Ed Burns

Edward Burns was born on January 29, 1968, in New York City. He was raised in Long Island, attending Catholic Chaminade High School before transferring to a public high school. He pursued English literature at The State University of New York at Albany and Oneonta College, eventually transferring to Hunter College in Manhattan to study filmmaking. After graduating, he secured a position at Entertainment Tonight, where he worked as a “go-fer.” This role allowed him to finance and begin production on his first feature film.

In 1995, Burns wrote, directed, and starred in “The Brothers McMullen,” a comedy about three Irish-Catholic siblings. Filmed with a budget of approximately $30,000, primarily in his parents’ Long Island home, the film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival after Burns submitted a copy to Robert Redford. It won the festival’s Grand Jury Prize and became a successful independent film, leading to its acquisition by 20th Century Fox’s Searchlight Pictures. He continued his work as a filmmaker, directing “She’s the One” in 1996, which featured Jennifer Aniston and Cameron Diaz, and later co-starred in Steven Spielberg’s 1998 World War II epic, “Saving Private Ryan.”

Burns is committed to independent filmmaking, often writing, directing, and appearing in his own projects. He has demonstrated an ability to produce films with modest budgets, such as “Looking for Kitty” (2004), which was shot on a $200,000 budget using a digital camera. This approach was further exemplified with “Nice Guy Johnny” (2010), made for $25,000, and “Newlyweds” (2011), produced for $9,000. His television work includes appearances as Bugsy Siegel in “Mob City” (2013) and as Terry Muldoon in “Public Morals” (2015), along with creating and writing TV series “Bridge and Tunnel” (2021-2022). Burns maintains a focus on storytelling, frequently incorporating themes related to Long Island and real-life relationship topics into his work.