Anthony McCarten
Anthony McCarten (born 28 April 1961) is a New Zealand writer and filmmaker. He is best known for writing big-budget biopics The Theory of Everything (2014), Darkest Hour (2017), Bohemian Rhapsody (2018), The Two Popes (2019), and Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody (2022). McCarten has been nominated for four Academy Awards, including twice for Best Adapted Screenplay, for The Theory of Everything and The Two Popes.
Anthony McCarten
28 April 1961[1]
New Plymouth, New Zealand
- Screenwriter
- novelist
- playwright
- journalist
- film director
- film producer
Early life[edit]
McCarten was born and raised in New Plymouth, New Zealand,[2] and attended Francis Douglas Memorial College. He worked as a reporter for a couple of years on The Taranaki Herald before studying for an Arts degree at Massey University and Victoria University of Wellington, where he studied creative writing with Bill Manhire. After leaving university, McCarten appeared in a production of King Lear.[2][3]
Career[edit]
Novels[edit]
McCarten is a novelist and author of ten novels. McCarten's novels have been translated into 26 languages. His first novel, Spinners (Picador, 2000), was voted one of the top ten novels of that year by Esquire magazine.[4] McCarten published his second novel, The English Harem, in 2002, which he later adapted for the screen.[4] It was broadcast on ITV in December 2005.[5]
In 2007, he wrote his third novel Death of a Superhero, then adapted the screenplay, executive produced the film, and wrote the book of the stage musical. It won the 2008 Austrian Youth Literature Prize and was a finalist for the 2008 German Youth Literature Prize.[4] His fourth novel, Show Of Hands, was published in Europe, and in the US by Simon and Schuster in 2009. McCarten directed the big screen adaptation and the movie had its world premiere at the Montreal World Film Festival, 2008, and was nominated for Best Picture and Best Director at the New Zealand Film Awards.[6][7][8] The sequel novel to Death of a Superhero, In The Absence Of Heroes, was published in 2012, and was a finalist for the 2013 New Zealand Fiction Prize and was longlisted for the 2014 Dublin International IMPAC Literary Award.[9] In 2013 McCarten published Brilliance, about Thomas Edison, and his friendship with J.P. Morgan.[10] In 2015 he was inducted as a Literary Fellow of the New Zealand Society of Authors.[4][11] Going Zero, his 2023 thriller, was published in 23 languages.
In 2017 McCarten's work of historical non-fiction, Darkest Hour: How Churchill Brought Us Back From The Brink was published, and later was turned into a biopic.[12][13]
Personal life[edit]
McCarten divides his time between London, Los Angeles and Munich. He has three children.