David Heyman

British film producer (born 1961)

David Jonathan Heyman (born 26 July 1961) is a British film producer and the founder of Heyday Films. Heyman is best known as the executive producer of all eight installments of the Harry Potter film series, which are based on a series of popular fantasy novels of the same name by author J. K. Rowling. He then produced all three installments of its spin off prequel series, Fantastic Beasts. His work makes him the second most commercially successful producer of all time.

Heyman was born in London. He is the son of John Heyman, producer of the films The Go Between and Jesus, and Norma Heyman (née Pownall), an actress, and Oscar nominated producer of the films Dangerous Liaisons and Mrs Henderson Presents. His paternal grandparents were German Jews who left Nazi Germany and emigrated to England prior to World War II, while his mother's family was English. At age seven, he was a page boy in the wedding of his godmother, Diana Dors, to actor Alan Lake. Heyman went to Westminster School and, following graduation, he decided to study abroad. He studied art history at Harvard University, where he was an All American sabreman for the fencing team.

Heyman started in the film industry as a production assistant on David Lean's A Passage to India, and in 1986, Heyman became a creative executive at Warner Bros., and he was assistant to Mark Canton. In 1987, he became vice president of United Artists, which joined a series of changes as original production VPs had quit, and subsequently embarked on an independent producing career with his first film, Juice, in 1992, followed by the cult "stoner" film The Stoned Age (1994) and others. In 1997 Heyman returned to London and founded his own production company, Heyday Films. He has since produced a number of films including the Harry Potter film adaptations. Other notable productions during this time include the 2007 blockbuster I Am Legend and the 2008 films The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, Is Anybody There?, and Yes Man. After finishing work on the Harry Potter films, Heyman reunited with Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban director Alfonso Cuarón to produce the 2013 science fiction thriller Gravity, starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney. The film grossed more than $700 million worldwide and was nominated for ten Academy Awards including Best Picture, winning seven including Best Director for Cuarón. He also produced the 2013 comedy We're the Millers and the 2014 family film Paddington, for which he was nominated for the Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film. Heyman produced the Warner Bros. film adaptation of J. K. Rowling's Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which was released in November 2016, as well as its 2018 sequel. In 2020, he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood with Quentin Tarantino, and both of them were nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture. In addition, Heyman was also nominated for the same award for Marriage Story with Noah Baumbach.

Year Title Award Category Result Ref.2013Academy AwardBest PictureGravity2019Marriage StoryOnce Upon a Time in Hollywood2023Barbie 2001BAFTA AwardsOutstanding British FilmHarry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone2004Outstanding British FilmHarry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban2010Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema AwardHarry Potter2013Best FilmGravityOutstanding British Film2014Outstanding British FilmPaddington2016Outstanding British FilmFantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them2019Best FilmMarriage StoryOnce Upon a Time in Hollywood2001 BAFTA Children's Award Feature FilmHarry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone2002Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets2004Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban2006Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire2007Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix2011Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 2014Paddington 2011BAFTA Television AwardBest Single DramaPage Eight2022Primetime Emmy AwardOutstanding Variety Special (Pre Recorded)Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts2001Producers Guild of America AwardBest Theatrical Motion PictureHarry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone2013Gravity2015Lifetime Achievement Award2019Best Theatrical Motion PictureMarriage StoryOnce Upon a Time in Hollywood2023Barbie2011Art Directors Guild AwardOutstanding Contribution to Cinematic Imagery AwardHarry Potter series2019Critics' Choice Movie AwardBest PictureOnce Upon a Time in HollywoodMarriage Story2014Empire AwardBest British FilmPaddingtonBest Comedy