Writer and director Steven Knight started a freelance writing partnership with Mike Whitehill in 1988, providing material for television and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? which Knight co-created.
He has published four novels The Movie House, Alphabet City, Out of the Blue and the children’s novel, The Last Words of Will Wolfkin.
Knight’s first screenplay, Dirty Pretty Things, was directed by Stephen Frears and was selected to open the prestigious London Film Festival. Dirty Pretty Things won four British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs), the 2005 Humanitas Prize for Film and an Oscar® nomination for Best Original Screenplay at the 76th Annual Academy Awards®, among other honors.
He wrote a number of high-profile screenplays including; Eastern Promises, directed by David Cronenberg and starring Viggo Mortensen and Naomi Watts, The Hundred Foot Journey, directed by Lasse Hallström, Pawn Sacrifice, directed by Ed Zwick and Allied, directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard.
Knight is also the creator, executive producer and writer of the BAFTA winning television series Peaky Blinders, starring Cillian Murphy, Helen McCrory and Paul Anderson. Season five will air this year. He’s also the creator, executive producer and writer on the FX Networks and BBC series Taboo, which starred Tom Hardy.
Knight has also written and directed three films; Hummingbird, starring Jason Statham and Agata Buzek, Locke, with Tom Hardy and most recently, Serenity, starring Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway.
Knight received the highest honor from the Royal Television Society’s Midlands Centre – the Baird Medal – in recognition of his career. He also has an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Worcester and an Honorary Degree of Doctor from the Birmingham City University.
