David Benioff facts for kids

Quick facts for kids David Benioff
Benioff in 2016
Born	David Friedman (1970-09-25) September 25, 1970 (age 54) New York City, U.S.
Education	Dartmouth College (BA) Trinity College, Dublin University of California, Irvine (MFA)
Occupation	Screenwriter producer novelist
Years active	2001–present
Spouse(s)	Amanda Peet ​ (m. 2006)​
Children	3
Parent(s)	Stephen Friedman (father)

David Friedman (born September 25, 1970), known professionally as David Benioff, is an American writer and producer. He is famous for co-creating Game of Thrones (2011–2019) with his friend D. B. Weiss. This popular HBO show was based on the book series A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin. Benioff also wrote movies like 25th Hour (2002), Troy (2004), and the book City of Thieves (2008). He also helped write X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009).

David Benioff's Early Life and Education

Benioff was born David Friedman in New York City. He was the youngest of three children in a Jewish family. His father, Stephen Friedman, used to lead a big company called Goldman Sachs. David grew up in Manhattan.

He went to Collegiate School and then Dartmouth College. After college in 1992, he tried different jobs. He worked as a bouncer and taught English at a high school in Brooklyn. He even coached wrestling!

In 1995, Benioff went to Trinity College, Dublin in Ireland to study Irish literature. There, he met D. B. Weiss, who would later become his writing partner. Benioff decided not to become a professor. He then worked as a radio DJ for a year in Moose, Wyoming, mainly to have time to write. Later, he joined the University of California, Irvine's writing program and earned a special degree in creative writing in 1999.

In 2001, he started using the name David Benioff for his writing. Benioff is his mother's maiden name. He chose this name to avoid confusion with other writers named David Friedman.

David Benioff's Career Highlights

Benioff spent two years writing his first novel, The 25th Hour. The actor Tobey Maguire liked the book and wanted to make it into a movie. The film, also called 25th Hour, starred Edward Norton and was directed by Spike Lee. In 2004, Benioff also published a collection of short stories.

He wrote the script for the big movie Troy (2004), which was about ancient Greek heroes. He also wrote the script for the movie Stay (2005) and The Kite Runner (2007).

In 2004, Benioff was hired to write the movie X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009). He based his story on different X-Men comic books. The actor Hugh Jackman, who played Wolverine, also helped with the script.

Creating Game of Thrones

In 2006, Benioff became very interested in George R.R. Martin's book series A Song of Ice and Fire. He started working with D.B. Weiss to turn it into a TV show called Game of Thrones. HBO decided to make the show in 2007, and it started airing in 2011. Benioff and Weiss were the main people in charge of the show. They wrote many episodes and were executive producers. They even directed a few episodes together.

In 2008, Benioff's second novel, City of Thieves, was published.

After Game of Thrones finished, Benioff and Weiss planned other projects. They were going to make new Star Wars films for Disney. However, they later signed a big deal with Netflix in 2019. Because of their work with Netflix, they decided not to make the Star Wars films.

Their first project for Netflix was directing a stand-up comedy special. In 2020, it was announced that Benioff, Weiss, and Alexander Woo would create a Netflix series based on The Three-Body Problem books.

David Benioff's Personal Life

On September 30, 2006, David Benioff married actress Amanda Peet in a traditional Jewish ceremony. They have three children together. The family lives in both Manhattan and Beverly Hills. David Benioff is also a second cousin to Marc Benioff, who is famous for starting the company Salesforce.

Filmography

Film Work

Television Work

Awards and Nominations

Primetime Emmy Awards

Writers Guild of America Awards

Other Awards

See also

In Spanish: David Benioff para niños

• List of awards and nominations received by Game of Thrones