Alex Garland, born Alexander Medawar Garland on May 26, 1970, is a multifaceted English talent known as an author, screenwriter, and film and television director. He first gained significant recognition as a novelist in the late 1990s with his book, The Beach. Garland's early life included attending University College School in Hampstead and later graduating from the University of Manchester with a degree in Art History. He is the son of psychologist Caroline (née Medawar) and political cartoonist Nicholas Garland.
Garland has received acclaim for his screenwriting work on films such as 28 Days Later (2002), Sunshine (2007), Never Let Me Go (2010), and Dredd (2012). In 2014, he made his directorial debut with the sci-fi thriller Ex Machina, earning an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay. Garland's other directorial projects include Annihilation (2018), the FX miniseries Devs (2020), the horror thriller Men (2022), and the dystopian action thriller Civil War (2024). He also co-directed the war film Warfare, released in 2025.
