Kenneth Lonergan | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Lonergan at theVienna International Film Festival in 2016 | |
| Born | (1962-10-16)October 16, 1962 (age 63) New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation | Playwright, screenwriter, film director |
| Education | Wesleyan University New York University (BFA) |
| Period | 1982–present |
| Notable awards | Full list |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
Kenneth Lonergan (born October 16, 1962) is an American playwright, screenwriter and film director, and actor. He is known for his works which explore complex emotional and interpersonal dynamics. He has receivedseveral awards including anAcademy Award and aBAFTA Award as well as nominations for threeGolden Globe Awards, aPulitzer Prize, aLaurence Olivier Award, and threeTony Awards.
In 1982 Lonergan wrote his first one-act play,The Rennings Children. He then earned acclaim for a string ofoff-Broadway plays, includingThis is Our Youth (1996),The Waverly Gallery (2000), andLobby Hero (2001), which were later revived onBroadway, earning him nominations for threeTony Awards for Best Revival of a Play in2015,2019, and2018, respectively. For his work onThe Waverly Gallery, he was selected as a finalist for thePulitzer Prize for Drama.
He directed and wrote the drama filmManchester by the Sea (2016) which won him theAcademy Award for Best Original Screenplay as well as a nomination for theAcademy Award for Best Director. He was previously Oscar-nominated as a writer for his first filmYou Can Count on Me (2000) and as a co-writer forMartin Scorsese's historical epic filmGangs of New York (2002). He also wrote and directed the psychological drama filmMargaret (2011), and adapted theE.M. Forster novelHowards End into the2017 miniseries of the same name.
Lonergan was born inThe Bronx,New York City to apsychiatrist mother andphysician father. His mother isJewish, and his father was ofIrish descent.[1][2][3][4] Lonergan began writing in high school at theWalden School, a now defunct, highly progressive private school inManhattan with a strong drama program.[5]
His first play,The Rennings Children, was chosen for theStephen Sondheim-founded Young Playwrights, Inc. Young Playwright's Festival in 1982 while he was still an undergraduate. Lonergan matriculated toWesleyan University, where he trained as a playwright and director.[6] He graduated from theNYU Playwriting Program. He is an alumnus ofHB Studio[7] in New York City. Lonergan is a founding member ofNaked Angels.[8] After graduating fromNYU, Lonergan worked as a speechwriter for theEnvironmental Protection Agency. He also wrote industrial shows (long-play commercials) for clients such asWeight Watchers.[9]
Lonergan's first theatrical success came with the playThis Is Our Youth (1996) which opened off-Broadway Intar Theatre byThe New Group. The play revolved around three young adults navigating friendship, identity, and disillusionment in 1980sNew York City. The cast includedMark Ruffalo,Josh Hamilton, and Missy Yager and was directed byMark Brokaw.[10] Greg Evans ofVariety wrote, "What we have is two hours of conversation among the three characters, and as finely written as the dialogue is" adding, "Lonergan’s ear is unfailing".[11]
It was followed by what is considered Lonergan's breakthrough play,The Waverly Gallery (2000), based on his grandmother'sGreenwich Village gallery. The play revolves around a family reacting to an elderly woman in early stages ofdementia. The original cast includedEileen Heckart,Josh Hamilton,Maureen Anderman, andMark Blum. It opened Off-Broadway at the Promenade Theater in March 2000 directed byScott Ellis. Charles Isherwood ofVariety declared, "Anyone who has lived through this sad process with a relative will be awed by the verisimilitude of both Heckart's acting and Lonergan's writing."[12] For his work he was named as a finalist for thePulitzer Prize for Drama.[13]
Lonergan's film career began with his screenplay for the crime comedyAnalyze This (1999) starringRobert De Niro andBilly Crystal as a gangster and his therapist, respectively. Lonergan directed his own screenplay forYou Can Count on Me (2000) which was executive produced byMartin Scorsese. The film starredLaura Linney andMark Ruffalo, and film earned Lonergan a nomination for theAcademy Award for Best Original Screenplay.[14] He was subsequently offered a job writing the live-action comedyThe Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle (2000).
