Brian Helgeland

Born 1961
Where: Providence, Rhode Island, USA

The former screenwriter and commercial fisherman made his debut feature with the thriller Payback, starring Mel Gibson and Maria Bello.

Before taking up directing duties, he landed an Oscar for best adapted screenplay for the noirish LA Confidential.

Born of Norwegian parents, he worked for a short period as a commericial fisherman out of New Bedford, Massachusetts.

He moved to Los Angeles in 1986, where he graduated from Loyola Marymount University and began script-writing.

His first feature was Renny Harlin's A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, which he followed with Richard Donner's Assassins; an episode of Tales From the Crypt for TV and Conspiracy Theory.

LA Confidential put him on the map and he went on to write for Kevin Costner's flop The Postman and the police buddy movie Lethal Weapon 4.

After helming the successful Payback, Helgeland went on to direct Heath Ledger, Susan Sossamon and Mark Addy in the jousting caper A Knight's Tale.

The three would team up again to make the supernatural medieval whodunnit The Sin Eater in 2003.

While directing, Helgeland still found time to write - he scripted the Clint Eastwood thrillers Blood Work and Mystic River as wel as his own movies.

Upcoming writing projects include Tony Scott's Mexican-set action drama Man on Fire with Denzel Washington and Christopher Walken.