Paul Andrew Unwin (born 25 November 1957)So Far Productions
/ref> is a film, theatre, TV writer / director.

Early life

He was born in

Reading, Berkshire Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, England, and the county town of Berkshire. It is the United Kingdom's largest town, with a combined population of 355,596. Most of Reading built-up area, its built-up area lies within the Borough ...

. He studied drama at the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

, where he met

Jeremy Brock Jeremy Brock MBE (born 14 July 1959) is a British writer and director whose works include the screenplays '' Mrs Brown'', '' Driving Lessons'', '' The Last King of Scotland'', '' Charlotte Gray'', and '' The Eagle''. Brock has also written two ...

in 1979.

Career

TV

Unwin co-created the world's longest running medical drama, ''

Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...

''. He was a regular writer throughout the first two series and also wrote the 30th anniversary episodes at the start of series 30. ''

Holby City ''Holby City'' (stylised on-screen as HOLBY CIY) is a British medical drama television series that aired weekly on BBC One. It was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a Spin-off (media), spin-off from the established BBC medical drama '' ...

'' and ''

HolbyBlue ''HolbyBlue'' (also known as ''Holby Blue'') is a British police procedural drama series that ran for two series from 2007 to 2008. The show revolves around the daily lives of a number of police officers working at Holby South police station. T ...

'' are spin-offs from the original ''Casualty'' format. Unwin has directed extensively in TV including ''

Five Little Pigs ''Five Little Pigs'' is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in May 1942 under the title ''Murder in Retrospect'' and in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in January 1 ...

'', ''Messiah'' and recently, ''

Combat Hospital ''Combat Hospital'' is a medical drama television series, filmed in Toronto, that debuted on Global in Canada and ABC in the United States on June 21, 2011. Its final episode was broadcast on September 6, 2011. The series was known for a time ...

'' (ABC/Global), '' Shameless'' (Company Pictures, Channel 4) and '' Breathless''. ''Breathless'' screened on ITV in Autumn 2013 and in the US in 2014.

Theatre

As a theatre director his work includes ''

The Man Who Had All the Luck ''The Man Who Had All the Luck'' is a play by Arthur Miller, his second major play (after '' No Villain''). ''The Man Who Had All the Luck'' follows protagonist David Beeves’ existential exploration into the enigmatic question of how fate and ...

'' by

Arthur Miller Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are '' All My Sons'' (1947), '' Death of a Salesman'' (1 ...

at the

Bristol Old Vic Bristol Old Vic is a British theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, Bristol. The present company was established in 1946 as an offshoot of the Old Vic in London. It is associated with the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which became a fin ...

and the

Young Vic The Young Vic Theatre is a performing arts venue located on The Cut, near the South Bank, in the London Borough of Lambeth. The Young Vic was established by Frank Dunlop in 1970. Nadia Fall has been artistic director since 2025, succeeding ...

, ''

The Misanthrope ''The Misanthrope, or the Cantankerous Lover'' (; ) is a 17th-century comedy of manners in verse written by Molière. It was first performed on 4 June 1666 at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal (rue Saint-Honoré), Théâtre du Palais-Royal, Paris by ...

'' at the

and the

Royal National Theatre The National Theatre (NT), officially the Royal National Theatre and sometimes referred to in international contexts as the National Theatre of Great Britain, is a performing arts venue and associated theatre company located in London, England, ...

, ''

The Master Builder ''The Master Builder'' () is a play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It was first published in December 1892 and is regarded as one of Ibsen's more significant and revealing works. Performance The play was published by Gyldendal AS in C ...

'' at the

'',

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

'', ''

Othello ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'', often shortened to ''Othello'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulat ...

'', ''In Times Like These'' by

. His artistic directorship of the Bristol Old Vic was a remarkable period and launched the careers of several of Britain's foremost actors and directors. As a playwright, Unwin's plays include ''This Much Is True'', about the shooting of a Brazilian electrician by the British police, ''This House is Haunted'', a ghost story based on real events, and ''The Promise'', about the 1945 Labour government and the birth of the NHS.

Film

Unwin directed '' The American'' (BBC Films/WGBH Boston), written by

Michael Hastings Michael or Mike Hastings may refer to: *Michael Hastings (playwright) (1938–2011), British playwright, screenwriter, novelist, and poet *Michael Abney-Hastings, 14th Earl of Loudoun Michael Edward Abney-Hastings, 14th Earl of Loudoun (born Mic ...

from the novel by

Henry James Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...

. His short film, ''Syrup'' (Channel 4/First Choice Films), was written by Nick Vivian. It was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

and a

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

. It also won he

Jury Prize The Jury Prize () is an award of the Cannes Film Festival bestowed by the jury of the festival on one of the competing feature films. According to American film critic Dave Kehr, the award is "intended to recognize an original work that embodies t ...

at the Cannes Film Festival, the Best Short Film at the Valladolid and the Amnesty International Film of the Year Award. Unwin also directed ''

Elijah Elijah ( ) or Elias was a prophet and miracle worker who lived in the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of King Ahab (9th century BC), according to the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible. In 1 Kings 18, Elijah defended the worsh ...

'' (Anagram Pictures/CTV TV), a film about the indigenous struggle in northern Canada, written by Blake Corbett. ''Elijah'' won the 2008

Leo Award The Leo Awards are the awards program for the British Columbia film and television industry. Held each May or June in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the Leo Awards were founded by the Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Foundation of British C ...

for Best Feature Length Drama and the 2009

Gemini Award The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's English-language television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in t ...

for Best TV Movie. ''Elijah'' is a political comedy.

References

External links

*
Official website
Living people 1957 births Alumni of the University of Bristol British film directors British theatre directors British television directors British male television writers Holby Mass media people from Reading, Berkshire People from Stockwell {{UK-film-director-stub