# Alex Graves > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Alex_Graves > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Alex_Graves.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Graves > Source revision: 1334555159 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) American film director This article is about American television and film director. For the computer scientist, see [Alex Graves (computer scientist)](/source/Alex_Graves_(computer_scientist)). For the U.S. Congressman, see [Alexander Graves](/source/Alexander_Graves). Alex Graves Alex Graves at the 2011 WonderCon. Born Alexander John Graves (1965-07-23) July 23, 1965 (age 60) Kansas City, Missouri Occupations Film director, television director, television producer, screenwriter **Alexander John Graves** (born July 23, 1965) is an American [film director](/source/Film_director), [television director](/source/Television_director), [television producer](/source/Television_producer) and [screenwriter](/source/Screenwriter). ## Early life Alex Graves was born in [Kansas City, Missouri](/source/Kansas_City%2C_Missouri). His father, William Graves, was a reporter for *[The Kansas City Star](/source/The_Kansas_City_Star)* and his mother, Alexandra "Sandy" Graves, worked for United States Senator [Nancy Kassebaum](/source/Nancy_Kassebaum) of Kansas. His family moved to his father's home town of [El Dorado, Kansas](/source/El_Dorado%2C_Kansas) when he was young, when his father became a partner in the family drug store business. Graves grew up making films on Super 8 and ultimately attended the [University of Kansas](/source/University_of_Kansas) and the [University of Southern California](/source/University_of_Southern_California) where he earned a BA Degree in Film Production. Upon graduating, Graves backpacked across Europe, finally running out of money in Aswan, Egypt near the border of Sudan. ## Career At the age of 25, Graves wrote, produced and directed the independent film, *The Crude Oasis*. The film was released by [Miramax](/source/Miramax) and led to Graves being hired to direct episodes of *[The Practice](/source/The_Practice)*, *[Ally McBeal](/source/Ally_McBeal)* and [Aaron Sorkin](/source/Aaron_Sorkin)'s *[Sports Night](/source/Sports_Night)*. Graves quickly went on to direct 34 episodes of the series *[The West Wing](/source/The_West_Wing)*, where he served as director, producer, supervising producer, co-executive producer, and ultimately executive producer. He won two [Primetime Emmy Awards](/source/Primetime_Emmy_Award) for his production work on that series.[1] He was also nominated for the Emmy for his direction of the episodes "[Posse Comitatus](/source/Posse_Comitatus_(The_West_Wing))" and "[2162 Votes](/source/2162_Votes)." He was awarded the [Humanitas Prize](/source/Humanitas_Prize) for his work on the episode "[NSF Thurmont](/source/NSF_Thurmont_(The_West_Wing))." In 2006, he directed the pilot episode of *[The Nine](/source/The_Nine_(TV_series))* for [ABC](/source/American_Broadcasting_Company), serving as an executive producer on the pilot. In 2007, he directed and executive produced the pilot, and directed several more episodes, of the drama *[Journeyman](/source/Journeyman_(TV_series))*, which aired on [NBC](/source/NBC). In 2009, Graves was asked by [J. J. Abrams](/source/J._J._Abrams) to direct and executive produce the pilot of the [Fox](/source/Fox_Broadcasting_Network) science-fiction series *[Fringe](/source/Fringe_(TV_series))*. From 2010 to 2011, Graves worked for [Steven Spielberg](/source/Steven_Spielberg) to direct and executive produce the pilot of the Fox adventure series *[Terra Nova](/source/Terra_Nova_(TV_series))*. The series premiered September 26, 2011. In 2010, he directed and executive produced the ABC pilot *[The Whole Truth](/source/The_Whole_Truth_(TV_series))* for [Jerry Bruckheimer](/source/Jerry_Bruckheimer). This pilot also went on to become a series. In 2011, Graves directed a pilot for ABC entitled *Poe*, a re-imagining of the life of author [Edgar Allan Poe](/source/Edgar_Allan_Poe), starring [Natalie Dormer](/source/Natalie_Dormer) and [Christopher Egan](/source/Christopher_Egan), which did not go to series. Graves then directed and executive produced the ABC pilot *[666 Park Avenue](/source/666_Park_Avenue).