on 12 March 1903 as the New Theatre and was built by Sir Charles Wyndham behind Wyndham's ...

on March 25, 2013, and '' I'll Eat You Last: A Chat with Sue Mengers'', directed by Joe Mantello and starring

Bette Midler Bette Midler ( ;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and author. Throughout her five-decade career Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Bette Midler, numero ...

, opened on Broadway at the Booth Theatre on April 24, 2013. A re-written version of ''Never the Sinner'' had its world premiere in 2004 at the Space Theatre in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, Australia, by Independent Theatre. The company had previously staged the play twice, in 1992 and 1994, and has also staged several of his other plays. ''

Superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

'', a new musical by Logan and Tom Kitt, had its world premiere production Off-Broadway at Second Stage Theater, with an official opening night on February 28, 2019. Logan's play ''Double Feature'', about filmmaking and the relationship between director and star, opened at the

Hampstead Theatre Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in South Hampstead, in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. History The original ''Hampstead Theatre Clu ...

, London, in February 2024.

Film and TV

Logan wrote the 1999

Oliver Stone William Oliver Stone (born ) is an American filmmaker. Stone is an acclaimed director, tackling subjects ranging from the Vietnam War and American politics to musical film, musical Biographical film, biopics and Crime film, crime dramas. He has ...

sports drama ''

Any Given Sunday ''Any Given Sunday'' is a 1999 American sports drama film directed by Oliver Stone and produced by Clayton Townsend, Dan Halsted, and Lauren Shuler Donner from a screenplay by Stone and John Logan based on a story written by Logan and Da ...

'', which "changed his life". He then wrote the television film '' RKO 281'', a historical drama released in the same year. Logan's feature films include '' Rango'' (2011), an animated feature starring

Johnny Depp John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Johnny Depp, multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for ...

and directed by

Gore Verbinski Gregor Justin "Gore" Verbinski (born March 16, 1964) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for directing ''Mouse Hunt'', '' The Ring'', the first 3 ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' films, and '' Rango''. For '' ...

; the film adaptation of Shakespeare's ''

Coriolanus ''Coriolanus'' ( or ) is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1605 and 1608. The play is based on the life of the legendary Roman leader Gnaeus Marcius Coriolanus. Shakespeare worked on it during the same ...

'', directed by and starring

Ralph Fiennes Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes (; born 22 December 1962) is an English actor, film producer, and director. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Ralph Fiennes, various accolades, including a British Academy Film ...

; '' Hugo'', an adaptation of the book '' The Invention of Hugo Cabret'', directed by

; and the

film ''

'', along with Neal Purvis and Robert Wade. He wrote the Bond film, '' Spectre'' (2015). He also created the 2014 television series ''

Penny Dreadful Penny dreadfuls were cheap popular Serial (literature), serial literature produced during the 19th century in the United Kingdom. The pejorative term is roughly interchangeable with penny horrible, penny awful, and penny blood. The term typical ...

'' starring

Josh Hartnett Joshua Daniel Hartnett (born July 21, 1978) is an American actor. He began his career on American Broadcasting Company, ABC's drama series ''Cracker (American TV series), Cracker'' (1997–1998), after which he became known as a teen idol thro ...

Eva Green Eva Gaëlle Green (; ; born ) is a French British-based actress, known for appearing in blockbuster and independent films, in which she often portrays eccentric, villainous, and complex characters. The daughter of actress Marlène Jobert, she ...

and

Timothy Dalton Timothy Leonard Dalton Leggett (; born 21 March 1946) is a British actor. He gained international prominence as the fourth actor to portray fictional secret agent James Bond in the Eon Productions film series, starring in '' The Living Dayli ...

