John David Logan (born September 24, 1961) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and producer. His film work includes Gladiator (2000), The Last Samurai (2003), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007), The Aviator (2004), Hugo (2011), James Bond films Skyfall (2012) and Spectre (2015), and Michael (2026). He has won a Tony Award, a WGA award and has been nominated for three Academy Awards and three British Academy Film Awards.
Life and career Early years and education Logan's parents immigrated to the United States from Northern Ireland via Canada. The youngest of three children, he has an older brother and sister. Logan grew up in California and Millburn, New Jersey, where he graduated from Millburn High School in 1979."Millburn High Students Hear from Tony and Oscar Award-Winning Writer" , TAP into Millburn, November 16, 2010. Accessed July 3, 2019. "On November 11, some Millburn High School drama and film students learned firsthand about playwriting and screenwriting from the 2010 Tony Award winner, John Logan. Logan, a 1979 graduate of Millburn High School, was invited back to his alma mater by student Ben Lippman, whose mother Janice was a college classmate of Logan’s at Northwestern University." He moved to Chicago to attend Northwestern University, where he graduated in 1983.
Stage Logan was a successful playwright in Chicago for many years before turning to screenwriting. His first play, Never the Sinner, tells the story of the infamous Leopold and Loeb case. Subsequent plays include Hauptmann, about the Lindbergh baby kidnapping, and Riverview, a musical melodrama set at Chicago's famed amusement park.
His play Red, about artist Mark Rothko, was produced by the Donmar Warehouse, London, in December 2009, and on Broadway in 2010, where it received six Tony Awards, the most of any play, including best play, best direction of a play for Michael Grandage and best featured actor in a play for Eddie Redmayne. Redmayne and Alfred Molina had originated their roles in London and also performed on Broadway, for a limited run ending in late June."Time Is Short to See Tony Winners" by Patrick Healy, The New York Times, June 14, 2010 (p. C1 2010-06-15 New York ed.). Retrieved 2010-06-14.
Two plays by Logan premiered in 2013; Peter and Alice, directed by Michael Grandage and starring Judi Dench and Ben Whishaw opened in London at the Noël Coward Theatre on March 25, 2013, and I'll Eat You Last: A Chat with Sue Mengers, directed by Joe Mantello and starring Bette Midler, opened on Broadway at the Booth Theatre on April 24, 2013.Gans, Andrew. Bette Midler Is Showbiz Agent Sue Mengers in I'll Eat You Last, Opening on Broadway April 24" Playbill, April 24, 2013
Superhero, a musical by Logan and Tom Kitt, had its world premiere production Off-Broadway at Second Stage Theater, with an official opening night on February 28, 2019.
Swept Away, a musical by Logan, directed by Michael Mayer, and featuring music from The Avett Brothers, tells the story of four men shipwrecked in 1888, each facing questions of existentialism and morality. It opened at Peet's Theatre at Berkeley Repertory on January 9, 2022. It later moved to Broadway, opening at the Longacre Theatre on November 19, 2024.
Logan's play Double Feature, about filmmaking and the relationship between director and star, opened at the Hampstead Theatre, London, on February 8, 2024.
He also wrote the book for the Tony Award winning best musical Moulin Rouge, which opened on Broadway on July 25, 2019, and has been produced around the world.
Film and TV Logan wrote the 1999 Oliver Stone sports drama Any Given Sunday, which "changed his life". He then wrote the television film RKO 281, a historical drama released in the same year.
He co-wrote Gladiator (2000), directed by Ridley Scott, followed by Star Trek: Nemesis and The Time Machine, both released in 2002. In 2003, he co-wrote The Last Samurai, directed by Edward Zwick, and wrote Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas. Logan later wrote The Aviator (2004), directed by Martin Scorsese, and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007), directed by Tim Burton.
