1988–2005: Early career Morgan wrote television scripts during the 1990s, including an episode of
Rik Mayall Presents... and the Comedy Premiere
The Chest. He wrote the screenplay to the romantic comedy
Martha, Meet Frank, Daniel and Laurence (1998). He also served as additional writer for
Madame Sousatzka (1988), co-writer on the short film
Dear Rosie (1990), and wrote re-writes for the comedy
King Ralph (1991). In 2002, Morgan had some success with the TV series
The Jury (2002). In 2003, Morgan broke through with
The Deal, a television drama about the
power-sharing deal between Tony Blair and Gordon Brown that was struck in the Granita restaurant in London in 1994. Blair was portrayed by
Michael Sheen, who would return to the role of Blair in
The Queen and
The Special Relationship.
2006–2011: Breakthrough and acclaim in
The Queen (2006),
The Audience (2013), and
The Crown (2016–2023) In 2006
The Queen was released, which showed how
the death of Princess Diana impacted
Prime Minister Tony Blair and the
Royal Family. The film debuted at the
Venice Film Festival where it received critical acclaim. The film received 6
Academy Award nominations including
Best Picture. Morgan also received a nomination for
Best Screenplay. Morgan received the
Golden Globe Award for his screenplay from the
Hollywood Foreign Press, and
Helen Mirren won numerous awards for playing the
title role including the
Academy Award and the
Golden Globe Award. 2006 also saw the release of
The Last King of Scotland, the screenplay of which Morgan adapted with
Jeremy Brock. In 2007 they jointly won a
BAFTA Film Award for their work on the film. In May 2007, the 50th
San Francisco International Film Festival honoured Morgan with the year's Kanbar Award for Excellence in Screenwriting. Also in 2006, Morgan's first play,
Frost/Nixon, was staged at the
Donmar Warehouse theatre in London. Starring
Michael Sheen as
David Frost and
Frank Langella as
Richard Nixon, the play concerns
the series of televised interviews that the disgraced former president granted Frost in 1977. These ended with his tacit admission of guilt regarding his role in the
Watergate scandal. The play was directed by
Michael Grandage and opened to enthusiastic reviews. The play transferred to Broadway in 2007 at the
Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre where it ran from 21 April to 19 August. The play received three
Tony Awards including one for Morgan for the
Best Play. Langella won the
Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play. '' (2008) based on the conversations between
David Frost and
Richard Nixon In 2008, the film adaptation of
Frost/Nixon directed by
Ron Howard was released, with Sheen and Langella playing the parts they had on stage. The film also starred
Kevin Bacon,
Rebecca Hall,
Mathew Macfadyen,
Toby Jones,
Oliver Platt, and
Sam Rockwell. The film debuted at the
London Film Festival to critical acclaim.
Roger Ebert gave the film 4 stars praising the writing and the performances of the leads saying, "Frank Langella and Michael Sheen do not attempt to mimic their characters, but to embody them". Despite praise from critics the film was a box office failure. The film received five
Academy Award nominations including
Best Adapted Screenplay for Morgan as well as for
Best Picture losing to
Slumdog Millionaire (2008). In July 2009, filming began on the television film
The Special Relationship, the third film of Morgan's "Blair trilogy". The film focuses on Blair's (again played by Michael Sheen) relationship with US president
Bill Clinton, played by
Dennis Quaid, between 1997 and 2000. The film also features
Hope Davis as
Hillary Clinton and
Helen McCrory as
Cherie Blair. Morgan was originally scheduled to direct the film (making his directorial debut) but pulled out a month before filming began. He was replaced by
Richard Loncraine. The film debuted on
HBO on 29 May 2010. Barry Morgan of
The Associated Press declared, "With its well-chosen cast and high production values, “Relationship” is an especially thoughtful, revealing and honest account of power and politics." The film also received positive reviews overall receiving an 83% on
Rotten Tomatoes with the consensus reading, "Well-cast and compellingly directed,
The Special Relationship offers an intelligent look into the complex dynamic between two world leaders." The film received five
Primetime Emmy Award nominations including, for
Outstanding Television Movie. Morgan was nominated for
Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series or Television Movie losing to
Adam Mazer for another
HBO television movie ''
You Don't Know Jack'' (2009). In 2008, Morgan was initially set to adapt the
John le Carré's
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy into a screenplay for
Working Title Films but dropped out and served as the film's executive producer. In June 2009, it was announced that he would be the co-writer of
Skyfall, the 23rd
James Bond film.
The Daily Telegraphs Mandrake diary reported in April 2010 that Morgan had quit the production after
Sam Mendes was hired to direct, and that
Patrick Marber would replace him. MGM dismissed the
Telegraphs claims as speculation. In the end Morgan did not receive credit but rather it was
Neal Purvis,
Robert Wade, and
John Logan who were credited as the film's screenwriters. He has since finished the script for
Hereafter, a supernatural thriller "in the vein of
The Sixth Sense".
DreamWorks bought the screenplay
on spec in March 2008. The development was later transferred to
Warner Bros. and filming began in October 2009 under the direction of
Clint Eastwood.
