Aaron Sorkin
- Writer
- Producer
- Actor
Aaron Sorkin grew up in Scarsdale, a suburb of New York City where he
was very involved in his high school drama and theater club. After
graduating from Syracuse University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in
Theater, Sorkin intended to pursue a career in acting. It took him only
a short time to realize that his true love, and his true talent, lay in
writing. His first play, "Removing All Doubt", was not an immediate
success, but his second play, "Hidden in This Picture", debuted in 1988
at the West Bank Cafe Downstairs Theater Bar. A longer version of
"Hidden in This Picture", called "Making Movies", opened at the
Promenade Theater in 1990. Despite his youth and relative inexperience,
Sorkin was about to break into the spotlight. In 1989, he received the
prestigious Outer Critics Circle award as Outstanding American
Playwright for the stage version of
A Few Good Men (1992), which was
later nominated for a Golden Globe. The idea for the plot of "A Few
Good Men" came from a conversation with his older sister, Deborah.
Deborah was a Navy Judge Advocate General lawyer sent to Guantanamo Bay
on a case involving Marines accused of killing a fellow Marine. Deborah
told Aaron of the case and he spent the next year and a half writing a
Broadway play, which later led to the movie. Sorkin has gone on to
write for many movies and TV shows. Besides
A Few Good Men (1992), he has
written
The American President (1995)
and Malice (1993), as well as cooperating
on Enemy of the State (1998),
The Rock (1996) and
Excess Baggage (1997). In
addition, he was invited by
Steven Spielberg to "polish"
the script of
Schindler's List (1993).
Sorkin's TV credits include the Golden Globe-nominated
The West Wing (1999) and
Sports Night (1998).
