{{Short description|British writer and producer}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}} {{Infobox writer | name = Matt Charman | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1979|06|05|df=yes}} | birth_place = West Sussex, England | occupation = Screenwriter, playwright, producer | alma_mater = University College London | years_active = 2004–present }}
'''Matthew Charman''' (born 5 June 1979) is a British screenwriter, playwright, and producer. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for his 2015 film ''Bridge of Spies'', directed by Steven Spielberg and co-written with Joel and Ethan Coen. Charman started out writing for theatre, making a breakthrough as writer-in-residence at the National Theatre in London, where then-director Nicholas Hytner described Charman as having "a priceless nose for a story".<ref>{{cite news |title=Balancing Acts, by Nicholas Hytner |work=amazon.co.uk |id={{ASIN|1910702897|country=uk}} }}</ref>
==Early life and education== Charman was born and raised around the location of Horsham, West Sussex, England,<ref name="AAH"/> and his family were from Great House Farm in Southwater, where his father's side of the family had lived for 180 years.<ref name="AAH">{{cite web|url= https://www.aahorsham.co.uk/content/mattcharman |title= Matt Charman: Writing his own script |work= aahorsham.co.uk |accessdate= 21 June 2015}}</ref> The family moved to the hamlet of Dragon's Green when Charman was 4 years old.<ref name="AAH"/> Charman attended junior school in Southwater, getting involved in school plays from a young age.<ref name="AAH"/> Charman continued his interest in drama at comprehensive secondary school at Forest School, Horsham, getting involved with rehearsals and with stage and lighting equipment.<ref name="AAH"/> He was involved with the performances of ''The King and I'' and ''My Fair Lady'' whilst a student of Forest School, Horsham.<ref name="AAH"/>
Charman studied English literature at University College London. While a student, he frequently sneaked into plays and musicals for free during intervals (a practice known as second-acting), and "tried to figure out what happened in the first act".<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/Magazine/article1567564.ece |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150809002833/http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/Magazine/article1567564.ece |url-status= dead |archive-date= 9 August 2015 |title= How I conquered Hollywood |work= The Sunday Times |access-date= 21 June 2015}}</ref> In the mid-2000s, Charman did uncredited script work for Roland Emmerich's films ''2012'' and ''10,000 BC''.
==Career==
===Plays=== Charman's first play, ''A Night at the Dogs'', won the 2004 Verity Bargate Award<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2007/jul/22/theatre |title= Rising star |work= The Guardian |access-date= 22 July 2007}}</ref> for emerging writers and appeared at Soho Theatre. He went on to write ''The Five Wives of Maurice Pinder'' (2007) and ''The Observer'' (2009), about a UN election observer's intervention in a West African nation's political crisis.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2009/may/21/the-observer-michael-billington-theatre-review |title= The Observer |work= The Guardian |access-date= 21 May 2009}}</ref> Both were produced and staged at the National Theatre. In 2012, Charman's play ''Regrets'', directed by Carolyn Cantor and starring Ansel Elgort opened at the Manhattan Theatre Club in New York. Set in McCarthy-era America, the play follows four men in a Nevada desert boarding house waiting out the six weeks required for a no-fault divorce.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia/2012/03/watch-british-playwright-matt-charman-makes-new-york-debut-with-regrets |title= British Playwright Matt Charman Makes New York Debut with 'Regrets' |work= BBC America|access-date= 28 June 2016}}</ref> ''The Machine'', directed by Josie Rourke, opened at the Manchester International Festival in 2013 and then transferred to the Park Avenue Armory in New York. The play told the story of Garry Kasparov's defeat to IBM’s chess computer Deep Blue in 1997, the first time a computer beat a reigning chess world champion under tournament conditions.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/01/theater/the-machine-by-matt-charman-is-coming-to-new-york.html?_r=0 |title= Gladiators Battling on the Chess Board |work= The New York Times |date= 29 August 2013 |access-date= 29 August 2013 |last1= Sulcas |first1= Roslyn }}</ref>
Future theatre projects for Charman include an adaptation of ''Good Night, and Good Luck'' for the stage, and a play for Nicholas Hytner's new London Theatre Company.
