Steven Zaillian

Steven Zaillian Bio

Steven Ernest Bernard Zaillian, born on January 30, 1953, in Fresno, California, is an American screenwriter, film director, producer, and editor whose work has shaped modern character-driven drama. He is best known for his Academy Award-winning screenplay for Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List (1993), a project that established him among the most respected writers of his generation. Across more than four decades, Zaillian has moved between Hollywood features and limited television, earning recognition from the Academy, the British Academy, the Writers Guild of America, the Golden Globes, and the Primetime Emmys.

Beyond writing, Zaillian founded the production company Film Rites and has taken on directing and producing duties on several of his own projects. His career is marked by close collaboration with major filmmakers and a steady focus on serious, often historical or moral subject matter. He continues to live and work in Los Angeles with his family.

Early Life and Background

Steven Ernest Bernard Zaillian was born in Fresno, California, and raised in a household shaped by journalism and storytelling. His father, Jim Zaillian, worked as a radio news reporter, an environment that gave the young Zaillian early exposure to narrative structure, language, and the discipline of clear writing. The family background would later inform the careful, journalistic tone that runs through much of his screenwriting.

Zaillian is of Armenian descent, a heritage that has occasionally surfaced in his interest in stories of survival and cultural identity. Growing up in California’s Central Valley placed him near both agricultural Fresno and the wider Bay Area cultural scene, which would prove important when he pursued higher education.

Path to Screenwriting

Zaillian attended Sonoma State University before transferring to San Francisco State University, where he graduated in 1975 with a degree in Cinema. His studies in film gave him a foundation in visual storytelling, editing, and criticism, and helped him understand the technical mechanics behind the scripts he would go on to write. The late 1970s Bay Area independent film scene offered an additional training ground for a young writer looking for his first professional opportunities.

By the late 1970s, Zaillian had begun writing for the screen, launching a career that would steadily grow through the 1980s. His early professional work focused on building craft and reputation rather than blockbuster visibility, a path that would lead directly to his breakthrough in 1990.

Steven Zaillian Career

Early Career (1977–1989)

Steven Zaillian began his professional career in 1977, working in and around Hollywood as a screenwriter and editor. During this formative period, he sharpened his voice through smaller assignments and editing work, learning how stories translate from page to screen. These years built the patience and precision that would later define his more visible projects.

By the end of the 1980s, Zaillian had established himself as a reliable writer of serious drama, ready to be entrusted with larger material. The discipline of his early career paid off when he was offered the screenplay that would change his professional life.

Breakthrough (1990–1993)

Zaillian’s breakthrough arrived in 1990 with Awakenings, the medical drama directed by Penny Marshall and starring Robert De Niro and Robin Williams. His adaptation of Oliver Sacks’s memoir earned critical praise and an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay, signaling his arrival as a leading Hollywood screenwriter.

Three years later, in 1993, Zaillian wrote the screenplay for Schindler’s List, Steven Spielberg’s epic about Oskar Schindler and the Jews he saved during the Holocaust. The screenplay won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, along with the BAFTA Award for Best Screenplay, the Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay, and the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Screenplay. It has been repeatedly ranked among the greatest screenplays ever written, including a Writers Guild of America West placement among the top fifty of all time.

That same year, Zaillian made his directorial debut with Searching for Bobby Fischer, based on the life of chess prodigy Joshua Waitzkin. The film was both a critical and commercial success, establishing Zaillian as a thoughtful filmmaker in his own right.

Sustained Success (1998–2011)

Zaillian wrote and directed A Civil Action in 1998, continuing his pattern of taking on weighty true-story dramas. He then wrote the screenplays for Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York (2002) and Ridley Scott’s American Gangster (2007), earning another Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay for Gangs of New York. In 2007, Zaillian signed a deal with Columbia Pictures in partnership with Mandate Pictures, strengthening his production footprint through Film Rites.

In 2011, he co-wrote Moneyball with Aaron Sorkin, a third Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay, and also wrote the screenplay for David Fincher’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The same year, the Writers Guild of America honored him with the Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement, recognizing his body of work.

Television and Recent Work (2016–2024)

In 2016, Zaillian created, wrote, and directed the HBO limited series The Night Of, a crime drama that earned widespread critical acclaim. The series won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie or a Dramatic Special, as well as a Peabody Award. He later created, wrote, and directed the limited series Ripley (2024) for Netflix, further extending his reach into prestige television.

On the film side, Zaillian wrote the screenplay for Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman (2019), earning yet another Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay and reinforcing his reputation as one of the director’s most trusted collaborators.

Notable Works and Milestones

Zaillian’s signature works include Schindler’s List, Awakenings, Searching for Bobby Fischer, Gangs of New York, Moneyball, The Irishman, and the limited series The Night Of. Across these projects, he has earned five Academy Award nominations and one Academy Award win, along with major honors from BAFTA, the Golden Globes, the Writers Guild of America, and the Primetime Emmys.

Steven Zaillian Award Nominations

Steven Zaillian has earned five Academy Award nominations across his career, including Best Adapted Screenplay for Awakenings (1990), Best Original Screenplay for Gangs of New York (2002), and Best Adapted Screenplay for Moneyball (2011) and The Irishman (2019). His nominations reflect sustained recognition from the Academy across more than three decades.

Steven Zaillian Awards Won

Steven Zaillian’s major awards include the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Schindler’s List (1993), the BAFTA Award for Best Screenplay for the same film, the Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay, and the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Screenplay. He later won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie or a Dramatic Special for The Night Of (2016) and received a Peabody Award for the same series. In 2009, he was presented with the Distinguished Screenwriter Award at the Austin Film Festival, and in 2011 he received the Writers Guild of America Laurel Award for Screen Writing Achievement.

Steven Zaillian Family

Steven Ernest Bernard Zaillian was born in Fresno, California, the son of Jim Zaillian, a radio news reporter, and his wife. He is of Armenian descent. He is married to Elizabeth Zaillian, and together they have two sons. The family lives in Los Angeles, California.

Personal Life

Zaillian resides in Los Angeles, California, with his wife Elizabeth and their two sons. He is known for keeping a relatively private personal life while maintaining long-standing creative collaborations with directors such as Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and Ridley Scott.