Alex Garland

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Alex Garland
Garland at SXSW in 2024
Born
Alexander Medawar Garland

(1970-05-26) 26 May 1970 (age 55)
London, England, United Kingdom
EducationUniversity College School
Alma materUniversity of Manchester
Occupations
Years active1996–present
SpousePaloma Baeza
Children2
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RelativesPeter Medawar (maternal grandfather)
Jean Medawar (maternal grandmother)

Alexander Medawar Garland (born 26 May 1970) is an English author, screenwriter, film and television director. He rose to prominence with his novel The Beach (1996). He received praise for writing the Danny Boyle films 28 Days Later (2002) and its sequel, 28 Years Later (2025), and Sunshine (2007), as well as Never Let Me Go (2010) and Dredd (2012). In video games, he co-wrote Enslaved: Odyssey to the West (2010) and was a story supervisor on DmC: Devil May Cry (2013).

Garland made his directorial debut when he wrote and directed the sci-fi thriller Ex Machina (2014). He earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay, and won three British Independent Film Awards, including Best Screenplay, Best Director, and Best British Independent Film for the film. His second movie, Annihilation (2018), an adaptation of the 2014 novel of the same name, was a critical success. He wrote, directed and executive produced the FX miniseries Devs (2020) followed by the horror thriller Men (2022), and the dystopian action thriller Civil War (2024). He also co-directed the war film Warfare (2025). The three films were produced by A24.

Early life and education[edit | edit source]

Alexander Medawar Garland[1] was born in London on 26 May 1970,[2][3] the son of psychologist Caroline (née Medawar) and political cartoonist Nicholas Garland. Alexander has a younger brother and two older paternal half-siblings. He is the maternal grandson of writer Jean Medawar and Nobel Prize-winning biologist Peter Medawar.[4]

Alexander Garland was educated at University College School in Hampstead, England and later graduated from the University of Manchester in Manchester with an art history degree.[5][6]

Career[edit | edit source]

Novels[edit | edit source]

Garland's first novel, The Beach, was published in 1996. Based on his travels across Europe and Thailand, it tells the story of a young English backpacker who discovers an unspoiled seashore occupied by a community of like-minded backpackers. The novel is noted for its references to drug culture, sequences of hallucinations, and unique depictions of excess and utopia. The Beach was initially met with positive reviews, and with a spreading word of mouth response, the novel grew in popularity; it led some critics to regard Garland a key voice of Generation X.[7] He would later speak of his discomfort with the fame The Beach brought him.[5] The Beach has been translated into 25 different languages[8] and sold close to 700,000 copies by the start of 1999.[9] It was developed into a film starring Leonardo DiCaprio. In 2003, the novel was Ranked 103 in BBC's The Big Read poll.[10]

Garland's The Tesseract (1998) is a non-linear narrative with several interwoven characters, set in Manila, Philippines. The novel is characterized by a post-modernist narrative style and structure. It explores several themes such as love and violence through each character's circumstance and context of surroundings as well as seemingly inconsequential actions and the repercussions of those actions on other characters. The Tesseract was not a critical or commercial success, but it too was adapted into a film.

Throughout his work, Garland has expressed his love of travel (particularly backpacking) and his love of Manila, much of which influenced his work.[8]

Film[edit | edit source]

In 2002, Garland wrote the screenplay for Danny Boyle's film 28 Days Later, starring Cillian Murphy.[11] He has said that the script was influenced by 1970s zombie films and English science fiction like The Day of the Triffids.[12] The Resident Evil series also served as an influence for 28 Days Later, with Garland crediting the first game for revitalizing the zombie genre.[13] Inspiration for the "Rage" virus came from real-world infections such as Ebola and filoviruses.[12] He won a Best Screenplay honor at the 2004 Fangoria Chainsaw Awards for his script of the film.

In 2005, Garland wrote a screenplay for a film adaptation of Halo.[14] D. B. Weiss and Josh Olson rewrote this during 2006 for a 2008 release,[15][16] although the film was later canceled.[16] In 2007, he wrote the screenplay for the film Sunshine, which was his second screenplay to be directed by Danny Boyle and to star Cillian Murphy. Garland served as an executive producer on 28 Weeks Later, the sequel of 28 Days Later. He wrote the screenplay for the 2010 film Never Let Me Go, based on the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro. He also wrote the script for Dredd, an adaptation of the Judge Dredd comic book series from 2000 AD. In 2018, Karl Urban, who played the eponymous role in the film, stated that it was Garland who deserved credit for also directing Dredd.[17]

