An English playwright, screenwriter and theatre and film director. Most notable for his stage work, he has also enjoyed great success with films, receiving two Academy Award nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Hours (2002) and The Reader (2008).

He had his greatest success with the plays Plenty, which he adapted into a film starring Meryl Streep in 1985, Racing Demon (1990), Skylight (1997) and Amy's View (1998).