David Gordon Green
Green at the 2024Toronto International Film Festival
Born	(1975-04-09)April 9, 1975 (age 50) Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S.
Alma mater	University of North Carolina School of the Arts
Occupations	Film director film producer television producer screenwriter
Years active	1997–present

David Gordon Green (born April 9, 1975) is an American filmmaker. Green began his career in 1997 and gained fame with the independent filmGeorge Washington (2000). He directed two additional independent dramas,All the Real Girls (2003) andSnow Angels (2007), as well as thethrillerUndertow (2004), all of which he wrote or co-wrote.

In 2008, Green transitioned intoHollywood studiocomedies, directing the filmsPineapple Express (2008),Your Highness andThe Sitter (both 2011). He briefly returned to his dramatic roots with the independent filmsPrince Avalanche (2013),Joe (2013), andManglehorn (2014). Following this departure, he returned to studio films withOur Brand Is Crisis (2015) andStronger (2017). Green directed a trilogy ofslasher films for theHalloween franchise:Halloween (2018),Halloween Kills (2021), andHalloween Ends (2022), which he co-wrote with frequent collaboratorDanny McBride. Most recently, Green directedThe Exorcist: Believer (2023) and the Christmas comedyNutcrackers (2024).

Green has also directed episodes of the comedy seriesEastbound & Down (2009–2013),Red Oaks (2014–17),Vice Principals (2016–17), andThe Righteous Gemstones (2019–2025), on all of which he additionally served as executive producer.

Green, one of four children, was born inLittle Rock, Arkansas, and grew up inRichardson, Texas. His mother, Jean Ann (née Hunter), was aLamaze instructor, and his father, Hubert Gordon Green, Jr., was a medical schooldean.^[1][2] Green attendedRichardson High School, theUniversity of Texas at Austin, and theUniversity of North Carolina School of the Arts, where he studied film directing.^[3] He currently lives inCharleston, South Carolina.^[4]

As a college student, Green made the two short films,Pleasant Grove andPhysical Pinball, at the North Carolina School of the Arts prior to his feature film debut in 2000, the critically acclaimedGeorge Washington, which he both wrote and directed. He followed that withAll the Real Girls in 2003 andUndertow in 2004. In 2007, he directedSnow Angels, his first adaptation, based on theStewart O'Nan novel. The film debuted at theSundance Film Festival^[5] and starsSam Rockwell andKate Beckinsale. It was released byWarner Independent Pictures.^[6]

In 2008, Green's career transitioned when he directed theSeth Rogen buddy comedyPineapple Express, and theHBO seriesEastbound & Down, for which he directed twelve episodes and served as a consulting producer. In 2011, he co-created the animated seriesGood Vibes and directed the comediesYour Highness andThe Sitter, both of which received negative reviews.

In 2013, Green briefly returned to independent film when he directed and co-wrotePrince Avalanche andJoe. He followed these films withManglehorn (2014),Our Brand Is Crisis (2015), andStronger (2017).

In 2018, Green directed the horror sequelHalloween, produced byJason Blum, executive produced byJohn Carpenter, and co-written by Green andDanny McBride.^[7][8] He also directed its sequelsHalloween Kills, released in October 2021, andHalloween Ends, released in October 2022.

In December 2020, it was announced Green will direct anew installment ofThe Exorcist franchise which will be a direct sequel toWilliam Friedkin's1973 film adaptation of the1971 novel.^[9][10][11]The Exorcist: Believer was released in October 2023.^[12]

Green subsequently directed theChristmas-set comedyNutcrackers, which premiered at the2024 Toronto International Film Festival.^[13] Of the film, Green stated; "This movie is a lot of things. It's a comedy, it's a drama, it's a horror movie. But for me, it's a reason to dance, you know, I just wanted to start moving, move my body a little bit, and get out to the farm and kick some pig shit."^[14]

Green's favorite films are, in order,Thunderbolt and Lightfoot,2001: A Space Odyssey,The Gravy Train,The Bad News Bears,Deliverance,Nashville andOne Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.^[15]

It has been suggested, even by the director himself, that Green's early films (most notablyGeorge Washington) take influence from the works ofTerrence Malick.^[16] Malick himself served as an executive producer of Green's 2004 filmUndertow.

Actor

• David Gordon Green's unrealized projects

• David Gordon Green atIMDb

• 1975 births
• Film producers from Arkansas
• American male screenwriters
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• Silver Bear for Best Director winners
• Sundance Film Festival award winners
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