===Television=== Charman’s first television work was ''Our Zoo'' (2014) for the BBC, which tells the story of the founding of Chester Zoo, famous for having no bars. In 2015, Charman created the three-part police drama ''Black Work'', starring Sheridan Smith, which aired on ITV and was the channel's biggest new drama of the year.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.mammothscreen.com/company-news/black-work-is-itvs-best-new-drama-of-the-year/ |title= Black Work is ITV's best new drama of the year |work= mammothscreen.com |accessdate= 2 June 2017}}</ref> In 2017, he wrote a pilot ''Oasis'' for Amazon Prime Video, based on a novel ''The Book of Strange New Things'' by Michel Faber. The pilot was premiered on 17 March 2017 as a part of pilot season wave 8 by the streamer, however the pilot was not picked up to the series.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://io9.gizmodo.com/robb-stark-is-a-space-priest-in-amazons-promising-pilot-1793404196 |title=Robb Stark is a space priest in Amazon's promising pilot ''Oasis'' |author=Beth Elderkin |work=io9 |date=18 March 2017 |access-date=21 May 2026}}</ref>
He also created ''Treason'' (2022)<ref>{{Cite press release|url=https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/treason-season-1-release-date-cast-news|title=Everything You Need to Know About the Political Thriller ‘Treason’|first=Ingrid|last=Otsby|website=Netflix|date=26 December 2022|access-date=21 May 2026}}</ref> and ''Hostage'' (2025) for Netflix.<ref>{{Cite press release|url=https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/hostage-release-date-cast-news|title=Two Heads of State Face a Crisis in Hostage |first=John|last=Dilillo|website=Netflix|date=August 21, 2025|access-date=21 May 2026}}</ref> In 2026, he created Prisoner for Sky which was renewed for a second series.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2026-04-20 |title=Prisoner (Sky) Premiere TV Show Review |url=https://www.avforums.com/reviews/prisoner-sky-2026-atlantic-nowtv-premiere-tv-show-review.23507/ |access-date=2026-05-18 |website=AVForums |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Ford|first=Lily|date=14 May 2026|title=Izuka Hoyle-Led ''Prisoner'' Renewed for Season 2 at Sky (Exclusive)|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/izuka-hoyle-prisoner-season-2-sky-tahar-rahim-show-series-1236595636/|website=The Hollywood Reporter|access-date=21 May 2026}}</ref>
His upcoming television work includes ''Dirty'' for Amazon Prime Video starring Phoebe Dynevor.<ref>{{cite web|last=Clarke|first=Stewart|title=Prime Video Greenlights UK-Based Mother-Daughter Police Thriller ''Dirty'' From Matt Charman|url=https://deadline.com/2026/01/prime-video-matt-charman-police-drama-dirty-nicole-clemens-1236694257/|website=Deadline Hollywood|date=23 January 2026|access-date=21 May 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Kroll|first=Justin|title=Phoebe Dynevor To Star In Crime Series ‘Dirty’ From Exec Producer Matt Charman|url=https://deadline.com/2026/03/phoebe-dynevor-dirty-matt-charman-1236764091/|website=Deadline Hollywood|date=24 March 2026|access-date=21 May 2026}}</ref>
===Films=== ====Writing==== Charman's first feature was ''Suite Française'' (2014) co-written with director Saul Dibb, starring Michelle Williams, Kristin Scott Thomas and Margot Robbie. His 2015 feature, ''Bridge of Spies'', was directed by Steven Spielberg, co-written by Charman and Joel and Ethan Coen and starred Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance, and Amy Ryan. Set in Brooklyn and Berlin, the film tells the story of James B. Donovan, an American lawyer who in 1962 negotiated the exchange of Soviet spy Rudolf Abel for the captured pilot of a downed U-2 spy plane, Francis Gary Powers, and American student Frederic Pryor. The film was critically acclaimed, with the New York Times calling it “a consummate entertainment that sweeps you up with pure cinema.”<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/16/movies/review-in-bridge-of-spies-spielberg-considers-the-cold-war.html |title= Review: In 'Bridge of Spies,' Spielberg Considers the Cold War |work= The New York Times |accessdate= 14 October 2015}}</ref> Charman's script was nominated for Best Original Screenplay at both the 2016 Academy Awards and BAFTA Awards. He was also nominated for a WGA award and Critics' Choice award in the same category. ''Bridge of Spies'' was a box office hit, grossing $165.5 million worldwide<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=coldwar2015.htm |title= Bridge of Spies (2015) |work= boxofficemojo.com |accessdate= 28 June 2016}}</ref> and receiving six Academy Award nominations including Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay, winning Best Supporting Actor for Mark Rylance's performance as Rudolf Abel.
In 2024, he co-wrote the screenplay of ''Killer Heat'' (Amazon Prime Video) with Roberto Bentivegna. The movie is based on a short story ''The Jealousy Man'' by Jo Nesbø.<ref>{{Cite magazine|first=Angelique|last=Jackson |title=Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Shailene Woodley and Richard Madden to Star in 'Killer Heat' for Amazon Studios |magazine=Variety |date=3 April 2023|url=https://variety.com/2023/film/news/joseph-gordon-levitt-shailene-woodley-richard-madden-killer-heat-amazon-1235571475 |access-date=21 May 2026}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=McArdle |first=Tommy |title=Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Shailene Woodley Get to the Bottom of a Murder in ''Killer Heat'' Trailer (Exclusive) |magazine=People |date= 12 September 2024 |url=https://people.com/joseph-gordon-levitt-shailene-woodley-killer-heat-trailer-exclusive-8710404 |access-date=21 May 2026}}</ref>
====Producing==== Charman runs his own production company, Binocular, which is based in London. He was an executive producer on ''Operation Finale'' (2018), written by Matthew Orton, about the hunt for Adolf Eichmann. The film was directed by Chris Weitz.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://deadline.com/2016/02/chris-weitz-direct-movie-hunt-for-nazi-war-criminal-adolph-eichmann-1201708469/ |title= Chris Weitz In Talks To Helm MGM Film On The Hunt For Nazi War Criminal Adolf Eichmann |work= Deadline Hollywood |accessdate= 24 February 2016}}</ref>
====Directing==== Charman's intended directorial feature debut, ''The Mothership'' which he also wrote, was shelved by Netflix.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-68089783|title=Halle Berry's film shelved by Netflix - US media|date=25 January 2024|via=www.bbc.co.uk}}</ref>
==Awards and honours== * 2004 – Verity Bargate Award for his debut play ''A Night at the Dogs'' * 2005 – Attachment at the Soho Theatre * 2005 – Peggy Ramsay Award * 2006 – Attachment to the Royal National Theatre Studio * 2008 – Pearson Writer in Residence at the National Theatre * 2009 – Catherine Johnson Award for ''The Observer'' * 2016 – Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay
==See also== * List of British playwrights since 1950 ==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb name|4131020|Matt Charman}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Charman, Matt}} Category:1979 births Category:Living people Category:British dramatists and playwrights Category:British male dramatists and playwrights Category:British male screenwriters Category:People from Horsham Category:People from Southwater Category:British television show creators