*[2] Of the 14 pilots directed by Graves, 12 were picked up to series. In 2012, Graves directed [Showtime](/source/Showtime_(TV_network))'s *[Shameless](/source/Shameless_(U.S._TV_series))* for [John Wells](/source/John_Wells_(filmmaker)) before being asked by Aaron Sorkin to direct his new [HBO](/source/HBO) series *[The Newsroom](/source/The_Newsroom_(American_TV_series))*. Between 2012 and 2014, Graves directed six episodes of HBO's *[Game of Thrones](/source/Game_of_Thrones)*, two episodes in [season 3](/source/Game_of_Thrones_season_3) and four episodes of the ten produced for [season 4](/source/Game_of_Thrones_season_4). His *Game of Thrones* episode titled "[The Children](/source/The_Children_(Game_of_Thrones))" won him a [DGA](/source/Directors_Guild_of_America_Awards) nomination and was theatrically released in [IMAX](/source/IMAX) during 2015. In 2014, Graves also directed *[Bloodline](/source/Bloodline_(TV_series))* for [Netflix](/source/Netflix) and was hired to direct a feature film retelling of "[Beauty and the Beast](/source/Beauty_and_the_Beast)," but production was cancelled when [Disney](/source/Walt_Disney_Pictures) announced it was producing [its own version](/source/Beauty_and_the_Beast_(2017_film)). In 2015, Graves was the executive producer of the supernatural medical television drama *[Proof](/source/Proof_(2015_TV_series))* on [TNT](/source/TNT_(U.S._TV_network)).[3] In 2016, Graves was chosen as director for [Sony](/source/Sony_Pictures)'s upcoming *[Mulan](/source/Mulan_(1998_film))* live-action remake, but production was cancelled when Disney announced [a competing production](/source/Mulan_(2020_film)).[4] In 2017, Graves directed two episodes of the Netflix original *[Altered Carbon](/source/Altered_Carbon_(TV_series))*.[5] From 2014 to 2019, Graves directed seven episodes of *[Homeland](/source/Homeland_(TV_series))* starring [Claire Danes](/source/Claire_Danes). In 2019, Graves directed two episodes of the [USA Network](/source/USA_Network) original *[Treadstone](/source/Treadstone)* on location in Paris and New Delhi. In 2019, he directed "[What I Know](/source/What_I_Know_(The_Boys_episode))," the [season 2](/source/The_Boys_season_2) finale of *[The Boys](/source/The_Boys_(TV_series))*. From 2020 to 2022, Graves directed seven episodes of *[Foundation](/source/Foundation_(TV_series))*. In 2022, Graves was tapped to be executive producer on *[The Diplomat](/source/The_Diplomat_(American_TV_series))* starring [Keri Russell](/source/Keri_Russell) for Netflix. He has since directed ten episodes of the series which is currently filming its third season. Graves has been married to Lillian Graves since 2018. ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Primetime Emmy Awards and Nominations for Alex Graves"](https://web.archive.org/web/20191209010727/http://www.emmys.com/award_history_search?person=Alex+Graves&program=&start_year=1949&end_year=2011&network=All&web_category=All&winner=All). Primetime Emmy® Award Database. Archived from [the original](http://www.emmys.com/award_history_search?person=Alex+Graves&program=&start_year=1949&end_year=2011&network=All&web_category=All&winner=All) on 9 December 2019. Retrieved 23 March 2012. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Nellie Andreeva, ["Phillip Noyce, Joe & Anthony Russo, and Alex Graves Set to Direct Pilots"](https://deadline.com/2012/02/phillip-noyce-joe-anthony-russo-and-alex-graves-set-to-direct-pilots-224277/), Deadline Hollywood, February 1, 2012. Accessed February 15, 2012. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["TNT Unveils Summer Lineup, Featuring 10 Original Series"](http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2015/04/02/tnt-unveils-summer-lineup-featuring-10-original-series-363311/20150402tnt01/). *The Futon Critic*. April 2, 2015. Retrieved May 18, 2015. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Sony Is Making Its Own Mulan Movie, Here's What We Know"](https://www.cinemablend.com/news/1554369/sony-is-making-its-own-mulan-movie-heres-what-we-know). *CINEMABLEND*. 2016-09-09. Retrieved 2020-09-11. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Sharf, Zack (14 February 2018). ["'Altered Carbon' Has A 'Game of Thrones' Easter Egg That Teases Shared Universe"](https://www.indiewire.com/2018/02/altered-carbon-game-of-thrones-easter-egg-shared-universe-1201928657/). *IndieWire*. Penske Business Media, LLC. Retrieved 15 January 2021. ## External links - [Alex Graves](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0336241/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier)) Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF GND National United States France BnF data Czech Republic Netherlands Israel Other Yale LUX --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Alex Graves](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Graves) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Graves?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.