Garland made his directorial debut with Ex Machina, a 2014 feature film based on his own story and screenplay, starring Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander and Oscar Isaac. The film won a Jury Prize at the 2015 Gerardmer Film Festival, and earned Garland a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Garland's second film, Annihilation (2018), was based on Jeff VanderMeer's 2014 science fiction novel of the same name. Garland has described it as "an adaptation [that] was a memory of the book," rather than book-referenced screenwriting, to capture the "dream like nature" and tone of his reading experience.[18][19][20] Production began in 2016,[21] and the film was released in February 2018.[22]

In January 2021, Garland was hired to direct his third film, Men, starring Jessie Buckley and Rory Kinnear.[23] The film follows a young woman who goes on a solo vacation to the English countryside after the death of her ex-husband.[24] Released in May 2022, it received generally positive reviews, though its narrative approach received some criticism. Film critic Jonathan Rosenbaum placed Men on his Best Films of 2022 list.[25]

In April 2022, it was announced that Garland would once again work with A24 for his fourth feature, Civil War, an action epic starring Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, and previous collaborators Stephen McKinley Henderson and Cailee Spaeny.[26] The film was released on 12 April 2024. Garland will reunite with Boyle to write 28 Years Later, the long-gestating sequel to 28 Days Later, which is intended to launch a new trilogy of zombie films. Murphy will serve as an executive producer. The film is set to be released by Sony.[27]

In February 2024, it was revealed that Charles Melton was in talks to star in Garland's upcoming untitled war film with A24. This project marks the second collaboration between Garland and Ray Mendoza, who served as the military supervisor for Civil War. The pair wrote and will co-direct the film.[28] The following month, Joseph Quinn, D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Kit Connor, Cosmo Jarvis, Will Poulter and Finn Bennett joined the ensemble cast, and the film was revealed to be titled Warfare.[29] The same month, Garland stated that he would not direct any films in the "foreseeable future" after the release of Civil War and that his co-directorial work on Warfare was "more of a supporting character" to Mendoza's.[30] However, in May 2025, it was announced that Garland's next project would be a film adaptation of Elden Ring.[31]

Television[edit | edit source]

Garland wrote, served as executive producer, and directed the eight-episode miniseries Devs about the "mysterious ongoings at a tech company", for FX. The series was greenlit in August 2018, and premiered 5 March 2020 on FX on Hulu.[32] It stars Ex Machina and Annihilation actress Sonoya Mizuno, alongside Nick Offerman, Jin Ha, Zach Grenier, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Cailee Spaeny, and Alison Pill.[32] Spaeny, who did not audition for the role as Garland had wanted her specifically for it said that Devs was short for Development, and the series would explore the idea of the multiverse.[33]

In May 2022, a television series based on Never Let Me Go was optioned at FX, to be executive produced by Garland, who previously wrote the screenplay for the 2010 film adaptation of the same name.[34][35] It would have premiered on Hulu in the United States, Star in other territories and Star+ in Latin America with Viola Prettejohn, Tracey Ullman and Kelly Macdonald starring.[34] However, in February 2023, it was announced that FX had cancelled the series before production began.[36]

Video games[edit | edit source]

Garland and Tameem Antoniades co-wrote the video game Enslaved: Odyssey to the West for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. They won a 2011 award from the Writer's Guild of Great Britain. Garland also served as a story supervisor on the game DmC: Devil May Cry in 2013.

Personal life[edit | edit source]

Garland is married to English-Mexican actress Paloma Baeza, with whom he has a son and a daughter.[5] He has described himself as being an atheist.[37]

Garland has described himself as politically left, but has expressed concern over increasing political polarisation, particularly in America. He cited this concern as a core inspiration for his film Civil War.[38]

Bibliography[edit | edit source]

Filmography[edit | edit source]

Film

Year Title Director Writer Producer Notes
2002 28 Days Later No Yes No
2007 Sunshine No Yes No
28 Weeks Later No Uncredited[lower-alpha 1] Executive
2010 Never Let Me Go No Yes Executive
2012 Dredd Uncredited[lower-alpha 2] Yes Yes
2014 Ex Machina Yes Yes No
2018 Annihilation Yes Yes No
2022 Men Yes Yes No
2024 Civil War Yes Yes No
2025 Warfare Yes[lower-alpha 3] Yes No
28 Years Later No Yes Yes
2026 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple No Yes Yes Post-production

Other credits

Television

Year Title Director Writer Executive
Producer 		Notes
2020 Devs Yes Yes Yes Also creator

Video games[edit | edit source]

Theatre[edit | edit source]

Critical reception[edit | edit source]

