Directing

Paul Thomas Anderson

Born June 26, 1970 · Studio City, California, USA (age 56)

Paul Thomas Anderson (born June 26, 1970), also known by his initials PTA, is an American filmmaker. Often described as one of the preeminent filmmakers of his generation, he is the recipient of three Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, four BAFTAs, three Critics Choice Awards, and nominations for a Grammy. He is the only person to have won the Academy Award for Best Director, as well as th…

Known For

One Battle After Another

One Battle After Another · 2025

One Battle After Another

MovieThrillerCrime

Washed-up revolutionary Bob exists in a state of stoned paranoia, surviving off-grid with his spirited, self-reliant daughter, Willa. When his evil nemesis resurfaces after 16 years and she goes missing, the former radical scrambles to find her, father and daughter both battling the consequences of his past.

There Will Be Blood

There Will Be Blood · 2007

There Will Be Blood

Ruthless silver miner, turned oil prospector, Daniel Plainview, moves to oil-rich California. Using his son to project a trustworthy, family-man image, Plainview cons local landowners into selling him their valuable properties for a pittance. However, local preacher Eli Sunday suspects Plainview's motives and intentions, starting a slow-burning feud that threatens both their lives.

Napoleon

Napoleon · 2023

MovieHistoryWar

An epic that details the checkered rise and fall of French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte and his relentless journey to power through the prism of his addictive, volatile relationship with his wife, Josephine.

Minority Report

Minority Report · 2002

Minority Report

MovieScience FictionAction

John Anderton is a top 'Precrime' cop in the late-21st century, when technology can predict crimes before they're committed. But Anderton becomes the quarry when another investigator targets him for a murder charge.

Magnolia

Magnolia · 1999

On one random day in the San Fernando Valley, a dying father, a young wife, a male caretaker, a famous lost son, a police officer in love, a boy genius, an ex-boy genius, a game show host and an estranged daughter will each become part of a dazzling multiplicity of plots, but one story.

Boogie Nights

Boogie Nights · 1997

MovieDramaComedy

In 1977, an idealistic porn producer and his promising protege try to catch up with the end of an era before their never-ending party collides with cold, hard reality.

Inherent Vice

Inherent Vice · 2014

MovieDramaMystery

In Los Angeles at the turn of the 1970s, drug-fueled detective Larry "Doc" Sportello investigates the disappearance of an ex-girlfriend.

Beau Is Afraid

Beau Is Afraid · 2023

MovieComedyAdventure

Following the sudden death of his mother, a mild-mannered but anxiety-ridden man confronts his darkest fears as he embarks on an epic odyssey back home.

Filmography

Sort

One Battle After Another

One Battle After Another · 2025

One Battle After Another

MovieThrillerCrime

Washed-up revolutionary Bob exists in a state of stoned paranoia, surviving off-grid with his spirited, self-reliant daughter, Willa. When his evil nemesis resurfaces after 16 years and she goes missing, the former radical scrambles to find her, father and daughter both battling the consequences of his past.

Director

There Will Be Blood

There Will Be Blood · 2007

There Will Be Blood

Ruthless silver miner, turned oil prospector, Daniel Plainview, moves to oil-rich California. Using his son to project a trustworthy, family-man image, Plainview cons local landowners into selling him their valuable properties for a pittance. However, local preacher Eli Sunday suspects Plainview's motives and intentions, starting a slow-burning feud that threatens both their lives.

Producer

Napoleon

Napoleon · 2023

MovieHistoryWar

An epic that details the checkered rise and fall of French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte and his relentless journey to power through the prism of his addictive, volatile relationship with his wife, Josephine.

Script Consultant

Minority Report

Minority Report · 2002

Minority Report

MovieScience FictionAction

John Anderton is a top 'Precrime' cop in the late-21st century, when technology can predict crimes before they're committed. But Anderton becomes the quarry when another investigator targets him for a murder charge.

Bus Passenger (uncredited)

Magnolia

Magnolia · 1999

On one random day in the San Fernando Valley, a dying father, a young wife, a male caretaker, a famous lost son, a police officer in love, a boy genius, an ex-boy genius, a game show host and an estranged daughter will each become part of a dazzling multiplicity of plots, but one story.

Director

Boogie Nights

Boogie Nights · 1997

MovieDramaComedy

In 1977, an idealistic porn producer and his promising protege try to catch up with the end of an era before their never-ending party collides with cold, hard reality.

Director

Inherent Vice

Inherent Vice · 2014

MovieDramaMystery

In Los Angeles at the turn of the 1970s, drug-fueled detective Larry "Doc" Sportello investigates the disappearance of an ex-girlfriend.

Director

Beau Is Afraid

Beau Is Afraid · 2023

MovieComedyAdventure

Following the sudden death of his mother, a mild-mannered but anxiety-ridden man confronts his darkest fears as he embarks on an epic odyssey back home.

