Peter Simpson Hedges (born July 6, 1962) is an American

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

and film producer.

Early life

Hedges was born in

West Des Moines, Iowa West Des Moines is a city in Iowa, United States. Most of the city is in Polk County, Iowa, Polk County, some of it is in Dallas County, Iowa, Dallas County, and small portions extend into Warren County, Iowa, Warren and Madison County, Iowa, Madi ...

, where he was raised, the son of Carole (Simpson), a psychotherapist, and the Rev. Robert Boyden Hedges, an Episcopal priest. His mother left when he was young so he was raised by his single father. He attended Valley High School, where he was involved in the theater department, including the

improvisational Improvisation, often shortened to improv, is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. The origin of the word itself is in the Latin "improvisus", which literally means un-foreseen. Improvis ...

group and the

mime A mime artist, or simply mime (from Greek language, Greek , , "imitator, actor"), is a person who uses ''mime'' (also called ''pantomime'' outside of Britain), the acting out of a story through body motions without the use of speech, as a the ...

troupe, The Bakers Dozen. He later went to the North Carolina School of the Arts, where he studied drama.

Career

Hedges' novel ''What's Eating Gilbert Grape'' was adapted into a critically acclaimed movie of the same title, for which he wrote the screenplay, launching his film career. In 2002, he was nominated for an

Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay adapted from previously established material. The most frequently adapted media are novels, but other adapted narrative formats include stage plays, mus ...

for '' About a Boy'', alongside

Chris Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian, Christina, and Christine. Chris is also used as a name in its own right, however it is not as common. People with the given name * Chris Abani (born 1966), Nigerian autho ...

and Paul Weitz. In the same year, he wrote and directed '' Pieces of April'', starring

Katie Holmes Kate Noelle Holmes (born December 18, 1978) is an American actress. She first achieved fame as Joey Potter on the television series ''Dawson's Creek'' (1998–2003). Holmes made her film debut with a supporting role in Ang Lee's '' The Ice Sto ...

, which he dedicated to his mother. In 2007, he co-wrote and directed ''

Dan in Real Life ''Dan in Real Life'' is a 2007 American comedy drama film directed by Peter Hedges, and stars Steve Carell, Alison Pill, Juliette Binoche, Dianne Wiest, John Mahoney and Dane Cook. This is the first Touchstone Pictures film to be distribut ...

''. He wrote and directed '' The Odd Life of Timothy Green'' (2012), a film conceived by

Ahmet Zappa Ahmet Emuukha Rodan Zappa (born May 15, 1974) is an American musician, writer, actor and trustee of the Zappa Family Trust. Early life Ahmet Zappa was born in Los Angeles, California, the third of four children born to musician Frank Zappa and ...

, produced by Zappa and Scott Sanders, and released by

Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Pictures is an American film Film production company, production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios (division), the Walt Disney Studios, a division of Disney Entertainment, which is owned by the Walt Disney Company. The st ...

. In 2018, he wrote and directed the drama '' Ben Is Back'', about drug addiction, starring his son Lucas Hedges, and

Julia Roberts Julia Fiona Roberts (born October 28, 1967) is an American actress. Known for her leading roles across various genres, she has received multiple accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and three Golden Globe Award ...

. His latest novel ''The Heights'' was published March 4, 2010 by Dutton.

Personal life

His wife is Susan Bruce (Titman), a poet. They have two sons; Simon, who works in private equity in New York, and actor Lucas Hedges.

Filmography

* ''

What's Eating Gilbert Grape ''What's Eating Gilbert Grape'' is a 1993 American List of coming-of-age stories, coming-of-age drama film directed by Lasse Hallström, and starring Johnny Depp, Juliette Lewis, Mary Steenburgen, Leonardo DiCaprio, John C. Reilly and Darlene Cat ...

'' (1993) (writer) * '' A Map of the World'' (1999) (writer) * '' About a Boy'' (2002) (writer) * '' Pieces of April'' (2003) (writer and director) * ''

'' (2007) (co-writer and director) * '' The Odd Life of Timothy Green'' (2012) (co-writer and director) * '' Ben Is Back'' (2018) (writer, director and producer) * '' The Same Storm'' (2021) (writer and director)

Plays

* ''Oregon'' (1984) * ''Champions of the Average Joe'' (1985) * ''The Age of Pie'' (1986) * ''Andy and Claire'' (1986) * ''Teddy by the Sea'' (1986) * ''Imagining Brad'' (1988) * ''Baby Anger'' (1993) * ''What's Eating Gilbert Grape (''Musical'')'' (2024)

Novels

* ''What's Eating Gilbert Grape'' (1991) * ''An Ocean in Iowa'' (1998) * ''The Heights'' (2010)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hedges, Peter 1962 births 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American male novelists American male screenwriters Living people Writers from Des Moines, Iowa University of North Carolina School of the Arts alumni 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers Novelists from Iowa Film directors from Iowa Screenwriters from Iowa