Title Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic
Ex Machina 92% (284 ratings)[45] 78 (42 reviews)[46]
Annihilation 88% (327 ratings)[47] 79 (51 reviews)[48]
Devs 82% (90 ratings)[49] 71 (32 reviews)[50]
Men 69% (255 ratings)[51] 65 (55 reviews)[52]
Civil War 81% (391 ratings)[53] 75 (60 reviews)[54]
Warfare 93% (223 ratings)[55] 77 (16 reviews)[56]

Awards and nominations[edit | edit source]

Year Film Award Category Result
2002 28 Days Later Fangoria Chainsaw Awards Best Screenplay Nominated
Hugo Awards Best Dramatic Presentation – Long Form Nominated
Saturn Award Best Writing Nominated
2010 Never Let Me Go British Independent Film Awards Best Screenplay Nominated
Evening Standard British Film Awards Best Screenplay Nominated
Saturn Award Best Writing Nominated
Enslaved: Odyssey to the West Writers' Guild of Great Britain Best Continuing Drama Won
2015 Ex Machina Academy Awards Best Original Screenplay Nominated
Alliance of Women Film Journalists Best Writing, Original Screenplay Nominated
Austin Film Critics Association Best Original Screenplay Nominated
AACTA International Awards Best Screenplay Nominated
Boston Society of Film Critics Awards Best New Filmmaker Nominated
British Independent Film Awards Best British Independent Film Won
Best Director Won
Best Screenplay Won
Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards Best Screenplay Nominated
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards Most Promising Filmmaker Nominated
Best Original Screenplay Nominated
Directors Guild of America Award Outstanding Directing – First-Time Feature Film Won
European Film Awards Best European Screenwriter Nominated
Florida Film Critics Circle Awards Best Screenplay Nominated
Gérardmer Film Festival Jury Prize Won
Imagine Film Festival Silver Scream Award Won
London Critics Circle Film Awards Breakthrough British/Irish Filmmaker Nominated
Online Film Critics Society Awards Best Original Screenplay Nominated
San Diego Film Critics Society Best Original Screenplay Nominated
San Francisco Film Critics Circle Best Original Screenplay Nominated
Toronto Film Critics Association Awards Best First Feature Won
Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Awards Best Director Nominated
Best Original Screenplay Nominated
Saturn Awards Best Director Nominated
Best Writing Nominated
2025 Civil War Writers Guild of America Awards Best Original Screenplay Nominated

Notes[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Rewrites.[39]
  2. ↑ While Pete Travis was credited as the director, it was Garland who actually completed the film.[40][41]
  3. ↑ Co-directed with Ray Mendoza.

