Alexander John Graves (born July 23, 1965) is an American film director,

television director A television director is in charge of the activities involved in making a television program or section of a program. They are generally responsible for decisions about the editorial content and creative style of a program, and ensuring the prod ...

television producer A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of video production on a television program. Some producers take more of an executive role, in that they conceive new programs and pitch them to the television networks, but upon ...

and screenwriter.

Early life

Alex Graves was born in Kansas City, Missouri. His father, William Graves, was a reporter for ''

The Kansas City Star ''The Kansas City Star'' is a newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Star'' is most notable for its influence on the career of President Harry S. Truman and a ...

'' and his mother, Alexandra "Sandy" Graves, worked for United States Senator

Nancy Kassebaum Nancy Jo Kassebaum Baker (née Landon; born July 29, 1932) is an American politician who represented the State of Kansas in the United States Senate from 1978 to 1997. She is the daughter of Alf Landon, who was Governor of Kansas from 1933 to 1 ...

of Kansas. His family moved to his father's home town of El Dorado, Kansas when he was young, when his father became a partner in the family drug store business. He graduated from El Dorado High School in 1983. Graves attended

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. T ...

and the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

where he earned a BA Degree in Film Production.

Career

Graves began his work in television directing episodes of '' Ally McBeal'', '' Sports Night'' and ''

The Practice ''The Practice'' is an American legal drama television series created by David E. Kelley centering on partners and associates at a Boston law firm. The show ran for eight seasons on ABC, from March 4, 1997, to May 16, 2004. It won an Emmy in ...

''. Graves is well known for his work directing 34 episodes of the series ''

The West Wing ''The West Wing'' is an American serial political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the West Wing of the White Hous ...

'', where he served as director, producer, supervising producer, co-executive producer, and ultimately executive producer. He won two Primetime Emmy Awards for his production work on that series. He was also nominated for the Emmy for his direction of the episodes " Posse Comitatus" and " 2162 Votes." He was awarded the

Humanitas Prize The Humanitas Prize is an award for film and television writing, and is given to writers whose work explores the human condition in a nuanced and meaningful way. It began in 1974 with Father Ellwood "Bud" Kieser—also the founder of Paulist P ...

for his work on the episode " NSF Thurmont." In 2006, he directed the pilot episode of '' The Nine'' for

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

, serving as an executive producer on the pilot. In 2007, he directed and executive produced the

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

, and directed several more episodes, of the drama ''

Journeyman A journeyman, journeywoman, or journeyperson is a worker, skilled in a given building trade or craft, who has successfully completed an official apprenticeship qualification. Journeymen are considered competent and authorized to work in that fie ...

'', which aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

. In 2009, Graves was asked by

J. J. Abrams Jeffrey Jacob Abrams (born June 27, 1966) is an American filmmaker and composer. He is best known for his works in the genres of action, drama, and science fiction. Abrams wrote and produced such films as '' Regarding Henry'' (1991), '' F ...

to direct and executive produce the pilot of the

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

science-fiction series ''

Fringe Fringe may refer to: Arts * Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's largest arts festival, known as "the Fringe" * Adelaide Fringe, the world's second-largest annual arts festival * Fringe theatre, a name for alternative theatre * The Fringe, the ...

''. From 2010 to 2011, Graves worked for Steven Spielberg to direct and executive produce the pilot of the Fox adventure series '' Terra Nova''. The series premiered September 26, 2011. In 2010, he directed and executive produced the ABC pilot '' The Whole Truth'' for

Jerry Bruckheimer Jerome Leon Bruckheimer (born September 21, 1943) is an American film and television producer. He has been active in the genres of action, drama, fantasy, and science fiction. His films include '' Flashdance'', ''Top Gun'', '' The Rock'', '' ...

. This pilot also went on to become a series. In 2011, Graves directed a pilot for ABC entitled ''Poe'', a re-imagining of the life of author

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wid ...

, starring

Natalie Dormer Natalie Dormer (born 11 February 1982)Christopher Egan Christopher Andrew Egan (born 29 June 1984) is an Australian actor. He played Nick Smith (Home and Away), Nick Smith in the Australian soap opera ''Home and Away'' from 2000 to 2003, and David Shepherd on the NBC television drama ''Kings (U.S. ...

, which did not go to series. Graves then directed and executive produced the ABC pilot '' 666 Park Avenue.'' In 2012, Graves directed

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

's '' Shameless'' for John Wells before being asked by

Aaron Sorkin Aaron Benjamin Sorkin (born June 9, 1961) is an American playwright, screenwriter and film director. Born in New York City, he developed a passion for writing at an early age. Sorkin has earned an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, five Primetime ...

to direct his new HBO series '' The Newsroom''. Graves has directed six episodes of HBO's '' Game of Thrones''. In 2015, Graves was the executive producer of the supernatural medical television drama '' Proof'' on

TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...

. In 2016, he was chosen as director for Sony's upcoming

Mulan Hua Mulan () is a legendary folk heroine from the Northern and Southern dynasties era (4th to 6th century CE) of Chinese history. According to legend, Mulan took her aged father's place in the conscription for the army by disguising herself as ...

live-action remake. In 2018, Graves directed two episodes of the Netflix original ''

Altered Carbon ''Altered Carbon'' is a 2002 cyberpunk novel by the English writer Richard K. Morgan. Set in a future in which interstellar travel and relative immortality is facilitated by transferring consciousnesses between bodies ("sleeves"), it follows t ...

''. In 2019, Graves directed one episode of the

USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...

original ''

Treadstone ''Treadstone'' is an American action drama television series, connected to and based on the ''Bourne'' film series. A "special preview" of the pilot aired on USA Network on September 24, 2019, ahead of its October 15, 2019, premiere. The ser ...

''. In 2020, he directed the season 2 finale of The Boys.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Graves, Alex 1965 births Living people Writers from Kansas City, Missouri American film directors American male screenwriters American television directors American television producers Primetime Emmy Award winners University of Kansas alumni USC School of Cinematic Arts alumni Screenwriters from Missouri