Noah Hawley

Noah Hawley
Hawley in March 2019
Born1967 (age 56–57)
New York City, U.S.
Alma materSarah Lawrence College
Occupations
  • Screenwriter
  • director
  • producer
  • author
  • singer
Years active2005–present
SpouseKyle Hawley
Children2
RelativesLouise Armstrong (mother)

Noah Hawley (born 1967) is an American screenwriter, director, producer, author, and singer. He is best known for creating and writing the FX series Fargo (2014–present) and Legion (2017–2019). He also worked on the series Bones (2005–2008), The Unusuals (2009), and My Generation (2010).

Hawley wrote the film The Alibi (2006) and wrote and directed the film Lucy in the Sky (2019). He has also written six novels and is a singer, having contributed to the soundtracks of Fargo and Legion by singing covers of popular music produced by composer Jeff Russo. He will write and direct the upcoming FX series Alien: Earth, which is based on the film franchise and is expected to premiere in 2025.

Early life

Hawley was born in New York City in 1967,[1][2] the son of non-fiction writer and feminist activist Louise Armstrong (1937–2008)[3] and businessman Tom Hawley.[3] His maternal grandmother was a playwright. He has a twin brother named Alexi, who is also a television writer and is best known as the creator of the series State of Affairs, The Rookie, and The Recruit.[2][3]

In 1989, Hawley graduated from Sarah Lawrence College with a degree in political science.[4][5] He worked for the Legal Aid Society in New York City, dealing with cases involving child abuse and neglect, a topic on which his mother had written ground-breaking books.[5][6] He later moved to San Francisco, California. He worked as a paralegal[2] and in computer programming at law firms.[5]

Career

Books

Hawley has published six novels: A Conspiracy of Tall Men (1998), Other People's Weddings (2004), The Punch (2008), The Good Father (2012), Before the Fall (2016), and Anthem (2022). He also published the non-fiction work Fargo: This is a True Story (2019).[7]

Television

Hawley in June 2014

Hawley was a writer and producer on the first three seasons of Bones (2005–2008).[8] He was also a creator and an executive producer of The Unusuals (2009) and My Generation (2010).[9]

Hawley is the creator, primary writer, and executive producer of the FX anthology series Fargo (2014–present), based on the Coen brothers' 1996 film of the same name.[10] In 2014, Fargo won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries, along with 17 additional nominations at the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards. In total, the series has been nominated for 113 awards since its premiere, winning 32.

In December 2015, Hawley extended his production deal with FX.[11] He wrote and served as executive producer for Legion (2017–2019), a series based on the Marvel comic book character.[12]

Hawley will create, write, direct, and produce Alien: Earth, a series based on the film franchise.[13] It is expected to air on FX in 2025.[14]

Film

Hawley wrote the original screenplay for the film The Alibi (2006).[15]

In September 2014, Hawley signed a deal with Universal Pictures to script an untitled project for their then-upcoming Dark Universe.[16] Sony Pictures has acquired the rights to Hawley's novel, Before the Fall, with him writing the screenplay.[16] In 2016, his 26 Keys production company signed a deal with 20th Century Fox to do films.[17]

On July 20, 2017, Hawley announced at Comic Con that he was writing and directing a Doctor Doom movie with 20th Century Fox.[18] However, the project was shelved following Disney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox.[19][20]

In 2019, he made his feature film directorial debut with Lucy in the Sky, a drama film starring Natalie Portman as an astronaut, for Fox Searchlight.[21]

In November 2019, it was announced that Hawley would be writing and directing the fourth installment in the rebooted Star Trek franchise.[22] He finished the script in September 2020. It would feature a new crew, although set in the same universe.[23] In late November 2020, the project was cancelled.[24]

Personal life

Hawley and his wife, Kyle, have two children together.[2] They split their time between Los Angeles and Austin, Texas.[2] Hawley has a brother named Alexi Hawley who is also a writer and producer.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Director Writer Producer
2006 The Alibi No Yes No
2019 Lucy in the Sky Yes Yes Yes

Television

Year Title Director Writer Executive
Producer 		Creator Notes
2005–2008 Bones No Yes Yes No Writer (6 episodes)
Also co-producer (14 episodes)
2009 The Unusuals No Yes Yes Yes 3 episodes
Also composer
2010 My Generation No Yes Yes Developer 2 episodes
2014–present Fargo Yes Yes Yes Yes Director (6 episodes)
Writer (48 episodes)
2017–2019 Legion Yes Yes Yes Yes Director (3 episodes)
Writer (19 episodes)
2025 Alien: Earth Yes Yes Yes Yes

