Paul Haggis
Paul Haggis is a Canadian director born in London, Ontario, celebrated for Crash, his directorial debut weaving together multiple Los Angeles storylines to examine racial tension and prejudice, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture despite significant critical debate over its handling of race. Before turning to directing, Haggis had already earned acclaim as the screenwriter of Million Dollar Baby and Letters from Iwo Jima. In the Valley of Elah, examining a father's investigation into his soldier son's mysterious death after returning from Iraq, extended his interest in institutional failure and hidden trauma, while Third Person showed his continued interest in interconnected narrative structure. Haggis's multi-narrative structure and examination of American social and institutional fracture made him one of the more discussed directors of the mid-2000s awards circuit.
Paul Haggis
11 Movies
18 Series
Paul Haggis is a Canadian director born in London, Ontario, celebrated for Crash, his directorial debut weaving together multiple Los Angeles storylines to examine racial tension and prejudice, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture despite significant critical debate over its handling of race. Before turning to directing, Haggis had already earned acclaim as the screenwriter of Million Dollar Baby and Letters from Iwo Jima. In the Valley of Elah, examining a father's investigation into his soldier son's mysterious death after returning from Iraq, extended his interest in institutional failure and hidden trauma, while Third Person showed his continued interest in interconnected narrative structure. Haggis's multi-narrative structure and examination of American social and institutional fracture made him one of the more discussed directors of the mid-2000s awards circuit.
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Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief
Full Filmography
Show Me a Hero
Director · 6 episodes
2015–
TV
Third Person
Director
2014
Film
The Next Three Days
Director
2010
Film
Quantum of Solace
Screenplay
2008
Film
Crash
Executive Producer · 26 episodes
2008–
TV
In the Valley of Elah
Director
2007
Film
The Black Donnellys
Creator
2007–
TV
Letters from Iwo Jima
Story
2006
Film
Casino Royale
Screenplay
2006
Film
Photos
Frequently Asked Questions
How old is Paul Haggis and where are they from?
Paul Haggis is 73 years old, born on March 10, 1953 in London, Ontario, Canada.
What are the most famous roles of Paul Haggis?
Paul Haggis is best known for directing Casino Royale, Million Dollar Baby, Quantum of Solace.
How many movies has Paul Haggis directed?
Over a 39-year career (since 1987), Paul Haggis has directed or written 11 films and worked on 18 TV shows.
What was Paul Haggis's first movie?
The career of Paul Haggis began with The Return of the Shaggy Dog (1987).
What is Paul Haggis's most recent movie or series?
Paul Haggis's most recent release is 5B, which premiered on November 4, 2018.
What TV shows has Paul Haggis created or directed?
On television, Paul Haggis has appeared in Walker, Texas Ranger, Who's the Boss?, Diff'rent Strokes, The Love Boat.
Paul Haggis
1953-03-10 · London, Ontario, Canada
Haggis began to work as a writer for television programs, including The Love Boat, One Day at a Time, Diff'rent Strokes, and The Facts of Life. With The Facts of Life, Haggis also gained his first credit as producer. During the 1980s and 1990s, Haggis wrote for television series including thirtysomething, The Tracey Ullman Show, FM, Due South, L.A. Law, and EZ Streets. He helped to create the television series Walker, Texas Ranger; Family Law; and Due South. Haggis served as executive producer of the series Michael Hayes and Family Law.
He gained recognition in the film industry for his work on the 2004 film Million Dollar Baby, which Allmovie described as a "serious milestone" for the writer/producer, and as "his first high-profile foray into feature film". Haggis had read two stories written by Jerry Boyd, a boxing trainer who wrote under the name of F.X. Toole.
Haggis later acquired the rights to the stories, and developed them into the screenplay for Million Dollar Baby. Clint Eastwood portrayed the lead character in the film. Eastwood also directed the film, and used the screenplay written by Haggis. Million Dollar Baby received four Academy Awards including the Academy Award for Best Picture.
After Million Dollar Baby, Haggis worked on the 2004 film Crash. Haggis came up with the story for the film on his own, and then wrote and directed the film, which allowed him greater control over his work. Crash was his first experience as director of a major feature film. Highly positive upon release, critical reception of Crash has since polarized, although Roger Ebert called it the best film of 2005.
Crash received Academy Award nominations for Best Picture and Best Director, in addition to four other Academy Award nominations. Haggis received two Academy Awards for the film: Best Picture (as its producer), and Best Writing for his work on the screenplay. With Million Dollar Baby and then Crash, Haggis became the first individual to have written Best Picture Oscar-winners in two consecutive years.
Haggis said that he wrote Crash to "bust liberals", arguing that his fellow liberals were not honest with themselves about the nature of race and racism because they believed that most racial problems had already been resolved in American society.