David Levien (born December 9, 1967) is an American screenwriter, director, producer, and novelist. He is co-creator, executive producer, and showrunner of Showtime's Billions, along with Brian Koppelman. Some of his credits include Ocean's Thirteen, Rounders, Solitary Man, The Illusionist, Runaway Jury, Tilt, and ESPN's 30 for 30 (This Is What They Want) for which he won a sports Emmy.
Levien is also the author of six novels, including four in the Frank Behr series. Some of his earlier works were published under D.J. Levien.
Early life and education Levien was born in Great Neck, New York. He met his lifelong writing partner and friend, Brian Koppelman, on a summer bus trip for teens when Levien was 14 years old. Levien is Jewish. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan. After school he moved to Los Angeles where he worked as a story editor for various agencies and production companies. Finding that editing the stories of the others impacted his writing, he quit and moved to Paris and then Argentina where he trained horses before returning to New York City where he reunited with Koppelman.
Career
Film In 1997, Levien wrote the original screenplay for Rounders with his writing partner, Brian Koppelman. In 2001, Levien and Koppelman wrote, produced, and directed the film Knockaround Guys, which film critic Roger Ebert gave 3 out of 4 stars. Levien and Koppelman also co-wrote the 2003 film Runaway Jury, which was nominated for the Edgar Award for Best Screenplay. In 2009, Levien and Koppelman co-directed Solitary Man starring Michael Douglas. The film was included in both A.O. Scott's The New York Times "Year End Best" list and Roger Ebert's "Year End Best" list. Other film credits include the third installment in the Ocean's franchise, 2007's Ocean's Thirteen, directed by Steven Soderbergh.
Novels Levien has published six novels, including the literary novels Wormwood, Swagbelly, and the Frank Behr crime series, set in the Midwest and chronicling the fictional private investigator. The series includes City of the Sun, Where the Dead Lay, 13 Million Dollar Pop, and Signature Kill. The Behr books were nominated for the Hammett, Barry and Shamus awards. Sons of Spade named 13 Million Dollar Pop the best P.I. novel of 2011.
Short stories In 2015, Levien published the short story "Knock Out Whist," which was nominated by Best American Mystery Stories 2016 as an honorable mention. His story "Einstein's Sabbath" was published in The Darkling Halls of Ivy anthology in 2020.
Television Showtime's drama series, Billions, created by David Levien, Brian Koppelman, and Andrew Ross Sorkin, and starring Paul Giamatti and Damian Lewis, premiered in 2016.
Filmography Films Source: Year Title Director Writer Producer Notes 1998 Rounders Co-written with Brian Koppelman 2001 Knockaround Guys Co-directed with Brian Koppelman 2003 Runaway Jury Co-written with Brian Koppelman 2004 Walking Tall 2007 Ocean's Thirteen Co-Written with Brian Koppelman 2009 Solitary Man Co-directed with Brian Koppelman The Girlfriend Experience 2013 Runner Runner
Producer only Interview with the Assassin (2002) The Illusionist (2006) The Lucky Ones (2007) I Smile Back (2015)
Television Year Title Director Writer Producer Notes 2003 The Street Lawyer TV pilot 2005 Tilt Co-creator 2016 Billions 2022 Super Pumped
Novels
Frank Behr novels City of the Sun (2008) Where the Dead Lay (2009) Thirteen Million Dollar Pop (2011); released as The Contract outside the US (2012) Signature Kill (2014)
Standalone novels Wormwood (1999) Swagbelly: A Novel for Today's Gentleman (2003)
Short stories "Knock-out Whist" (2015) "Einstein's Sabbath" (2020)
References
External links
Author listing for David Levien on goodreads.com Bio of David Levien