| Birth Date: | 8 October 1952 |
| Birth Place: | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Occupation: | Director, producer, screenwriter |
| Alma Mater: | Harvard University (AB) AFI Conservatory (MFA) |
| Years Active: | 1979–present |
| Notable Works: | About Last Night, Glory, The Last Samurai, Blood Diamond, Defiance, Love & Other Drugs |
Edward M. Zwick (born October 8, 1952) is an American filmmaker. He has worked primarily in the comedy drama and epic historical film genres and has received nominations for two Academy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards.
He made his film debut with the comedy About Last Night (1986), followed by Glory (1989), Legends of the Fall (1994), Courage Under Fire (1996), The Last Samurai (2003), Blood Diamond (2006), and Defiance (2008). His later films include Love & Other Drugs (2010), Pawn Sacrifice (2014), and (2016). He won the Academy Award for Best Picture for Shakespeare in Love (1998) as a producer.
He is also the co-creator of the ABC family drama series thirtysomething from 1987 to 1991 and Once and Again from 1999 to 2002.
Zwick was born on October 8, 1952, into a Jewish family in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Ruth Ellen (née Reich) and Allen Zwick.[1] [2] [3] [4] He attended New Trier High School, received an A.B. at Harvard in 1974, and attended the AFI Conservatory, graduating with a Master of Fine Arts degree in 1975.
Despite sharing a surname and profession, Edward is unrelated to fellow director Joel Zwick. He has been married to actress Liberty Godshall since 1982, and they have two grown children.[4]
His films include Glory (1989), Legends of the Fall (1994), The Siege (1998), The Last Samurai (2003), Blood Diamond (2006), and Defiance (2008). Along with Marshall Herskovitz, Zwick runs a film production company called The Bedford Falls Company (inspired by the name of the town featured in Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life). This company has produced such notable films as Traffic and Shakespeare in Love and the TV shows thirtysomething, Relativity, Once and Again, and My So-Called Life.
Zwick's body of work has earned numerous accolades, including an Academy Award and BAFTA Award for Best Picture as a producer, and Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Writing in a Limited Series, and Outstanding Dramatic Special. He was one of the recipients of the Academy Award for Best Picture for Shakespeare in Love; he was also nominated in the same category for Traffic. He has additionally been nominated for multiple Golden Globe Awards.
In 2024, Zwick released his memoir, Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions: My Fortysomething Years in Hollywood.[5]
| Year | Title | Director | Producer | Writer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | About Last Night... | ||||
| 1989 | Glory | ||||
| 1992 | Leaving Normal | ||||
| 1994 | Legends of the Fall | ||||
| 1996 | Courage Under Fire | ||||
| 1998 | The Siege | ||||
| 2003 | The Last Samurai | ||||
| 2006 | Blood Diamond | ||||
| 2008 | Defiance | ||||
| 2010 | Love & Other Drugs | ||||
| 2014 | Pawn Sacrifice | ||||
| 2016 | |||||
| The Great Wall | |||||
| 2017 | American Assassin | ||||
| 2018 | Trial by Fire |
Producer only
| Executive producer
|
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Executive Producer | Creator | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979–80 | Family | Also producer; 5 episodes (written); Directed episode "Ballerina" | |||||
| 1985 | The Insiders | Pilot episode | |||||
| 1987–91 | thirtysomething | 3 episodes (directed); 8 episodes (written) | |||||
| 1999–2002 | Once and Again | 3 episodes (directed); 4 episodes (written) Also actor (as Dr. Daniel Rosenfeld) | |||||
| 2008 | Quarterlife | Web series; 2 episodes (written) | |||||
| 2016–18 | Nashville | Wrote episode "The Wayfaring Stranger" | |||||
| 2020 | Away | Directed episode "Go" |
Television films
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Special Bulletin | |||
| 1990 | Extreme Close-Up | |||
| 2009 | A Marriage | |||
| 2020 | Thirtysomething(else) | |||
Executive producer only
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1987 | CBS Summer Playhouse | Episode "Sawdust" |
| 1989 | Dream Street | |
| 1994-95 | My So-Called Life | |
| 1998 | Relativity | |
| 2000 | The Only Living Boy in New York | TV movie |
| 2002 | Women vs. Men | |
| Year | Title | Award/Nomination | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Glory | Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Director | |
| 1994 | Legends of the Fall | Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Director | |
| 1998 | Shakespeare in Love | Academy Award for Best Picture BAFTA Award for Best Film Satellite Award for Best Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical Nominated - Producers Guild of America Award for Best Theatrical Motion Picture | |
| 2000 | Traffic | Nominated - Academy Award for Best Picture | |
| 2003 | The Last Samurai | National Board of Review Award for Best Director Nominated - Saturn Award for Best Director Nominated - Producers Guild of America Award for Best Picture | |
| 2006 | Blood Diamond | Nominated - St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Award for Best Director |
| Title | Academy Awards | BAFTA Awards | Golden Globe Awards | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominations | Wins | Nominations | Wins | Nominations | Wins | |||
| 1989 | Glory | 5 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 1 | ||
| 1994 | Legends of the Fall | 3 | 1 | 4 | ||||
| 2003 | The Last Samurai | 4 | 3 | |||||
| 2006 | Blood Diamond | 5 | 1 | |||||
| 2008 | Defiance | 1 | 1 | |||||
| 2010 | Love & Other Drugs | 2 | ||||||
| Total | 18 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 1 | ||