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1 at line 3440: attempt to call field 'year_check' (a nil value).Template:Dead link
  2. ↑ "Alex Garland". British Council. n.d. Retrieved 9 February 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  3. ↑ Lovece, Frank (20 February 2018). "Unnatural Resource: Alex Garland and Natalie Portman probe the mysteries of 'Annihilation'". Film Journal International. Retrieved 22 February 2018. Q. You were born in London, May 26, 1970? Correct? A. Yep, that's right. So I'm told.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  4. ↑ Bhattacharji, Alex (15 February 2018). "The Visionary Director of 'Ex Machina' Addresses the Controversy Surrounding His New Film". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 27 July 2020. Template:Subscription required
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Lewis, Tim (11 January 2015). "Alex Garland on Ex Machina: 'I feel more attached to this film than to anything before'". The Guardian.
  6. ↑ Template:Cite AV media
  7. ↑ Garland, Alex; Page, Michael (1 February 2000). The Beach. Brilliance Corp. Template:ASIN – via Amazon.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Garland, Alex. "Hip author Alex Garland talks about The Beach". Gluckman.com. Interviewed by Ron Gluckman. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
  9. ↑ Stewart, Rod (7 January 2000). "Alex Hamilton's paperback fastsellers of 1999". The Bookseller. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
  10. ↑ "The Big Read - Top 200 Books". BBC. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
  11. ↑ Scott, A. O. (27 June 2003). "Film Review; Spared by a Virus But Not by Mankind". The New York Times. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Watson, Grant (6 November 2014). "'Something in the blood' | 28 Days Later... (2002)". Fiction Machine. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  13. ↑ Garland, Alex (10 April 2015). "INTERVIEW: Director Alex Garland on Ex Machina". HuffPost. Interviewed by Zaki Hasan. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  14. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1 at line 2547: attempt to call field 'is_valid_date' (a nil value).
  15. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1 at line 2547: attempt to call field 'is_valid_date' (a nil value).
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1 at line 2547: attempt to call field 'is_valid_date' (a nil value).
  17. ↑ Urban in Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1 at line 2547: attempt to call field 'is_valid_date' (a nil value).
  18. ↑ "'Annihilation' director Alex Garland chats with CNET about the upcoming film". CNET. 8 February 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2018 – via YouTube. @ 32m15s-33m30s
  19. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1 at line 2547: attempt to call field 'is_valid_date' (a nil value).
  20. ↑ "Alex Garland 'Annihilation' - Talks at Google". Talks at Google. 22 February 2018. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2018 – via YouTube.Template:Cbignore @ 03m30 - "In this [adaptation] instance it was like an adaptation of the atmosphere."
  21. ↑ Kroll, Justin (29 April 2016). "'Containment' Star Joins Natalie Portman in 'Annihilation'". Variety. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
  22. ↑ Robinson, Joanna (30 March 2016). "Oscar Isaac Re-unites with Ex Machina Director to Join the All-Female Cast of Annihilation". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  23. ↑ Template:Citation
  24. ↑ Kroll, Justin (6 January 2021). "Alex Garland Sets Next Film at A24 With Jessie Buckley And Rory Kinnear To Star". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  25. ↑ Rosenbaum, Jonathan (2 January 2023). "La Internacional Cinéfila Poll: Jonathan Rosenbaum: Best Films of 2022". Year-End Lists. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  26. ↑ Grobat, Matt (21 January 2022). "Alex Garland Reteams With A24 For Action Epic 'Civil War'; Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura & More Set To Star". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  27. ↑ Grobat, Matt (31 January 2024). "Zombie Sequel 28 Years Later Lands at Sony (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
  28. ↑ Kroll, Justin (6 February 2024). "Charles Melton in Talks to Join Ray Mendoza and Alex Garland's Untitled War Film at A24". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  29. ↑ Cordero, Rosy (28 March 2024). "Kit Connor, Cosmo Jarvis, Will Poulter & Finn Bennett Round Out Lead Cast Of Ray Mendoza And Alex Garland's 'Warfare'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  30. ↑ Kaloi, Stephanie (31 March 2024). "'Civil War' Director Alex Garland Says He's Done Directing". TheWrap. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
  31. ↑ Galuppo, Mia (22 May 2025). "'Elden Ring' Movie in the Works From 'Civil War' Director Alex Garland, A24". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 "Alex Garland's Sci-Fi Murder-Mystery Series 'Devs' Greenlit at FX, With Nick Offerman and Sonoya Mizuno to Star". Indiewire. 3 August 2018. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
  33. ↑ Hirschberg, Lynn (26 July 2019). "Cailee Spaeny on What to Expect From Alex Garland's New Show, Devs". Indiewire. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 Porter, Rick (25 October 2022). "'Never Let Me Go' Drama Lands FX/Hulu Series Order". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  35. ↑ Hailu, Selome (9 May 2022). "'Never Let Me Go' Series in Development at FX". Variety. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  36. ↑ Otterson, Joe (2 February 2023). "'Never Let Me Go' Series Not Moving Forward at FX". Variety. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  37. ↑ Patches, Matt (25 April 2015). "Books and Films That Inspired 'Ex Machina'". Esquire. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
  38. ↑ Template:Cite AV media
  39. ↑ Salisbury, Mark. "Home on the Rage". Fangoria. Vol. May 2007, no. 263. Starlog Group, Inc. pp. 31–34. ASIN B001QLDCPC.
  40. ↑ "Karl Urban Says Alex Garland Actually Directed 'Dredd'". Collider. 7 March 2018. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  41. ↑ "Alex Garland Will Never Direct Another 'Dredd' Movie: 'It Was a Crude Experience'". IndieWire. 11 October 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  42. ↑ Bricker, Tierney (11 February 2020). "20 Shocking Secrets About The Beach Revealed". E! Online. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  43. ↑ Rooney, David (23 September 2003). "The Tesseract". Variety. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  44. ↑ McBay, Nadine (24 August 2006). "The Coma". Metro. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  45. ↑ "Ex Machina (2014)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
  46. ↑ "Ex Machina Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
  47. ↑ "Annihilation (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
  48. ↑ "Annihilation Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
  49. ↑ "Devs: Season 1 (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
  50. ↑ "Devs - TV Shows Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
  51. ↑ "Men (2022)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
  52. ↑ "Men Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
  53. ↑ "Civil War". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  54. ↑ "Civil War". Metacritic. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  55. ↑ "Warfare". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
  56. ↑ "Warfare". Metacritic. Retrieved 29 March 2025.

External links[edit | edit source]

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