Michael Lesslie (born November 1983
) is a British playwright and screenwriter.
Life and career
He studied English Language and Literature at
Exeter College, Oxford,
where he received a double first.
In 2005 he wrote a short film, ''Heavy Metal Drummer'', which was nominated for a
BAFTA Award.
In 2007 he adapted the film ''Swimming With Sharks'' for the stage. It opened at the Vaudeville Theatre, making Michael then the youngest person ever to have opened a new play straight into the West End.
His play ''Prince of Denmark'', a ''Hamlet'' prequel, was premiered in 2011 by the
National Youth Theatre
The National Youth Theatre of Great Britain (NYT) is a youth theatre and registered charity in London. Its aim is to develop and nurture young people through creative arts and theatrical productions. Founded in 1956 as the world's first youth th ...
at the Royal National Theatre in London. It was subsequently performed at the Ambassadors Theatre in the West End.
In 2015 he adapted ''Macbeth'', rewriting a script by Todd Louiso & Jacob Koskoff. The film was directed by Justin Kurzel and starred Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard. It played in official competition at the Cannes Film Festival.
He wrote the original script for the ''Assassin's Creed'' movie of 2016, which was then rewritten by Adam Cooper & Bill Collage and others.
In 2018 he served as lead writer and executive producer on John Le Carre's ''The Little Drummer Girl''. The TV series starred Florence Pugh, Michael Shannon, Alexander Skarsgard and Charles Dance, and was directed by Park Chan-Wook.
In 2023 his adaptation of Suzanne Collins' novel ''Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes'' will open worldwide. It is directed by Francis Lawrence and will star Tom Blyth, Rachel Zegler, Viola Davis, Peter Dinklage, Jason Schwartzmann and Hunter Schafer.
Michael founded Storyteller Productions with producer PJ van Sandwijk. The company's films include ''Thirteen Lives'', ''The Rescue'', ''Locked Down'' and ''Citizen K''. Michael won an Emmy for his role as executive producer on ''The Rescue''.
References
External links
IMDB
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lesslie, Michael
21st-century English male writers
21st-century British screenwriters
People educated at Harrow School
Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford
1983 births
Living people