Patrick Marber
About
Biography
Biography
A deft writer with a masterful execution of one-liners, Patrick Marber quickly established himself as one of Britain's most talented and successful contemporary playwrights. Earning critical success with his 1997 play, "Closer," and its subsequent film adaptation, Marber managed to parlay his playwriting talents effectively to the big screen. A former stand-up comedian who got his start in radio and television, Marber went on to direct a number of his own plays at the Royal National Theatre in London as well as productions of Dennis Potter's "Blue Remembered Hills" and David Mamet's "The Old Neighborhood" at the Royal Court Theater. An award-winning playwright, Marber's screenwriting skills also garnered him attention. In 2007, he landed a Golden Globe nomination for the Cate Blanchett-Judi Dench drama, "Notes on a Scandal" (2006), making him one of Hollywood's most sought-after screenwriters.
Born Sept. 19, 1964 in London, England, Marber grew up in that city's suburb of Wimbledon. As a teenager, he attended the Cranleigh School in Surrey and went on to study English at Oxford University's Wadham College. After working as a stand-up comedian for a number of years after college, Marber went on to find work as a writer and performer for the radio programs "On The Hour" (Radio 4, 1991-92) and "Knowing Me, Knowing You" (Radio 4, 1992-93), as well as their later television spin-offs, "The Day Today" (BBC2, 1994) and "Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge" (BBC2, 1994-1995), which won the British Comedy Award for Best Radio Series and Best New Television Series.
More comfortable leading the life of a solitary writer, Marber began to focus his talents on playwriting. His first stage play, "Dealer's Choice" (which Marber also directed), opened at London's Royal National Theatre in February 1995, and transferred to the West End by the end of that year. Set in an Italian restaurant in London, the play focused on the relationships between the all-male cast of characters and their bonding over a late-night game of poker. A one-time addictive gambler himself, Marber found drama to be a therapeutic outlet - and a critically acclaimed outlet at that - with "Choice" going on to win the Evening Standard Award for Best Comedy of the Year in 1995 and the Writers' Guild Award for Best West End Play. Next, Marber adapted August Strinberg's "Miss Julie" to a post WWII British setting in the play, "After Miss Julie." A production of the play, directed by Marber, was broadcast on BBC2 in November of 1995 as part of the network's "Performance" series.
His next original play, "Closer," which Marber considered to be less commercial than his previous work, premiered at the Royal National Theatre in May, 1997, starring Clive Owen (who would later star in the film version) and Ciaran Hinds. The play later moved to the West End in March, 1998 and quickly became an international hit; it went on to be produced in over a hundred cities, including a six-month run on Broadway. A critical success, "Closer" won the Critics' Circle Award and Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play, as well as the Evening Standard Award for Best Comedy of the Year and the Time Out Award for Best West End Play. The Broadway production of "Closer" landed Marber the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Broadway Play, the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Foreign Play and the Tony Award nomination for Best Play in 1999.
Marber went on to write and direct his third original work, "Howard Katz," which opened at the Royal National Theatre in 2001. Centered on a down-and-out show business agent struggling to reconcile his work and family life, "Katz" proved to be Marber's least successful play. Finding a new venue for his writing a few years later, Marber adapted his work for the screen by writing the feature film version of "Closer" in 2004. Helmed by Tony and Emmy Award-winning director Mike Nichols, "Closer" landed an all-star cast led by Julia Roberts, Jude Law, Natalie Portman, as well as Owens. Well-received by critics, the film earned Marber a Golden Globe nomination for Best Screenplay.
The in-demand writer quickly began finding more work in Hollywood. In 2005, he penned the award-winning film "Asylum" (adapted from the Patrick McGrath novel), and went on to adapt Zoe Heller's "Notes on a Scandal" (2006), which landed Marber a Golden Globe nomination for Best Screenplay in 2007.
Filmography
Writer (Feature Film)
Misc. Crew (Feature Film)
Writer (Short)
Life Events
1991
Cast member on the British radio programme "On the Hour"
1994
Cast in "The Day Today," an adaptation of the radio programme "On the Hour"
1994
Wrote and starred in the BBC radio show and television series, "Knowing Me, Knowing You...with Alan Partridge"
1995
Wrote and directed first play "Dealer's Choice," based on his own experiences with gambling addiction, opened at the Royal National Theatre
1995
Penned "After Miss Julie" an adaptation of Strindberg's 1888 play "Miss Julie"; directed a production which aired on BBC2 as a radio play set in Britain in the 1940s
1997
Penned the play "Closer," which opened at the Royal National Theatre; play became an international hit when it opened in London¿s West in 1998; earned a Tony Award nomination for Best Play in 1999, when the play moved to Broadway
2001
Wrote and directed, "Howard Katz," which centered on a down-and-out show business agent
2004
Adapted his award winning play "Closer" into the critically acclaimed feature directed by Mike Nichols and starring Julia Roberts, Jude Law, Natalie Portman and Clive Owen
2005
Co-wrote the screenplay for "Asylum," directed by David Mackenzie
2006
Scripted the Richard Eyre directed "Notes on a Scandal" starring Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett; received Golden Globe and Oscar nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay
