Alex Garland
Template:Short description Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox person Alexander Medawar Garland (born 26 May 1970) is an English author, screenwriter, film and television director. He rose to prominence with his novel The Beach (1996). He received praise for writing the Danny Boyle films 28 Days Later (2002) and its sequel, 28 Years Later (2025), and Sunshine (2007), as well as Never Let Me Go (2010) and Dredd (2012). In video games, he co-wrote Enslaved: Odyssey to the West (2010) and was a story supervisor on DmC: Devil May Cry (2013).
Garland made his directorial debut when he wrote and directed the sci-fi thriller Ex Machina (2014). He earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay, and won three British Independent Film Awards, including Best Screenplay, Best Director, and Best British Independent Film for the film. His second movie, Annihilation (2018), an adaptation of the 2014 novel of the same name, was a critical success. He wrote, directed and executive produced the FX miniseries Devs (2020) followed by the horror thriller Men (2022), and the dystopian action thriller Civil War (2024). He also co-directed the war film Warfare (2025). The three films were produced by A24.
Early life and education
Alexander Medawar Garland<ref name="name">Template:Cite bookTemplate:Dead link</ref> was born in London on 26 May 1970,<ref name=BritishCouncil>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=FJI>Template:Cite news</ref> the son of psychologist Caroline (née Medawar) and political cartoonist Nicholas Garland. Alexander has a younger brother and two older paternal half-siblings. He is the maternal grandson of writer Jean Medawar and Nobel Prize-winning biologist Peter Medawar.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref>
Alexander Garland was educated at University College School in Hampstead, England and later graduated from the University of Manchester in Manchester with an art history degree.<ref name="GuardianLewis" /><ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref>
Career
Novels
Garland's first novel, The Beach, was published in 1996. Based on his travels across Europe and Thailand, it tells the story of a young English backpacker who discovers an unspoiled seashore occupied by a community of like-minded backpackers. The novel is noted for its references to drug culture, sequences of hallucinations, and unique depictions of excess and utopia. The Beach was initially met with positive reviews, and with a spreading word of mouth response, the novel grew in popularity; it led some critics to regard Garland a key voice of Generation X.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He would later speak of his discomfort with the fame The Beach brought him.<ref name="GuardianLewis"/> The Beach has been translated into 25 different languages<ref name="gluckman.com"/> and sold close to 700,000 copies by the start of 1999.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It was developed into a film starring Leonardo DiCaprio. In 2003, the novel was Ranked 103 in BBC's The Big Read poll.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Garland's The Tesseract (1998) is a non-linear narrative with several interwoven characters, set in Manila, Philippines. The novel is characterized by a post-modernist narrative style and structure. It explores several themes such as love and violence through each character's circumstance and context of surroundings as well as seemingly inconsequential actions and the repercussions of those actions on other characters. The Tesseract was not a critical or commercial success, but it too was adapted into a film.
Throughout his work, Garland has expressed his love of travel (particularly backpacking) and his love of Manila, much of which influenced his work.<ref name= "gluckman.com">Template:Cite web</ref>
Film
In 2002, Garland wrote the screenplay for Danny Boyle's film 28 Days Later, starring Cillian Murphy.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He has said that the script was influenced by 1970s zombie films and English science fiction like The Day of the Triffids.<ref name="Watson">Template:Cite web</ref> The Resident Evil series also served as an influence for 28 Days Later, with Garland crediting the first game for revitalizing the zombie genre.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Inspiration for the "Rage" virus came from real-world infections such as Ebola and filoviruses.<ref name="Watson"/> He won a Best Screenplay honor at the 2004 Fangoria Chainsaw Awards for his script of the film.
In 2005, Garland wrote a screenplay for a film adaptation of Halo.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> D. B. Weiss and Josh Olson rewrote this during 2006 for a 2008 release,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="fritz2006">Template:Cite news</ref> although the film was later canceled.<ref name="fritz2006" /> In 2007, he wrote the screenplay for the film Sunshine, which was his second screenplay to be directed by Danny Boyle and to star Cillian Murphy. Garland served as an executive producer on 28 Weeks Later, the sequel of 28 Days Later. He wrote the screenplay for the 2010 film Never Let Me Go, based on the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro. He also wrote the script for Dredd, an adaptation of the Judge Dredd comic book series from 2000 AD. In 2018, Karl Urban, who played the eponymous role in the film, stated that it was Garland who deserved credit for also directing Dredd.<ref>Urban in Template:Cite news</ref>
Garland made his directorial debut with Ex Machina, a 2014 feature film based on his own story and screenplay, starring Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander and Oscar Isaac. The film won a Jury Prize at the 2015 Gerardmer Film Festival, and earned Garland a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Garland's second film, Annihilation (2018), was based on Jeff VanderMeer's 2014 science fiction novel of the same name. Garland has described it as "an adaptation [that] was a memory of the book," rather than book-referenced screenwriting, to capture the "dream like nature" and tone of his reading experience.<ref>Template:Cite web @ 32m15s-33m30s</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore @ 03m30 - "In this [adaptation] instance it was like an adaptation of the atmosphere."</ref> Production began in 2016,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the film was released in February 2018.<ref name="vf_movie">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
In January 2021, Garland was hired to direct his third film, Men, starring Jessie Buckley and Rory Kinnear.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> The film follows a young woman who goes on a solo vacation to the English countryside after the death of her ex-husband.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Released in May 2022, it received generally positive reviews, though its narrative approach received some criticism. Film critic Jonathan Rosenbaum placed Men on his Best Films of 2022 list.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In April 2022, it was announced that Garland would once again work with A24 for his fourth feature, Civil War, an action epic starring Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, and previous collaborators Stephen McKinley Henderson and Cailee Spaeny.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The film was released on 12 April 2024. Garland will reunite with Boyle to write 28 Years Later, the long-gestating sequel to 28 Days Later, which is intended to launch a new trilogy of zombie films. Murphy will serve as an executive producer. The film is set to be released by Sony.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
