McDonagh initially pursued a career as a novelist but decided to try screenwriting after his first five books, which he later described as "really bad", were rejected by publishers. He made his first foray by writing and directing the short film
The Second Death (2000), on which
his brother served as an executive producer. The film received critical acclaim, becoming the most financially successful independent Irish film of all time. Among several honours, McDonagh was nominated for the
BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay. His next film,
Calvary (2014), received acclaim. His next two films,
War on Everyone (2016) and
The Forgiven (2021), received mixed reviews. In 2014, McDonagh spoke of plans to end the "trilogy" he started with
The Guard and
Calvary with a film titled
The Lame Shall Enter First. It will follow a paraplegic ex-policeman in London who has developed a hatred for non-disabled people and gets caught up in a new investigation after one of his friends is murdered. It is intended to be an amalgamation of themes and tones present in the first two films. He has also mentioned numerous other forthcoming projects such as
Fear Is the Rider, a thriller starring
Abbey Lee and
Christopher Abbott; and
The Bonnot Gang, a period gangster film about the
titular French anarchist gang; McDonagh frequently works with the same actors, including
Brendan Gleeson,
Liam Cunningham,
David Wilmot,
Marie-Josée Croze, and
Caleb Landry Jones. He has also frequently worked with cinematographer
Larry Smith and composer
Lorne Balfe. ==Personal life==