2012–present: Career expansion 's life was depicted in Morgan's
Bohemian Rhapsody. (2018) In 2013, the film
Rush was released. The film is a
biographical sports film centred on the
Hunt–Lauda rivalry between two
Formula One drivers, the British
James Hunt and the Austrian
Niki Lauda during the
1976 Formula 1 motor-racing season. The film was directed by
Ron Howard and written by Morgan and starred
Chris Hemsworth,
Daniel Brühl, and
Olivia Wilde. The film was a financial and critical success. The film received four
British Academy Film Award nominations including
Outstanding British Film. In 2013, Morgan's play
The Audience debuted. The play revolves around the weekly meetings, called audiences, between
Queen Elizabeth II and her
prime ministers over the time period of her reign.
Dame Helen Mirren reprised her role as the Queen. The play premiered in the
West End at the
Gielgud Theatre where she eventually won the
Olivier Award for Best Actress. A
Broadway production opened in 2015 at the
Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre which ran from 8 March to 15 June. Mirren also received the
Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. Morgan's next feature film would be
Bohemian Rhapsody (2018), a biopic about rock musician
Freddie Mercury (portrayed by
Rami Malek), the lead vocalist of the rock band
Queen. Morgan has started writing the screenplay in 2010. The film was a massive box office success earning $903.7 million. The film however received a mixed critical response with critics praising Malek's central performances but criticising its editing, directing and pacing.
Time Magazine film critic
Stephanie Zacharek wrote, "In strict filmmaking terms,
Bohemian Rhapsody is a bit of a mess. Some of its scenes connect awkwardly, and it hits every beat of disaster and triumphs squarely, like a gong." Despite its criticism, the film
received various awards including four
Academy Awards for
Best Actor,
Best Sound Editing,
Best Sound Mixing, and
Best Film Editing. 's public and private life in the
Netflix series
The Crown. Morgan is the creator and writer of the
Netflix fictional historical drama series
The Crown, a biographical story about the reign of Queen
Elizabeth II. The first season starred
Claire Foy,
Matt Smith,
Vanessa Kirby, as
Queen Elizabeth II,
Prince Philip, and
Princess Margaret, respectively.
Jared Harris and
John Lithgow made supporting turns as
King George VI and
Winston Churchill. The series received widespread critical acclaim and received multiple
Primetime Emmy Award nominations including a wins for Foy for
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, and Lithgow for
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. The casts saw changes for seasons 3 and 4 with
Olivia Colman,
Tobias Menzies and
Helena Bonham Carter replacing, Foy, Smith, and Kirby. Morgan received three
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series nominations for writing the episodes, "
Assassins" (2016), "
Mystery Man" (2017), and "
Aberfan" (2019). On 15 November 2020, the
fourth series of
The Crown was released to critical acclaim. According to the review-aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds 95% critics' consensus making it the highest rated series out of the six in total. The season marks the introduction of
Emma Corrin as
Diana, Princess of Wales, and Morgan's then girlfriend
Gillian Anderson as British Prime Minister
Margaret Thatcher, with Colman, Menzies, Bonham Carter and
Josh O'Connor reprising their roles as Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, Princess Margaret and
Prince Charles respectively. The fourth season was awarded the
AFI Television Program of the Year for the fourth time in a row, four Golden Globes, including
Best TV Series, a Critics' Choice Award for Best Drama, and 10 BAFTA nominations including Best Drama. In September 2021, the fourth season won in all 7
Emmys Drama Categories and earned
Netflix its first major win in the history of the streaming giant (Best Drama), with Morgan receiving the award for Outstanding Writing. Prior to that, he received a
WGA Award for Best Drama and a
PGA Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama for the fourth season. Season five of
The Crown was released in November 2022 with the sixth and final season following in 2023.
Imelda Staunton,
Jonathan Pryce and
Lesley Manville played the respective roles of Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip and Princess Margaret. Princess Diana and Prince Charles were played by
Elizabeth Debicki and
Dominic West. In May 2022 it was announced that
Patriots, Morgan's first play since
The Audience would preview at the
Almeida Theatre in London from 2 July with an opening night on 12th and performances until 20 August. Set during the 1991 fall of the
Soviet Union,
Patriots will follow a generation of oligarchs as they try to seize control of a new world.
Tom Hollander would lead the cast as businessman
Boris Berezovsky. The cast also includes
Will Keen as
Vladimir Putin,
Yolanda Kettle and
Luke Thallon.
Rupert Goold would direct. On 19 August 2022, after a successful run at the
Almeida Theatre it was announced that
Patriots would transfer to the
Noël Coward Theatre in the
West End from May 2023 for a 12-week run. Most of the original cast reprised their role. In January 2024, it was announced that
Patriots would transfer to Broadway for a 12-week limited engagement.
Michael Stuhlbarg starred as Berezovsky and Will Keen and Luke Thallon reprised their roles as Putin and Abramovich respectively. Lead producer of the Broadway production was
Sonia Friedman. Previews began on 1 April 2024, with opening night on 22 April 2024 at the
Ethel Barrymore Theater. The play closed on 23 June 2024. ==Personal life==