Joe Penhall | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1967 (age 57–58) London, England |
| Occupation | Playwright, screenwriter |
| Nationality | British, Australian |
| Notable works | Blue/Orange |
| Spouse | Emily McLaughlin |
| Children | 2 |
Joe Scott Penhall (born 1967) is an English-Australian playwright and screenwriter, best known for his award-winning stage playBlue/Orange, the award-winning West End musicalSunny Afternoon and creating theNetflix original seriesMindhunter.
Penhall was born in London, and raised inAdelaide, Australia.[1]
Penhall's first major play,Some Voices, premiered at theRoyal Court Theatre's upstairs playing space in London in 1994. It was very well-received, winning theJohn Whiting Award, and has since been played off-Broadway twice. In 2000 Penhall adapted the play fora film with the same name directed bySimon Cellan Jones, starringDaniel Craig andKelly Macdonald, which premiered at the CannesDirectors' Fortnight. Penhall returned to theRoyal Court Theatre with his second full-length playPale Horse, which also played in the Theatre Upstairs and featuredRay Winstone, who had starred inSome Voices. A dark play,Pale Horse tells the story of a bar keeper coming to terms with the sudden death of his wife.[2]
Penhall adaptedIan McEwan's novelEnduring Love in 2004 tofilm starringRhys Ifans andDaniel Craig. That same year he also wrote the screenplay for BBC2'sBAFTA-nominated dramatisation ofJake Arnott's novelThe Long Firm (1999),[3] starringMark Strong.
In 2000 Penhall's playBlue/Orange began its run at theNational Theatre, directed byRoger Michell and starringBill Nighy,Andrew Lincoln andChiwetel Ejiofor. The play centres on two NHS doctors trying to deal with a sectioned young black schizophrenic patient; it was a huge success, winning Best New Play at theEvening Standard Theatre Awards,Laurence Olivier Awards, and at theCritics' Circle. It transferred to the West End at theDuchess Theatre the following year. Penhalladapted this play in 2005 for TV with a new cast. That same year he wrote and directedThe Undertaker, his first short film, starringRhys Ifans and premiering at the London Film Festival.
Penhall's follow-up playDumb Show was staged at theRoyal Court Theatre in 2004, focusing on tabloid journalism. It was directed byTerry Johnson. Penhall has called this a "small light play" as opposed to the "huge dark play"Blue/Orange.
Landscape With Weapon, about the invention of a weapon of mass destruction, was first performed at theNational Theatre in 2007, directed again byRoger Michell and starringTom Hollander andJulian Rhind-Tutt.
Penhall spent six years working onThe Last King of Scotland, even flying toUganda and meetingIdi Amin's henchmen; however, he requested his name be removed from the film after other writers were brought on board.[4] Penhall adaptedCormac McCarthy's bookThe Road in 2009 fora film starringViggo Mortensen; for this he received wide praise, scoring a 74% rating onRotten Tomatoes,[5] and was named by Variety Magazine as one of their Top Ten Screenwriters to watch.[6]
In 2009 Penhall's detective dramaMoses Jones, where he also served as executive producer, was shown on theBBC, winning a BAFTA for make-up design and Best Screenplay at the Roma Film Festival in 2009.[7]
In 2011 Penhall returned to the theatre with two plays:Haunted Child, staged at theRoyal Court Theatre withSophie Okonedo, andBirthday, starringStephen Mangan and directed by long-term collaboratorRoger Michell.
Penhall's first stage musical,Sunny Afternoon, with music and lyrics byRay Davies, premiered at theHampstead Theatre in May 2014, before transferring toLondon'sWest End. The musical won four Laurence Olivier Awards in 2015, including forBest New Musical.
In 2017, Penhall created theNetflix seriesMindhunter, directed byDavid Fincher.
In 2018, Penhall's playMood Music premiered atThe Old Vic, directed byRoger Michell and starringBen Chaplin.
In 2023, Penhall was revealed to have been attached to write thethirdSherlock Holmes film with starRobert Downey Jr. and directorDexter Fletcher before itsdevelopment hell due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[8]
In 2024, Penhall's playThe Constituent premiered atThe Old Vic, directed byMatthew Warchus and starringJames Corden andAnna Maxwell Martin.
Penhall is married and lives in Chiswick, London. Joe has two sons, William and Edward.[9]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Go Back Out | — | Writer |
| 2000 | Some Voices | — | Writer |
| 2004 | The Long Firm | Gangster | Uncredited; also writer, 4 episodes |
| Enduring Love | — | Writer | |
| 2005 | Blue/Orange | — | Writer |
| The Undertaker | — | Director and writer; short film | |
| 2009 | Moses Jones | — | Writer and executive producer, 3 episodes |
| The Road | — | Writer | |
| 2015 | Birthday | — | Writer |
| 2017–2019 | Mindhunter | — | Creator, 19 episodes; writer, 2 episodes; executive producer, 10 episodes |
| 2018 | King of Thieves | — | Writer |
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