Director
Paul Thomas Anderson
56 years · Studio City, California, USA · 32 films
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 the Best Director Awards at the Cannes Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, and the Berlin International Film Festival. In addition to those accolades, he won the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival. Many of Anderson's films are psychological dramas characterized by depictions of desperate characters and explorations of dysfunctional families, alienation, loneliness, and redemption, alongside a bold visual style that uses constantly moving cameras and long takes. After his directorial debut, Hard Eight (1996), Anderson had critical and commercial success with Boogie Nights (1997), and received further accolades with Magnolia (1999) and Punch-Drunk Love (2002). There Will Be Blood (2007), Anderson's fifth film, is regarded as one of the greatest films of the 21st century. It was followed by The Master (2012) and Inherent Vice (2014), an adaptation of the 2009 novel by Thomas Pynchon. Anderson's next three films, Phantom Thread (2017), Licorice Pizza (2021) and One Battle After Another (2025) were all nominated for the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Director, while the last earned him wins for both and Best Adapted Screenplay and became his highest-grossing film. Anderson is noted for his collaborations with the cinematographer Robert Elswit, the costume designer Mark Bridges, the composers Jon Brion and Jonny Greenwood, and actors including Philip Seymour Hoffman, Daniel Day-Lewis, John C. Reilly, and Joaquin Phoenix. He has directed music videos for artists including Fiona Apple, Haim, Aimee Mann, Joanna Newsom, Michael Penn, Radiohead, and the Smile. He also directed a 2015 documentary about Greenwood's album Junun, and the short music film Anima (2019) for the Radiohead singer Thom Yorke. Description above from the Wikipedia article Paul Thomas Anderson, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Coming next
Best known for
Minority Report
2002 · Bus Passenger (uncredited)
On Kanopy
There Will Be Blood
2007 · Producer, Director
On Philo
One Battle After Another
2025 · Director, Writer
Magnolia
1999 · Man Confiscating Sign (uncredited), Director
On HBO Max
Phantom Thread
2017 · Director, Writer
On Netflix
Boogie Nights
1997 · Director, Producer
On Plex
Filmography 30
Learning, Studying… Always Perfecting: The Making of One Battle After Another
2026 · Self
One Battle After Another
2025 · Director, Writer
Art-House America: Austin Film Society
2023 · Self
"Sr."
2022 · Self (archive footage)
On Netflix
Licorice Pizza
2021 · Cinematography, Writer
On Tubi TV
Anima
2019 · Director, Producer
On Netflix
Phantom Thread
2017 · Director, Writer
On Netflix
HAIM / Valentine
2017 · Director
A Christmas Eve Conversation With Quentin Tarantino & Paul Thomas Anderson
2015 · Self
Junun
2015 · Self (voice) (uncredited), Director
Chryskylodon Blues
2015 · Self
Inherent Vice
2014 · Director, Producer
Altman
2014 · Self
On Kanopy
The Master: Unguided Message
2013 · Actor
The Master
2012 · Writer, Director
On Plex
There Will Be Blood
2007 · Producer, Director
On Philo
Mattress Man Commercial
2003 · Director
Couch
2003 · Director, Writer
Ballchewer
2002 · Director
Punch-Drunk Love
2002 · Producer, Director
Minority Report
2002 · Bus Passenger (uncredited)
On Kanopy
That Moment: Magnolia Diary
2000 · Self
Magnolia
1999 · Man Confiscating Sign (uncredited), Director
On HBO Max
Wadd: The Life & Times of John C. Holmes
1999 · Self