, for which he served as sole writer until it concluded with its third season. In November 2015, Logan was reported to have rewritten the script for '' Alien: Covenant''. During the audio commentary of ''Alien: Covenant'', Scott mentions that Logan has already started writing ''Alien: Covenant 2''. In November 2018, it was announced that Showtime would produce a follow-up to the 2014 television series ''Penny Dreadful'' entitled '' Penny Dreadful: City of Angels'', which takes place in Los Angeles in 1938. Logan was the creator, executive producer, and sole writer for the show, which premiered in 2020. In November 2019, it was reported that ''

Bohemian Rhapsody "Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock music, rock band Queen (band), Queen, released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, ''A Night at the Opera (Queen album), A Night at the Opera'' (1975). Written by Queen's lead si ...

'' producer Graham King was planning to produce a

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

biopic, with the screenplay written by Logan. Other notable films written by Logan include '' Star Trek: Nemesis'', ''

The Time Machine ''The Time Machine'' is an 1895 dystopian post-apocalyptic science fiction novella by H. G. Wells about a Victorian scientist known as the Time Traveller who travels to the year 802,701. The work is generally credited with the popularizati ...

'', and ''

The Last Samurai ''The Last Samurai'' is a 2003 American epic period action drama film directed and produced by Edward Zwick, who also co-wrote the screenplay with John Logan and Marshall Herskovitz from a story devised by Logan. The film stars Tom Cruise, ...

''. Logan made his feature directorial debut in 2022 with '' They/Them'', a

slasher film A slasher film is a subgenre of horror films involving a killer or a group of killers stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools. Although the term "slasher" may occasionally be used informally as a generic ...

released via the streaming service

Peacock Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred t ...

Personal life and other activities

Logan is openly gay. he is a major benefactor of a small independent

theatre company Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

, run by Rob Croser, called Independent Theatre. Several of his plays have been produced there, including '' Never the Sinner'' (1992, 1994, 2004); ''Hauptmann'' (1993); ''The View from Golgotha'' (1996); '' Red'' (2011; about artist

); '' Peter and Alice'' (2014), and he has travelled to Adelaide several times to see his plays as well as work on other productions.

Selected plays

Logan's plays include: * ''Never the Sinner'' (1985) * ''Speaking in Tongues'' (1988) * ''Hauptmann'' (1991) * ''Riverview'' (1992) *''The View from Golgotha'' (1996); * '' Red'' (2009) * '' Peter and Alice'' (2013) * '' I'll Eat You Last: A Chat with Sue Mengers'' (2013) * '' The Last Ship'' (2014) * '' Moulin Rouge!'' (2018) * ''

'' (2019) *'' Swept Away'' (2022)

Filmography

Film

Television

Accolades

*2000: Nominated for a

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...

for Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series or Movie for '' RKO 281'' *

: **

Best Original Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award (also known as an Oscar) 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 ...

for ''

'' (2000), co-written (with David Franzoni and William Nicholson) **Best Original Screenplay, for '' The Aviator'' (2004) ** Best Adapted Screenplay, for '' Hugo'' (2011) *Winner,

, for the 2007

musical '' Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street'' *

: **Winner, Best Play for '' Red'' (2010) **Nominated, Best Book of a Musical for '' Moulin Rouge!'' (2020)

References

External links

*
2008 Interview with John Logan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Logan, John 1961 births 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters 21st-century American dramatists and playwrights 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American screenwriters Living people American gay writers American LGBTQ dramatists and playwrights American LGBTQ screenwriters American male dramatists and playwrights American male screenwriters American male television writers American people of Northern Ireland descent American people of Canadian descent Television writers from California American writers of Irish descent Animation screenwriters Annie Award winners Film producers from California Film producers from New Jersey Film producers from New York (state) Gay dramatists and playwrights Gay screenwriters Golden Globe Award–winning producers LGBTQ film producers LGBTQ people from California LGBTQ people from New Jersey LGBTQ television producers Millburn High School alumni Northwestern University School of Communication alumni Screenwriters from New Jersey Screenwriters from New York (state) Television producers from California Television producers from New Jersey American television show creators Tony Award winners Writers from Millburn, New Jersey Writers from San Diego Writers Guild of America Award winners