In 2001 he wrote the playLobby Hero which premiered off-Broadway atPlaywrights Horizons starringGlenn Fitzgerald,Heather Burns, andTate Donovan. The following year Lonergan contributed to the screenplay forMartin Scorsese's historical epicGangs of New York (2002) for which he earned his second nomination for theAcademy Award for Best Original Screenplay. In 2005, filming took place for his second film as writer/director,Margaret, starringAnna Paquin,Matt Damon, Matthew Broderick, and J. Smith-Cameron. The film spent over five years in post-production, with Lonergan, the producers and various editors unable to agree on its final cut, resulting in multiple legal disputes. It was finally released in 2011.[1]Margaret ranked 31st in a 2016 BBC poll of the 21st century's greatest films.[15] His playThe Starry Messenger premieredOff-Broadway in 2009 and starred his wifeJ. Smith-Cameron,Matthew Broderick, andKieran Culkin.[16]
In August 2014,This Is Our Youth was revived on Broadway starringMichael Cera,Kieran Culkin, andTavi Gevinson at theCort Theatre. The play would be the first of Lonergan's work to make it to Broadway. He received a nomination for theTony Award for Best Revival of a Play. Alexis Soloski ofThe Guardian wrote, "Though still hewing to drama school rules – small cast, single set, neat inciting incident – it has a mature, post-grad voice, sensitive and humane and jammed full of totally splendid crackerjack-with-a-toy-surprise dialogue".[17]
Lonergan wrote and directed the drama filmManchester by the Sea (2016) starringCasey Affleck,Lucas Hedges, andMichelle Williams, which was released to critical acclaim.[18] He also had a small part in the film, as a pedestrian. David Fear ofRolling Stone said the film proves that Lonergan is "practically peerless in portraying loss as a living, breathing thing without resorting to the vocabulary of griefporn."[19] He was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Director and received theAcademy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the film.[20] He also won theBAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay forManchester by the Sea at the70th British Academy Film Awards. That same year he wrote the playHold On to Me Darling (2016) which starredTimothy Olyphant as a country music star and ran at theAtlantic Theatre Company'sLinda Gross Theatre.
Lonergan adapted theE.M. Forster novelHowards End into a 2017miniseriesof the same name forBBC/Starz starringHayley Atwell andMatthew Macfadyen.[21] When addressing the challenges of adapting the novel to screen he toldThe Times of London, “You don’t want to be apologizing for a book that was written in 1910, nor do you want to be writing material whose main purpose is to tell the audience that you don’t agree with these views".[22] In March 2018, a second play of his,Lobby Hero was revived on Broadway, this time starringChris Evans,Michael Cera,Brian Tyree Henry, andBel Powley at theHelen Hayes Theatre. Leah Greenblatt ofEntertainment Weekly wrote, "Lobby is still a smart, thoughtful piece of work, fairy-dusted by the starry presence of its celebrated cast".[23] The play received a nomination for theTony Award for Best Revival of a Play. Cera and Tyree Henry were also nominated for their performances.[24]
Later that year, In September 2018 a third show of his,The Waverly Gallery, was revived on Broadway starringElaine May,Lucas Hedges,Joan Allen,David Cromer, andMichael Cera at theJohn Golden Theatre. Greg Evans ofDeadline Hollywood praised the production but highlighted May writing, "this production will be remembered for the stunning Elaine May. She’s so good here that there are moments you’ll swear she isn’t acting. Did she really forget that line? It feels a privilege to watch this legend transform Lonergan’s meditation on dignity, regret and ungraspable memory into something indelible and lasting."[25] The production received a nomination for theTony Award for Best Revival of a Play. Elaine May won theTony Award for Best Actress in a Play.
During this time Lonergan took small supporting roles in projects such asNoah Baumbach's absurdist comedy-dramaWhite Noise (2022) and theNetflix thriller miniseriesRipley (2024). In 2024, Lonergan's playHold On to Me Darling was revived off-Broadway starringAdam Driver at theLucille Lortel Theatre.[26]
Justin Chang ofVariety noted that Lonergan is "always a superb director of actresses," particularly inManchester by the Sea where the director "gives the women in his ensemble their due."[27]
Lonergan is married to actressJ. Smith-Cameron. They have one daughter, Nellie.[28][29]
In January 2020, Lonergan was appointed Visiting Fellow and Artist in Residence atKellogg College of theUniversity of Oxford.[30]
Lonergan's stepfather was Freudian psychoanalystMichael S. Porder.
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Actor | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Analyze This | No | Yes | No | ||
| 2000 | You Can Count on Me | Yes | Yes | Yes | Ron | |
| The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle | No | Yes | No | |||
| 2002 | Gangs of New York | No | Yes | No | ||
| 2004 | Marie and Bruce | No | No | Yes | Herb | |
| 2011 | Margaret | Yes | Yes | Yes | Karl | |
| 2016 | Manchester by the Sea | Yes | Yes | Yes | Manchester Pedestrian | |
| 2022 | White Noise | No | No | Yes | Dr. Hookstraten |
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Actor | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Doug | No | Yes | No | 2 episodes | |
| 2017 | Howards End | No | Yes | No | Miniseries; 4 episodes | |
| 2024 | Ripley | No | No | Yes | Herbert Greenleaf; 4 episodes |
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1982 | The Rennings Children | One-act |
| 1993 | Betrayed by Everyone | One-act; would becomeThis is Our Youth |
| 1996 | This Is Our Youth | Broadway revival in 2014 |
| 2000 | The Waverly Gallery | Broadway revival in 2018 |
| 2001 | Lobby Hero | Broadway revival in 2018 |
| 2004 | True to You | One-act premiered at TriBeCa Theater Festival |
| 2009 | The Starry Messenger | |
| 2012 | Medieval Play | |
| 2016 | Hold On to Me Darling | Off-Broadway revival in 2024 |
