Paul Thomas Anderson is an American filmmaker. He has directed ten feature-length films, five short films, twenty three music videos, two documentaries, one television episode as a guest segment director, and one theatrical play. He made his directorial debut with the mockumentary short film The Dirk Diggler Story (1988), at the age of 18, about a fictional well-endowed pornographic actor in the 1970s. Anderson followed it five years later with another short film, Cigarettes & Coffee (1993). Anderson wrote and directed the crime film Hard Eight (1996), starring Philip Baker Hall, John C. Reilly, Gwyneth Paltrow and Samuel L. Jackson. The film was well received. Using the basis of The Dirk Diggler Story, Anderson wrote and directed an expansion of the film, Boogie Nights (1997). It stars Mark Wahlberg as an actor in the Golden Age of Porn from the 1970s to the 1980s. The film received acclaim from critics and was a commercial success; at the 70th Academy Awards ceremony, the film was nominated for three Academy Awards, including for Best Supporting Actor (Burt Reynolds), Best Supporting Actress (Julianne Moore) and Best Original Screenplay.
His 1999 ensemble film Magnolia followed four intertwined and peculiar stories in the San Fernando Valley. The film was another critical success for Anderson and at the 72nd Academy Awards, it was nominated for three Academy Awards, including for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Tom Cruise), Best Original Song for "Save Me" by Aimee Mann and Best Original Screenplay. Anderson directed the romantic comedy-drama Punch-Drunk Love (2002), starring Adam Sandler as a lonely man with anger issues. He went on to write and direct There Will Be Blood (2007), based loosely on Upton Sinclair's novel Oil! The film was critically acclaimed, winning numerous awards. It was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Director and Best Picture, with Daniel Day-Lewis winning Best Actor. After a five-year hiatus, he directed the 2012 film The Master starring Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman. The film's fictional movement "The Cause" was widely compared to the real-life religion of Scientology in the media, despite not directly referencing it.
Anderson adapted Thomas Pynchon's 2009 novel Inherent Vice into a film of the same name in 2014. Joaquin Phoenix played a stoner hippie and private investigator investigating a case involving the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend and her wealthy boyfriend. In 2015, he directed the documentary Junun about the making of album of the same name in Mehrangarh Fort, Rajasthan, India by the Israeli composer Shye Ben Tzur, English composer and Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood, Indian ensemble the Rajasthan Express, and Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich. Phantom Thread (2017) starred Day-Lewis as a renowned dressmaker in the 1950s. The film was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for Anderson. Anderson's ninth film, Licorice Pizza (2021), was released to great acclaim, earning him the BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay, in addition to nominations for three Academy Awards and two Golden Globes. His tenth film, One Battle After Another, was released in September 2025.
He has directed music videos for such artists as Fiona Apple, Haim, Aimee Mann, Joanna Newsom and Radiohead.
Film Feature films Year TitleDirectorWriterProducerDoP Notes 1996 Hard Eight Original title: Sydney 1997 Boogie Nights 1999 Magnolia 2002 Punch-Drunk Love 2007 There Will Be Blood Based on Oil! by Upton Sinclair 2012 The Master 2014 Inherent Vice Based on the novel by Thomas Pynchon 2017 Phantom Thread 2021 Licorice Pizza 2025 One Battle After Another Based on Vineland by Thomas Pynchon
Documentaries Year Title Credit 2015 Junun Director and camera operator 2026 Cameron Winter at Carnegie Hall
Short films Year Title Director Writer Producer Notes 1988 The Dirk Diggler Story Also cinematographer 1992 Production Assistant Released in 2012 1993 Cigarettes & Coffee 1998 Flagpole Special 2002 Couch 2003 Blossoms and Blood Compilation of deleted scenes from Punch-Drunk Love 12 Scopitones Compilation of unused artwork from Punch-Drunk Love Mattress Man Commercial Deleted scene from Punch-Drunk Love 2013 Back Beyond Compilation of deleted scenes from The Master 2015 Everything in This Dream Compilation of deleted scenes from Inherent Vice 2017 Valentine Live performance by Haim 2018 For the Hungry Boy Compilation of deleted scenes from Phantom Thread 2019 Anima
Miscellaneous Year Title Credit 2001 Corky Romano Uncredited rewriteBaby Don't Hurt Me: Stories and Scars from Saturday Night Live by Chris Kattan. 2006A Prairie Home Companion Stand-by director 2018 Waterlily Jaguar Executive producer2023 Killers of the Flower Moon Uncredited rewrite Napoleon What Happens at Night
Cameo and documentary appearances Year Title Role Notes 1999 Wadd: The Life & Times of John C. Holmes HimselfMagnolia Man confiscating sign Uncredited 2000 That Moment: Magnolia Diary Himself 2002 Minority Report Passenger on Train Uncredited 2010 In Search of Ted DemmeHimself 2014 Altman
Television Year Title Director Writer Actor Thanks Notes 2000 The Jon Brion Show Variety showUnaired TV pilot Saturday Night Live Episode: "Ben Affleck/Fiona Apple"Segment: "SNL FANatic" 2016 Documentary Now! Voice role: Harrison RenziEpisode: "Final Transmission" 2018 Adam Sandler: 100% Fresh Stand-up specialFilmed segments
Stage Year Title Director Writer Theatre Principal Cast 2008 Untitled original theatrical play Largo Theatre, Los Angeles Maya Rudolph,Fred Armisen
Music videos
Year Title Performer Notes 1997 "Try" Michael Penn 1998 "Across the Universe" Fiona Apple "Fast as You Can" 1999 "Save Me" Aimee Mann 2000 "Limp" Fiona Apple "Paper Bag" 2002 "Here We Go" Jon Brion 2013 "Hot Knife" Fiona Apple 2015 "Sapokanikan" Joanna Newsom "Divers" 2016 "Daydreaming" Radiohead "Present Tense" Live video "The Numbers" 2017 "Right Now" Haim "Little of Your Love" 2018 "Night So Long" Live video 2019 "Summer Girl" "Now I'm in It" "Hallelujah" 2020 "The Steps" Co-directed by Danielle Haim "Man From the Magazine" 2022 "Lost Track" 2023 "Wall Of Eyes"The Smile 2024 "Friend of a Friend"
See also List of awards and nominations received by Paul Thomas Anderson References
External links