Edward Zwick

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 was awarded an Academy Award, as well as a BAFTA Award, for his work producing Shakespeare in Love (1998).

Edward Zwick
Zwick in 2016
Born	(1952-10-08) October 8, 1952 (age 72) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Education	Harvard University (BA) AFI Conservatory (MFA)
Occupation(s)	Director, producer, screenwriter
Years active	1979–present
Notable work	About Last Night, Glory, The Last Samurai, Blood Diamond, Defiance, Love & Other Drugs
Spouse	Lynn Liberty Godshall ​ ​ (m. 1982)​

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 Siege (1998), The Last Samurai (2003), Blood Diamond (2006), and Defiance (2008). His later films include Love & Other Drugs (2010), Pawn Sacrifice (2014), and Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016).

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.

Early life and education

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 a B.A. 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]

Career

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 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]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Director	Producer	Writer
1986	About Last Night...	Yes	No	No
1989	Glory	Yes	No	No
1992	Leaving Normal	Yes	No	No
1994	Legends of the Fall	Yes	Yes	No
1996	Courage Under Fire	Yes	No	No
1998	The Siege	Yes	Yes	Yes
2003	The Last Samurai	Yes	Yes	Yes
2006	Blood Diamond	Yes	Yes	No
2008	Defiance	Yes	Yes	Yes
2010	Love & Other Drugs	Yes	Yes	Yes
2014	Pawn Sacrifice	Yes	Yes	No
2016	Jack Reacher: Never Go Back	Yes	No	Yes
	The Great Wall	No	No	Story
2017	American Assassin	No	No	Yes
2018	Trial by Fire	Yes	Yes	No

Producer only Dangerous Beauty (1998) Shakespeare in Love (1998) Traffic (2000) I Am Sam (2001) Abandon (2002) Cut Bank (2014) Woman Walks Ahead (2017)

Executive producer Lone Star State of Mind (2002) Boys of Abu Ghraib (2014) About Alex (2014) The Birth of a Nation (2016)

Television

Year	Title	Director	Writer	Executive Producer	Creator	Notes
1979–80	Family	Yes	Yes	No	No	Also producer; 5 episodes (written); Directed episode "Ballerina"
1985	The Insiders	Yes	No	No	No	Pilot episode
1987–91	thirtysomething	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	3 episodes (directed); 8 episodes (written)
1999–2002	Once and Again	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	3 episodes (directed); 4 episodes (written) Also actor (as Dr. Daniel Rosenfeld)
2008	Quarterlife	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Web series; 2 episodes (written)
2016–18	Nashville	No	Yes	Yes	No	Wrote episode "The Wayfaring Stranger"
2020	Away	Yes	No	Yes	No	Directed episode "Go"

Television films

Year	Title	Director	Writer	Producer
1982	Paper Dolls	Yes	No	No
1982	Having It All	Yes	No	No
1983	Special Bulletin	Yes	Yes	Yes
1990	Extreme Close-Up	No	Story	executive
2009	A Marriage	No	Yes	executive
2020	Thirtysomething(else)	Yes	Yes	No

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
	The Poof Point
2002	Women vs. Men

Awards and nominations

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

Awards received by Zwick films

Year	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

Books

• Zwick, Ed (February 13, 2024). Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions: My Fortysomething Years in Hollywood. New York: Gallery Books. ISBN 9781668046999. OCLC 1384411519.