Thanks

Licorice Pizza

Licorice Pizza · 2021

MovieDramaComedy

The story of Gary Valentine and Alana Kane growing up, running around and going through the treacherous navigation of first love in the San Fernando Valley, 1973.

Director of Photography

Phantom Thread

Phantom Thread · 2017

MovieDramaRomance

In 1950s London, a renowned dressmaker's meticulous lifestyle begins drastically changing as his relationship with his young muse intensifies.

Director

The Dead Don't Die

The Dead Don't Die · 2019

The Dead Don't Die

MovieComedyDrama

In the sleepy town of Centerville, the lives of a number of interconnected characters are disrupted by the undead.

Thanks

Punch-Drunk Love

Punch-Drunk Love · 2002

Punch-Drunk Love

MovieRomanceDrama

A socially awkward and volatile small business owner meets the love of his life after being threatened by a gang of scammers.

Producer

The Master

The Master · 2012

Freddie, a volatile, heavy-drinking veteran who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, finds some semblance of a family when he stumbles onto the ship of Lancaster Dodd, the charismatic leader of a new "religion" he forms after World War II.

Writer

Hard Eight

Hard Eight · 1997

MovieDramaCrime

A stranger mentors a young Reno gambler who weds a hooker and befriends a vulgar casino regular.

Director

The Truth About Charlie

The Truth About Charlie · 2002

The Truth About Charlie

MovieThrillerMystery

Regina meets charming Joshua while vacationing in Martinique, as she contemplates ending her whirlwind marriage to enigmatic Charlie. Upon her return to Paris, she finds that both her apartment and her bank account have been emptied, and her husband has been murdered. Stuck in ever-increasing danger and with four men pursuing her, another stranger offers assistance - but who can she trust?

Thanks

Corky Romano

Corky Romano · 2001

MovieActionComedy

Corky Romano is a bumbling, simpleton, veterinarian and the youngest, outcast son of an aging gangster, named Pops Romano, who calls upon Corky to infiltrate the local FBI and retrieve and destroy evidence being used to incriminate Pops for racketeering charges.

Script Editor

Adam Sandler: 100% Fresh

Adam Sandler: 100% Fresh · 2018

Adam Sandler: 100% Fresh

MovieComedyMusic

Adam Sandler takes his comical musical musings back out on the road, from comedy clubs to concert halls to one very unsuspecting subway station.

Additional Second Assistant Director

Escape Room

Escape Room · 2025

The short film accompanying Teyana Taylor's album of the same name.

Executive Producer

Learning, Studying… Always Perfecting: The Making of One Battle After Another

Learning, Studying… Always Perfecting: The Making of One Battle After Another · 2026

Learning, Studying… Always Perfecting: The Making of One Battle After Another

MovieDocumentary

A behind-the-scenes documentary filmed during the production of Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another, featuring candid moments from the cast and crew.

Additional Photography

Cigarettes & Coffee

Cigarettes & Coffee · 1993

Cigarettes & Coffee

MovieDramaCrime

At a desert diner, the lives of five strangers become linked through a single twenty-dollar bill. Shot for $20,000 and starring Philip Baker Hall, the short premiered at Sundance and later inspired Anderson’s debut feature Hard Eight (1996).

Director

Waterlily Jaguar

Waterlily Jaguar · 2018

Waterlily Jaguar

A famous writer's obsession leaves his relationships and marriage in shambles.

Executive Producer

The Dirk Diggler Story

The Dirk Diggler Story · 1988

The Dirk Diggler Story

MovieComedyDrama

A mockumentary short film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson at age seventeen. Presented as a behind-the-scenes television profile, it chronicles the rise and fall of Dirk Diggler, a well-endowed porn star whose fame and fortune spiral into drug abuse and tragedy. Modeled on real-life adult film actor John Holmes, the film serves as an early prototype for Anderson’s later feature Boogie Nights (1997).

Director

Ballchewer

Ballchewer · 2002

Part of Adam Sandler’s informal “Meatball Series,” Ballchewer (2002) was shot during the making of Punch-Drunk Love. The short shows Luis Guzmán playing chess with Sandler’s pit bull, Meatball, while Emily Watson brings them beers.

Director

Anima

In a short musical film directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, Thom Yorke of Radiohead stars in a mind-bending visual piece. Best played loud.

Director

Saturday Night Live

Saturday Night Live · 1975

Saturday Night Live

SeriesComedyNews

A late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels. The show's comedy sketches, which parody contemporary culture and politics, are performed by a large and varying cast of repertory and newer cast members. Each episode is hosted by a celebrity guest, who usually delivers an opening monologue and performs in sketches with the cast, and features performances by a musical guest.

Director