Biography for
Paul Haggis More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

10 March 1953, London, Ontario, Canada

Birth Name

Paul Edward Haggis

Height

6' (1.83 m)

Mini Biography

Paul Haggis is the award-winning filmmaker who, in 2006, became the first screenwriter, since 1950, to write two Best Film Oscar winners back-to-back - "Million Dollar Baby" (2004) directed by Clint Eastwood, and "Crash" (2005) which he himself directed. For "Crash," he won Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay. The film also received an additional four nominations including one for Haggis' direction. "Crash" reaped numerous awards during its year of release from associations such as the IFP Spirit Awards, the Screen Actors Guild, and BAFTA.

In 2006, Haggis' screenplay collaborations included the duo Clint Eastwood productions "Flags of our Fathers" and "Letters from Iwo Jima," the latter earning him his third screenplay Oscar nomination. He also helped pen "Casino Royale," which garnered considerable acclaim for reinvigorating the James Bond spy franchise and has written the screenplay for the next Bond production "Quantum of Solace."

Haggis' directorial follow-up to "Crash" was "In the Valley of Elah" which he wrote, directed, and produced, for Warner Independent Pictures. The film, which starred Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron and Susan Sarandon, was a suspense drama of a father's search for his missing son, who is reported AWOL after returning from Iraq. Jones earned a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his performance in the film.

Most recently, Haggis and his partner Michael Nozik formed Hwy 61 Films, based at United Artists. Their first venture is an adaptation of the celebrated Australian novel "The Ranger's Apprentice."

Haggis was born in London, Ontario, Canada and moved to California in his early 20s. For over two decades he has written, directed and produced television shows such as "thirtysomething" and "The Tracey Ullman Show," and also developed credits as a pup writer on many Norman Lear sitcoms. He created the acclaimed, if short-lived, CBS series "EZ Streets" which the New York Times cited as one of the most influential shows of all time, noting, that without it "there would be no Sopranos."

Haggis is equally committed to his private and social concerns. He is co-founder of Artists for Peace and Justice, a working board member of EMA (The Environmental Media Association) as well as the advocacy group Office Of The Americas, among others.

He is married, the father of four children, and splits his time between residences in Los Angeles and New York.

IMDb Mini Biography By: zkozlowski

Spouse

Deborah Rennard	(21 June 1997 - present) 1 child
Diane Christine Gettas	(9 April 1977 - 1994) 3 children

Trivia

Son of Edward H. Haggis and Mary Yvonne Metcalfe, children: Alissa Sullivan, Lauren Kilvington, Katy Elizabeth.

In March 2003, Razor Magazine made a list of "nonconformists that defy dictates, the iconoclasts that cling to independent thought, the radicals that refuse adherence, that give us pause. They are what legends are made of." Along with Sam Shepard, Julian Schnabel, Baz Luhrmann, Lance Armstrong, Richard Branson, Robert Shapiro, John Irving and Bill Clinton, Razor Magazine named Haggis one of its "25 Mavericks of our time."

The April 7, 2005 issue of Rolling Stone chose him as their breakthrough filmmaker of the year, saying "Crash, Haggis' directorial film debut is already being touted for this year's awards race."

He was originally going to direct Million Dollar Baby (2004). He was in the middle of directing _Crash (2004)_ when Clint Eastwood asked to direct the film after being offered the lead. Haggis agreed.

Had a heart attack during the filming of "Crash," yet refused to let anyone else finish directing it. He returned to directing 2 weeks after the event.

Moved to LA age 22.

Studied cinematography at London's Fanshawe College.

Produced two Best Picture winners in a row: Million Dollar Baby and Crash.

On March 5, 2006 became the first person in Oscar history to have written back-to-back best picture winners.

Shares the same birthday with Chuck Norris, the star of his hit TV series "Walker: Texas Ranger".

Was nominated for an Oscar for writing three years in a row: 2005, 2006, and 2007.

Has directed 2 actors in Oscar nominated performances: Matt Dillon (Best Supporting Actor for Crash) and Tommy Lee Jones (Best Lead Actor for In the Valley of Elah).

Personal Quotes

"I agreed to write the pilot because I thought it would just go away, but it became this huge hit and I remember waking up at 3 or 4 in the morning in a cold sweat, dripping wet. I mean, I was drenched. I just pictured my tombstone and it said: 'Paul Haggis: Creator of Walker Texas Ranger.' So the impetus for making these movies is really just to wipe that image from my mind." (on his decision to move from television to films like Crash)

"A lot of films made me love the movies, everything from Hitchcock to Godard. But the ones that really grabbed me were Costa-Gavras's films like "Z" and "State of Siege.""

"The worst thing you can do to a filmmaker is to walk out of his film and go, "That was a nice movie." But if you can cause people to walk out and then argue about the film on the sidewalk ... I think we're all seeking dissension, and we love to affect an audience."

"Artists need to be outsiders in order to really view what's going on. That little bit of detachment has been great for me being down here. I look like everyone else; I almost sound like everyone else, except for the odd time I say chesterfield or serviette. But I am different. And I am proud to be a Canadian..."

"As artists, we have to be brave. If we aren't brave, we aren't artists."

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