Published works

  • Hawley, Noah (1998). A Conspiracy of Tall Men. Harmony. ISBN 978-0609602805.
  • Hawley, Noah (2004). Other People's Weddings. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0312322731.
  • Hawley, Noah (2008). The Punch. Chronicle Books. ISBN 978-0811864299.
  • Hawley, Noah (2012). The Good Father. Doubleday. ISBN 978-0385535533.
  • Hawley, Noah (2016). Before the Fall. Grand Central. ISBN 978-1455561780.
  • Hawley, Noah (2022). Anthem. Grand Central Publishing. ISBN 978-1-53-871151-4.

References

  1. ^ Stanford, Peter (March 28, 2012). "Noah Hawley: 'It's the parents who create killers'". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on September 25, 2015. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
  2. ^ a b c d e "'Fargo' Creator Noah Hawley: How I Made It in Hollywood". The Hollywood Reporter. April 15, 2014. Archived from the original on February 4, 2015. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
  3. ^ a b c "Louise Armstrong". The Guardian. Archived from the original on December 11, 2014. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
  4. ^ "News and Announcements from Alums" Archived January 17, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, Sarah Lawrence College website, accessed May 30, 2013.
  5. ^ a b c Ganahl, Jane (August 31, 1998). "Success stalks thriller writer". The San Francisco Examiner. Archived from the original on December 11, 2014. Retrieved December 10, 2014 – via SFgate.com.
  6. ^ "News and Announcements from Alums". Sarah Lawrence College. Archived from the original on January 17, 2011. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
  7. ^ "Noah Hawley". Archived from the original on March 15, 2016. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
  8. ^ Elks, Jennifer, The Skinny, accessed June 21, 2011.
  9. ^ "Development Update:Wednesday, January 20", The Futon Critic, accessed June 21, 2011.
  10. ^ Thorne, Will (August 10, 2020). "'Fargo' Season 4 Premiere Date Set at FX". Variety. Archived from the original on August 12, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  11. ^ Wagmeister, Elizabeth (December 10, 2015). "FX Inks New Deal with 'Fargo' Creator Noah Hawley, Sets New Development Projects". Variety. Archived from the original on June 28, 2017. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
  12. ^ "'Fargo' creator developing 'Legion' series with Marvel and FX". Entertainment Weekly's EW.com. Archived from the original on April 9, 2016. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
  13. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (December 10, 2020). "'Alien' Series In The Works At FX With 'Fargo' Creator Noah Hawley; Ridley Scott In Advance Talks To EP". Deadline. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  14. ^ "Noah Hawley's 'Alien' TV Series Won't Premiere Until 2023, Earliest". Decider. August 13, 2021. Retrieved October 4, 2021.
  15. ^ Elks, Jennifer "Lies and Alibis" Archived March 27, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, Coming Soon, accessed June 21, 2011.
  16. ^ a b Fleming, Mike Jr. (September 18, 2014). "'Fargo's Noah Hawley To Adapt His Novel 'Before The Fall' In Sony Pic Deal". Deadline. Archived from the original on May 4, 2016. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
  17. ^ McNary, Dave (April 25, 2016). "Noah Hawley Signs First-Look Deal With Fox". Variety. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  18. ^ Leadbeater, Alex (July 20, 2017). "Doctor Doom Movie In Development From Legion's Noah Hawley". Screen Rant. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  19. ^ Riesman, Abraham (June 4, 2018). "Noah Hawley's Doctor Doom Movie Is Written, But Don't Expect to See It Anytime Soon". Vulture. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
  20. ^ "'Legion's Noah Hawley Talks Tonight's Series Finale, 'Fargo', 'Doctor Doom' Movie & 'Cat's Cradle' Adaptation". Deadline. August 13, 2019.
  21. ^ Kroll, Justin (January 11, 2018). "Natalie Portman in Talks to Replace Reese Witherspoon in 'Pale Blue Dot' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on January 25, 2018. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  22. ^ Kroll, Justin (November 19, 2019). "Noah Hawley to Write and Direct Next 'Star Trek' Movie". Variety. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  23. ^ TrekMovieStaff (September 15, 2020). "Noah Hawley Confirms Star Trek Film Would Feature New Crew, Project in "Statis"". TrekMovie. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  24. ^ Fuge, Jon (December 1, 2020). "Star Trek Is Not In Director Noah Hawley's Immediate Future". MovieWeb. Retrieved December 2, 2020.