Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman Headshot

Comic Book Writer • Producer

Birth Date: November 10, 1960

Age: 63 years old

Birth Place: Portchester, England, UK

One of the most popular and prolific fantasy, science fiction and graphic novel authors of the late 20th and early 21st century, Neil Gaiman was the award-winning creator of "The Sandman" series, Good Omens (1990), American Gods (2001), Coraline (2005) and The Graveyard Book (2008), many of which were adapted into equally well-received films and television series. Born Neil Richard Gaiman in Portchester, a suburb of Portsmouth, England, on November 10, 1960, he was the son of business owners David Bernard Gaiman and his wife, pharmacist Sheila Goldman; both parents, as well as Gaiman's sisters, were members of the Church of Scientology, though Gaiman took pains to declare his distance from the organization. His parents moved the family to East Grinstead, a town in West Sussex; there, he earned an education at various area schools while nurturing a deep interest in the works of fantasy, science fiction and mystery writers like Edgar Allan Poe, Lewis Carroll, C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, as well as the comic book titles of the period. Upon graduation from Whitgift School in 1977, Gaiman worked as a journalist, penning interviews and book reviews for various publications, as well as biographies of the pop band Duran Duran and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy author Douglas Adams. He also began publishing short stories, but found his earliest success in comic books: with artist Dave McKean, he created Violent Cases (1987), which dealt with the unreliable nature of childhood memories. The theme, as well as the literary bent and the dark tone of the material, would become hallmarks of Gaiman's subsequent work in comics, which included the limited series "Black Orchid" (1988) for DC Comics, and later, "The Sandman" (1989-1996) for DC's Vertigo imprint. Both series concerned heroes that broke away from the tradition of caped crusaders: the female crime fighter Black Orchid dealt with DC's stable of heroes and villains - Batman, Lex Luthor, Swamp Thing - in a decidedly non-violent manner, while the central figure in "Sandman" was the literal personification of dreams, who must atone for his violent past; a spin-off, Death: The High Cost of Living, featuring the Sandman's sister, Death, followed in 1993. "Sandman" proved to be an unqualified artistic and critical success, earning the first literary award for a comic book with its 1991 win of the World Fantasy Award, as well as 26 Eisner Awards and the Hugo Award. More importantly, it s popularity led to not only more comics from Gaiman, including the "Books of Magic" miniseries, but also the start of Gaiman's career as a novelist. It began with Good Omens , a comedy about an angel and demon trying to prevent the End Times which he wrote with fellow fantasy author Terry Pratchett of the Discworld series; its follow-up, a 1996 novelization of the TV-movie "Neverwhere" (BBC, 1996) about an alternate city of London, marked his debut as a solo author. Stardust (1999), which initially debuted as a four-part illustrated series for DC Comics, was a romantic fable about a young man attempting to retrieve a fallen star for his true love. The new millennium marked a period of remarkable productivity for Gaiman: a new fantasy-horror novel, American Gods (2001), which concerned Old World Gods finding new homes in America, was another huge success, earning Hugo and Nebula Awards as well as best-seller status, while the children's book, Coraline (2005), about a young girl's discovery of an eerie alternate version of her family in her new home, followed in 2003. Between and after these efforts was a return to the world of the Sandman with Endless Nights (2003), which became the first graphic novel to top the New York Times' best-seller list; two series for Marvel Comics - "Marvel 1602," which imagined many of the company's major characters in Elizabethan England, while "The Eternals" was a 2006 revival of comics legend Jack Kirby's series about a race of advanced humans. He also penned the script for the 2005 feature "MirrorMask" for the Jim Henson Company, collaborated with producer Roger Avary on the screenplay for Robert Zemeckis' CGI animated feature "Beowolf" (2007). After returning to novels in 2005 with Anansi Boys, which followed the son of "American Gods" character Mr. Nancy - based on the African trickster figure Anansi - he issued a new children's novel, The Graveyard Book (2008), which concerned a boy raised by the supernatural inhabitants of a cemetery after the violent death of his parents, and which became the first novel to win both the Newbery Medal and Hugo Award. After issuing a slew of additional works for children, including Crazy Hair (2010) and Fortunately, the Milk (2013), he returned to adult novels with the 2013 best-seller The Ocean at the End of the Lane, about a man's childhood memories sparked by a funeral, and The Silver Lane (2013) and Eternity's Wheel (2015), two collaborations with fantasy/science fiction author Michael Reaves and his daughter, Mallory. To the delight of "Sandman" fans, he also returned to that long-running series with a prequel, "Sandman: Overture" (2013-15) before diving deep into his interest in European mythology with the non-fiction Norse Mythology (2017). By this time, many of Gaiman's books and comics had been adapted into film and television projects, including "Stardust" (2007), by director Matthew Vaughn; an Oscar-nominated, stop-motion animation take on "Coraline" (2009) by director Henry Selick; "Lucifer" (Fox/Netflix, 2016-19), a series based on the demonic character from "The Sandman"; "American Gods" (Starz, 2017- ) an Emmy nominated adaptation of the novel with Ian McShane, Orlando Jones and others; and a miniseries take on "Good Omens" (2019) for Amazon and BBC Two.