In February 2024, it was revealed that Charles Melton was in talks to star in Garland's upcoming untitled war film with A24. This project marks the second collaboration between Garland and Ray Mendoza, who served as the military supervisor for Civil War. The pair wrote and will co-direct the film.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The following month, Joseph Quinn, D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Kit Connor, Cosmo Jarvis, Will Poulter and Finn Bennett joined the ensemble cast, and the film was revealed to be titled Warfare.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The same month, Garland stated that he would not direct any films in the "foreseeable future" after the release of Civil War and that his co-directorial work on Warfare was "more of a supporting character" to Mendoza's.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, in May 2025, it was announced that Garland's next project would be a film adaptation of Elden Ring.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Television
Garland wrote, served as executive producer, and directed the eight-episode miniseries Devs about the "mysterious ongoings at a tech company", for FX. The series was greenlit in August 2018, and premiered 5 March 2020 on FX on Hulu.<ref name= "IndieWireMurderMystery">Template:Cite news</ref> It stars Ex Machina and Annihilation actress Sonoya Mizuno, alongside Nick Offerman, Jin Ha, Zach Grenier, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Cailee Spaeny, and Alison Pill.<ref name="IndieWireMurderMystery"/> Spaeny, who did not audition for the role as Garland had wanted her specifically for it said that Devs was short for Development, and the series would explore the idea of the multiverse.<ref name= "CaileeSpaeny">Template:Cite news</ref>
In May 2022, a television series based on Never Let Me Go was optioned at FX, to be executive produced by Garland, who previously wrote the screenplay for the 2010 film adaptation of the same name.<ref name="Garland" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It would have premiered on Hulu in the United States, Star in other territories and Star+ in Latin America with Viola Prettejohn, Tracey Ullman and Kelly Macdonald starring.<ref name="Garland">Template:Cite web</ref> However, in February 2023, it was announced that FX had cancelled the series before production began.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Video games
Garland and Tameem Antoniades co-wrote the video game Enslaved: Odyssey to the West for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. They won a 2011 award from the Writer's Guild of Great Britain. Garland also served as a story supervisor on the game DmC: Devil May Cry in 2013.
Personal life
Garland is married to English-Mexican actress Paloma Baeza, with whom he has a son and a daughter.<ref name="GuardianLewis">Template:Cite news</ref> He has described himself as being an atheist.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Garland has described himself as politically left, but has expressed concern over increasing political polarisation, particularly in America. He cited this concern as a core inspiration for his film Civil War.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref>
Bibliography
- The Beach (1996)
- The Tesseract (1998)
- The Coma (2004)
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 28 Days Later | Template:No | Template:Yes | Template:No | |
| 2007 | Sunshine | Template:No | Template:Yes | Template:No | |
| 28 Weeks Later | Template:No | Template:PartialTemplate:Efn | Template:Partial | ||
| 2010 | Never Let Me Go | Template:No | Template:Yes | Template:Partial | |
| 2012 | Dredd | Template:PartialTemplate:Efn | Template:Yes | Template:Yes | |
| 2014 | Ex Machina | Template:Yes | Template:Yes | Template:No | |
| 2018 | Annihilation | Template:Yes | Template:Yes | Template:No | |
| 2022 | Men | Template:Yes | Template:Yes | Template:No | |
| 2024 | Civil War | Template:Yes | Template:Yes | Template:No | |
| 2025 | Warfare | Template:YesTemplate:Efn | Template:Yes | Template:No | |
| 28 Years Later | Template:No | Template:Yes | Template:Yes | ||
| 2026 | 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple | Template:No | Template:Yes | Template:Yes | Post-production |
Other credits
- The Beach (2000), cartographer, based on his novel of the same name<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- The Tesseract (2003), based on his novel of the same name<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- Big Game (2014), executive producer
Television
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Executive Producer |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Devs | Template:Yes | Template:Yes | Template:Yes | Also creator |
Video games
- Enslaved: Odyssey to the West (2010), co-writer
- DmC: Devil May Cry (2013), story supervisor
Theatre
- The Coma (Edinburgh Festival Fringe, 2006), based on his novel of the same name<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Critical reception
| Title | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic |
|---|---|---|
| Ex Machina | 92% (284 ratings)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 78 (42 reviews)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Annihilation | 88% (327 ratings)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 79 (51 reviews)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Devs | 82% (90 ratings)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 71 (32 reviews)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Men | 69% (255 ratings)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 65 (55 reviews)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Civil War | 81% (391 ratings)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 75 (60 reviews)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Warfare | 93% (223 ratings)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 77 (16 reviews)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
Awards and nominations
Notes
References
External links
- Template:IMDb name
- Backpacker Blues: Spike Magazine interview with Alex Garland
- Beach Boy: Salon interview with Alex Garland
- "Alex Garland is writing Judge Dredd"
Template:Alex Garland Template:DirectorsGuildofAmericaAwardFirstTimeFeatureFilm Template:Authority control
- 1970 births
- Alumni of the University of Manchester
- 20th-century English novelists
- 21st-century English novelists
- English screenwriters
- English male screenwriters
- Living people
- People educated at University College School
- British postmodern writers
- Film directors from London
- Writers from London
- British science fiction film directors
- English people of Lebanese descent
- British video game writers
- English male novelists
- Directors Guild of America Award winners
- 20th-century English male writers
- 21st-century English male writers
- English atheists
- British atheists