Alex Garland

Alexander Medawar Garland was born on May 26, 1970, in London, England. He is the son of psychologist Caroline Garland and political cartoonist Nicholas Garland. He pursued his education at University College School in Hampstead before graduating from the University of Manchester with a degree in art history. Garland’s career began in literature with his debut novel, “The Beach,” published in 1996. This novel, which drew from his travel experiences in Europe and Thailand, explored themes of drug culture, hallucinations, and utopian ideals, gaining significant popularity and being translated into 25 languages. It was later adapted into a film in 2000, starring Leonardo DiCaprio. His subsequent novel, “The Tesseract” (1998), delved into a non-linear narrative set in Manila, focusing on themes such as love and violence, and was also adapted into a film.

Garland transitioned into screenwriting in the early 2000s, making a significant impact with “28 Days Later” (2002), directed by Danny Boyle, which became a notable work in the zombie genre. He continued his collaboration with Boyle on “Sunshine” (2007). His writing credits also include “Never Let Me Go” (2010), an adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel, and “Dredd” (2012), based on the “Judge Dredd” comic series, where he was reportedly a de facto director. In video games, he co-wrote “Enslaved: Odyssey to the West” (2010) and served as a story supervisor for “DmC: Devil May Cry” (2013).

In 2014, Garland made his directorial debut with “Ex Machina,” a science fiction thriller that garnered him an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay and multiple British Independent Film Awards for Best Screenplay, Best Director, and Best British Independent Film. He followed this with “Annihilation” (2018), based on Jeff VanderMeer’s novel. His work in television includes writing, directing, and executive producing the FX miniseries “Devs” (2020), and more recently, directing the horror thriller “Men” (2022) and the dystopian action film “Civil War” (2024), both produced by A24. He is also involved in upcoming projects such as “Warfare” (2025), which he co-directed, and the planned “28 Years Later” (2025) and “Elden Ring” film adaptations.