Edward M. Zwick (born October 8, 1952) is an American filmmaker. He has worked primarily in the comedy drama and epic historical film genres and received an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award for his work producing Shakespeare in Love (1998).
He made his film debut with the comedy About Last Night (1986), followed by Glory (1989), Legends of the Fall (1994), Courage Under Fire (1996), The Siege (1998), The Last Samurai (2003), Blood Diamond (2006), and Defiance (2008). His later films include Love & Other Drugs (2010), Pawn Sacrifice (2014), and Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016).
He is also the co-creator of the ABC family drama series thirtysomething and Once and Again.
Early life and education
Zwick was born on October 8, 1952, into a Jewish family in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Ruth Ellen (née Reich) and Allen Zwick. He attended New Trier High School, received a B.A. at Harvard in 1974, and graduated from the AFI Conservatory with a Master of Fine Arts degree in 1975.
Despite sharing a surname and profession, Edward is unrelated to fellow director Joel Zwick. He has been married to actress Liberty Godshall since 1982, and they have two grown children.
Filmography
Film
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Year
!Title
! width="65" |Director
! width="65" |Producer
! width="65" |Writer
|-
| 1986
| About Last Night...
|
|
|
|-
| 1989
| Glory
|
|
|
|-
| 1992
| Leaving Normal
|
|
|
|-
| 1994
| Legends of the Fall
|
|
|
|-
| 1996
| Courage Under Fire
|
|
|
|-
| 1998
| The Siege
|
|
|
|-
| 2003
| The Last Samurai
|
|
|
|-
| 2006
| Blood Diamond
|
|
|
|-
| 2008
| Defiance
|
|
|
|-
| 2010
| Love & Other Drugs
|
|
|
|-
| 2014
| Pawn Sacrifice
|
|
|
|-
|rowspan=2| 2016
| Jack Reacher: Never Go Back
|
|
|
|-
| The Great Wall
|
|
|
|-
| 2017
| American Assassin
|
|
|
|-
| 2018
| Trial by Fire
|
|
|
|}
{| style="width:100%;"
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
| style="width:30%;"|
Producer only
- Dangerous Beauty (1998)
- Shakespeare in Love (1998)
- Traffic (2000)
- I Am Sam (2001)
- Abandon (2002)
- Cut Bank (2014)
- Woman Walks Ahead (2017)
| style="width:70%;"|
Executive producer
- Lone Star State of Mind (2002)
- Boys of Abu Ghraib (2014)
- About Alex (2014)
- The Birth of a Nation (2016)
| style="width:50%;"|
|}
Television
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! width="65" |Director
! width="65" |Writer
! width="65" |Executive<br>Producer
! width="65" |Creator
! scope="col" | Notes
|-
| 1979–80
|Family
|
|
|
|
| Also producer;<br>5 episodes (written);<br>Directed episode "Ballerina"
|-
| 1985
| The Insiders
|
|
|
|
| Pilot episode
|-
| 1987–91
| thirtysomething
|
|
|
|
| 3 episodes (directed);<br>8 episodes (written)
|-
| 1999–2002
| Once and Again
|
|
|
|
| 3 episodes (directed);<br>4 episodes (written)<br>Also actor (as Dr. Daniel Rosenfeld)
|-
| 2008
| Quarterlife
|
|
|
|
| Web series;<br>2 episodes (written)
|-
| 2016–18
| Nashville
|
|
|
|
| Wrote episode "The Wayfaring Stranger"
|-
| 2020
| Away
|
|
|
|
| Directed episode "Go"
|}
Television films
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! width="65" |Director
! width="65" |Writer
! width="65" |Producer
|-
| 1982
| Paper Dolls
|
|
|
|-
| 1982
| Having It All
|
|
|
|-
| 1983
| Special Bulletin
|
|
|
|-
| 1990
| Extreme Close-Up
|
|
|
|-
| 2009
| A Marriage
|
|
|
|-
| 2020
| Thirtysomething(else)
|
|
|
|-
|}
Executive producer only
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Notes
|-
| 1987
| CBS Summer Playhouse
| Episode "Sawdust"
|-
| 1989
| Dream Street
|
|-
| 1994-95
| My So-Called Life
|
|-
| 1998
| Relativity
|
|-
|rowspan=2| 2000
| The Only Living Boy in New York
|rowspan=3| TV movie
|-
| The Poof Point
|-
| 2002
| Women vs. Men
|-
|}
Awards and nominations
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Year
!Title
!Award/Nomination
|-
| 1989
| Glory
| Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Director
|-
| 1994
| Legends of the Fall
| Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Director
|-
| 1998
| Shakespeare in Love
| Academy Award for Best Picture<br>BAFTA Award for Best Film<br>Satellite Award for Best Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical<br>Nominated - Producers Guild of America Award for Best Theatrical Motion Picture
|-
| 2000
| Traffic
| Nominated - Academy Award for Best Picture
|-
| 2003
| The Last Samurai
| National Board of Review Award for Best Director<br>Nominated - Saturn Award for Best Director<br>Nominated - Producers Guild of America Award for Best Picture
|-
| 2006
| Blood Diamond
| Nominated - St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Award for Best Director
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+Awards received by Zwick films
! rowspan="2" | Year
! rowspan="2" | Title
! colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" width=160| Academy Awards
! colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" width=160| BAFTA Awards
! colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" width=160| Golden Globe Awards
|-
! Nominations
! Wins
! Nominations
! Wins
! Nominations
! Wins
|-
|1989
|Glory
|align=center|5
|align=center|3
|align=center|1
|
|align=center|5
|align=center|1
|-
|1994
|Legends of the Fall
|align=center|3
|align=center|1
|
|
|align=center|4
|
|-
|2003
|The Last Samurai
|align=center|4
|
|
|
|align=center|3
|
|-
|2006
|Blood Diamond
|align=center|5
|
|
|
|align=center|1
|
|-
|2008
|Defiance
|align=center|1
|
|
|
|align=center|1
|
|-
|2010
|Love & Other Drugs
|
|
|
|
|align=center|2
|
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!align=center|18
!align=center|4
!align=center|1
!align=center|0
!align=center|16
!align=center|1
|}
Directed Academy Award performances<br />Under Zwick's direction, these actors have received Academy Award wins and nominations for their performances in their respective roles.
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Year
!Performer
!Film
!Result
|-
! colspan="4" |Academy Award for Best Actor
|-
|2006
|Leonardo DiCaprio
|Blood Diamond
|
|-
! colspan="4" |Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
|-
|1989
|Denzel Washington
|Glory
|
|-
|2003
|Ken Watanabe
|The Last Samurai
|
|-
|2006
|Djimon Hounsou
|Blood Diamond
|
|-
|}
Books
References
Further reading
- Review of Defiance.