Logan's feature films include three films released in 2011: Rango, an animated feature starring Johnny Depp and directed by Gore Verbinski; the film adaptation of Shakespeare's Coriolanus, directed by and starring Ralph Fiennes; and Hugo, an adaptation of the book The Invention of Hugo Cabret, directed by Martin Scorsese. He also wrote James Bond films Skyfall (2012) and Spectre (2015), along with Neal Purvis and Robert Wade.
Logan also created the 2014 television series Penny Dreadful starring Josh Hartnett, Eva Green and Timothy Dalton. The show aired on Showtime in United States and Sky Atlantic in United Kingdom. In November 2018, it was announced that Showtime would produce a follow-up to the series entitled Penny Dreadful: City of Angels, which takes place in Los Angeles in 1938. Logan was the creator and executive producer for the show, which premiered in 2020 and ran for one season, starring Daniel Zovatto, Nathan Lane, and Natalie Dormer.
In November 2015, Logan was reported to have rewritten the script for Alien: Covenant.
Logan made his feature directorial debut in 2022 with They/Them, a slasher film from Blumhouse Films released via the streaming service Peacock.
In November 2019, it was reported that Bohemian Rhapsody producer Graham King was planning to produce a Michael Jackson biopic, with the screenplay written by Logan. The film, Michael, directed by Antoine Fuqua, was released in 2026 and opened to a record-breaking box office debut, grossing approximately $97 million domestically and $217 million worldwide, the largest opening weekend for a musical biopic and one of the biggest debuts of the year.
Personal life and other activities Logan is openly gay. He is married to Irish choreographer Tommy Tonge. Logan is actively involved in philanthropic activities through his charitable foundation, which supports arts education, access to live theatre, and supporting environmental conservation.
He is a major benefactor of a small independent theatre company in Adelaide, South Australia, run by Rob Croser, called called Independent Theatre. Several of his plays have been produced there, including Never the Sinner (1992, 1994, 2004); Hauptmann (1993); The View from Golgotha (1996); Red (2011; about artist Mark Rothko); Peter and Alice (2014), and he has travelled to Adelaide several times to see his plays as well as work on other productions.
Works Selected plays Logan's plays include:
Never the Sinner (1985) Speaking in Tongues (1988) Hauptmann (1991) Riverview (1992) The View from Golgotha (1996) Red (2009) Peter and Alice (2013) I'll Eat You Last: A Chat with Sue Mengers (2013) The Last Ship (2014) Moulin Rouge! (2018) Superhero (2019) Swept Away (2022) Double Feature (2024)
Filmography Film Year Title Writer Producer Director1999 Bats Louis Morneau Any Given Sunday Oliver Stone 2000 Gladiator Ridley Scott2002 Simon Wells Star Trek: Nemesis Stuart Baird2003 Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas Tim JohnsonPatrick Gilmore Edward Zwick 2004 Martin Scorsese 2007 Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Tim Burton2011 Rango Gore Verbinski Coriolanus Ralph Fiennes Hugo Martin Scorsese 2012 Skyfall Sam Mendes 2014 Jamie Marks Is Dead Carter Smith 2015 Spectre Sam Mendes 2016 Genius Michael Grandage 2017 Alien: Covenant Ridley Scott 2022 They/Them Himself 2026 Michael Antoine Fuqua
Television Year Title Creator Writer Executive producer Notes 1996 Tornado! Television film 1999 RKO 281 2014–2016 Penny Dreadful Executive producer (27 episodes); writer (24 episodes) 2020 Penny Dreadful: City of Angels Executive producer (10 episodes); writer (6 episodes)
Accolades
Primetime Emmy Award Nominated, Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series or Movie for RKO 281 (2000) Academy Awards: Nominated, Best Original Screenplay for Gladiator (2000), co-written (with David Franzoni and William Nicholson) Nominated, Best Original Screenplay, for The Aviator (2004) Nominated, Best Adapted Screenplay, for Hugo (2011) Golden Globe Award Nominated, Best Screenplay for The Aviator (2004) Tony Awards: Winner, Best Play for Red (2010) Nominated, Best Book of a Musical for Moulin Rouge! (2020)
References
External links
2008 Interview with John Logan