Michael Lesslie

He studied English Language and Literature at Exeter College, Oxford,[3] where he received a double first.[2][4]

In 2005 he wrote a short film, Heavy Metal Drummer, which was nominated for a BAFTA Award.[4]

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 at the Royal National Theatre in London. It was subsequently performed at the Ambassadors Theatre in the West End.[5]

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.[6]

He wrote the original script for the Assassin's Creed movie of 2016, which was then rewritten by Adam Cooper & Bill Collage and others.[7]

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.[8]

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.[9]

Lesslie founded Storyteller Productions with producer PJ van Sandwijk. The company's films include Thirteen Lives, The Rescue, Locked Down and Citizen K.[10] Michael won an Emmy for his role as executive producer on The Rescue.[11]

• IMDB