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Joss Whedon Biography

Birth Name:Joseph Hill Whedon

Birth Place:New York City, New York, United States

Profession Writer, Director, Producer, Actor, Soundtrack, Script department, Assistant director, Music department, Editor

Fast Facts

A lifelong fan of comic books, he often looks for projects that peak his interest in the subject which led to his involvement with Marvel for "The Avengers" film franchise
Often collaborates with others for original online shorts, with his most popular being "Dr․ Horrible's Sing-Along Blog", a musical superhero parody starring Neil Patrick Harris and Nathan Fillion
Comes from a family of TV writers, including his father Tom ("The Electric Company" and "Golden Girls") and grandfather John ("The Donna Reed Show")
Quote: "I like horror movies, and I had intended the Buffy movie to be a horror movie, and it wasn't․ The direction it was taken in was more broad humor, and I had intended it to be more action adventure with a lot of humor․ My original draft was somewhat darker and a lot grosser․"
Quote: "Nowadays I'm really cranky about comics․․․Because most of them are just really, really poorly written soft-core․ And I miss good old storytelling․"
After finding success with feature films, his first foray into television came after wanting to adapt the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" film into a television serial which became an instant hit and was followed by others including "Angel" and "Firefly"
Upon graduation from Wesleyan University, he began writing for feature films at the start of his career in the early '90s which included "Toy Story", "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", "Speed" and several others
Responsible for writing the Buffy comic spinoff series, Fray, for Dark Horse Comics
Having showed an interest in acting since childhood, he often appears in small roles on his own television sitcoms included "Husbands", "Veronica Mars", "Angel" and others
Was asked to revise the script for 2000's "X-Men" and completely rewrote the treatment despite the producers only wanting a few jokes peppered in

Awards

1995ACCA-Best Original Screenplay: winner
1996Oscar-Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen: nominated
1996Saturn Award-Best Writing: nominated
1996Annie-Best Individual Achievement: Writing: winner
1996Hugo-Best Dramatic Presentation: nominated
1999Annie-Outstanding Individual Achievement for Music in an Animated Feature Production: nominated
1999Bram Stoker Award-Screenplay: nominated
2000Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series: nominated
2002Hugo-Best Dramatic Presentation: nominated
2002OFTA Television Award-Best Writing in a Drama Series: nominated
2002OFTA Television Award-Best Direction in a Drama Series: winner
2002Rondo Statuette-TV Presentation Of The Year: winner
2002Nebula Award-Best Script: nominated
2003Hugo-Best Dramatic Presentation - Short Form: nominated
2003Hugo-Best Dramatic Presentation - Short Form: nominated
2003Rondo Statuette-TV Presentation Of The Year: nominated
2003Rondo Statuette-TV Presentation of the Year: nominated
2003Nebula Award-Best Script: nominated
2004Hugo-Best Dramatic Presentation - Short Form: nominated
2004Hugo-Best Dramatic Presentation - Short Form: nominated
2005Hugo-Best Dramatic Presentation - Short Form: nominated
2005Hugo-Best Dramatic Presentation - Short Form: nominated
2005Rondo Statuette-Best Film: nominated
2005SFX Award-Best Film Director: winner
2006Hugo-Best Dramatic Presentation - Long Form: winner
2006Nebula Award-Best Script: winner
2007Rondo Statuette-Best Comic Book: winner
2009Hugo-Best Dramatic Presentation - Short Form: winner
2009Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Special Class - Short-Format Live-Action Entertainment Programs: winner
2009Streamy Award-Best Writing for a Comedy Web Series: winner
2009Streamy Award-Best Directing for a Comedy Web Series: winner
2010Gold Derby TV Award-Drama Episode of the Decade: nominated
2010Hugo-Best Dramatic Presentation - Short Form: nominated
2012Bram Stoker Award-Screenplay: winner
2012DFCS Award-Best Screenplay: nominated
2012Fright Meter Award-Best Screenplay: winner
2012Golden Schmoes-Best Screenplay of the Year: nominated
2012Golden Schmoes-Best Director of the Year: nominated
2012Guinness World Record-Highest-grossing domestic opening weekend of all time: winner
2012IGN Award-Best Movie Director: nominated
2012IGN People's Choice Award-Best Movie Director: winner
2012Flicker Award-Best Comic Book Adaptation: winner
2012Rondo Statuette-Best Film: winner
2012Rondo Statuette-Best Film: nominated
2012SDFCS Award-Best Original Screenplay: nominated
2012SLFCA Award-Best Original Screenplay: nominated
2012UFCA Award-Best Original Screenplay: nominated
2013Saturn Award-Best Director: winner
2013Saturn Award-Best Writing: nominated
2013Saturn Award-Best Writing: nominated
2013COFCA Award-Best Original Screenplay: nominated
2013Empire Award-Best Director: nominated
2013Chainsaw Award-Best Screenplay: winner
2013GAFCA Award-Best Original Screenplay: nominated
2013Hugo-Best Dramatic Presentation - Long Form: nominated
2013Hugo-Best Dramatic Presentation - Long Form: winner
2013ISA-Best Supporting Actor (Comedy): nominated
2013NCFCA Award-Best Original Screenplay: nominated
2013OFCS Award-Best Original Screenplay: nominated
2013SFX Award-Best Director: winner
2013Audience Award-Narrative Spotlight: nominated
2013Bradbury Award-: nominated
2013Bradbury Award-: nominated
2013Golden Space Needle Award-Best Director: nominated
2013Streamy Award-Best Guest Appearance: nominated
2015Rondo Statuette-Best Movie: nominated
2016Felix-Best Original Screenplay: nominated
2016Hugo-Best Dramatic Presentation - Long Form: nominated
2017Dragon Award-Best Science Fiction or Fantasy TV Series: nominated