Credits

Dead Boy Detectives

Executive Producer
Series
2024

Jonathan Ross' Myths and Legends

Self
Show
2023

Nandor Fodor and the Talking Mongoose

Voice
Gef
Movie
2023

David Baddiel: Jews Don't Count

Self
Show
2022

The SandmanStream

Executive Producer
Series
2022
88%

The SandmanStream

Guest Voice
Crow
Series
2022
88%

The Sparks Brothers

Self
Movie
2021

Neil Gaiman's The Sleeper and the Spindle

Voice
The Home Secretary
Show
2020

Neil Gaiman's The Sleeper and the Spindle

Writer
Show
2020

The Worlds of Ursula K Le Guin

Guest
Show
2019

The Big Scottish Book Club

Actor
Show
2019

The Big Scottish Book Club

Guest
Show
2019

Good OmensStream

Creator
Series
2019
85%

Good OmensStream

Executive Producer
Series
2019
85%

Good OmensStream

Writer
Series
2019
85%

AxiosStream

Guest
News
2018

Boiled Angels: The Trial of Mike Diana

Actor
Movie
2018

Temple of Art

Executive Producer
Movie
2018

Temple of Art

Self
Movie
2018

Mystery of the Giant Cave Spider

Self
Show
2017

Sixteen Legs

Self
Show
2017

American GodsStream

Executive Producer
Series
2017
77%

Terry Pratchett: Back in Black

Guest
Show
2017

How to Talk to Girls at PartiesStream

Executive Producer
Movie
2017
48%

Sleuths, Spies & Sorcerers: Andrew Marr's Paperback Heroes

Guest
Show
2016

Neil Gaiman Telling Likely Stories

Host
Show
2016

LuciferStream

Guest Star
God
Series
2016
88%

LuciferStream

Guest Voice
God
Series
2016
88%

LuciferStream

Writer
Series
2016
88%

Neil Gaiman: Dream Dangerously

Self
Movie
2016

The Kate Bush Story: Running Up That Hill

Self
Show
2014

Late Night With Seth MeyersStream

Guest
Talk
2014

Doctor Who: The 50th Anniversary Collection

Self
Show
2013

A Dream of Flying

Screenwriter
Movie
2013

Gahan Wilson: Born Dead, Still Weird

Actor
Movie
2013

Jay and Silent Bob's Super Groovy Cartoon Movie

Voice
Albert the Manservant
Movie
2013

Afternoon Drama

Actor
The Home Secretary
Show
2012

Afternoon Drama

Writer
Show
2012

One to One

Guest
Show
2011

Free Thinking

Guest
Show
2011

The People vs. George Lucas

Actor
Movie
2010

Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown

Actor
Movie
2008

The Big Bang TheoryStream

Guest Star
Himself
Series
2007
81%

StardustStream

Producer
Movie
2007
77%

BeowulfStream

Executive Producer
Movie
2007
71%

BeowulfStream

Writer
Movie
2007
71%

La légende de Beowulf

Executive Producer
Movie
2007

La légende de Beowulf

Writer
Movie
2007

The Colbert Report

Guest
Talk
2005

Doctor WhoStream

Writer
Series
2005
90%

The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson

Guest
Talk
2005

Mirrormask

Writer
Movie
2005

Craig Charles

Guest
Show
2003

A Short Film About John Bolton

Director
Movie
2003

A Short Film About John Bolton

Screenwriter
Movie
2003

Last Call With Carson Daly

Guest
Talk
2002

Desert Island Discs

Guest
Show
2001

92nd Street Y

Actor
Show
1997

Prinzessin Mononoke

Writer
Movie
1997

Princess Mononoke

Writer
Movie
1997

もののけ姫

Writer
Movie
1997

もののけ姫

Writer
Movie
1997

もののけ姫

Writer
Movie
1997

ArthurStream

Guest Star
Series
1996

NeverwhereStream

Writer
Miniseries
1996

Neverwhere

Writer
Movie
1996

The SimpsonsStream

Guest Voice
Himself
Series
1989
85%

CBS News Sunday Morning

Guest
News
1979

News aboutNeil Gaiman

David Tennant, Michael Sheen, Maggie Service, and Nina Sosanya in 'Good Omens'

‘Good Omens’: 11 Burning Questions for Aziraphale, Crowley & Season 3

Michael Sheen and David Tennant — 'Good Omens'

‘Good Omens’ Renewed for Third & Final Season — First Tease About Aziraphale, Crowley & Armageddon

Tom Sturridge and Mason Alexander Park — 'The Sandman'

‘The Sandman’ Resumes Production: Neil Gaiman Teases Season 2 Journey (PHOTO)

George Rexstrew as Edwin Payne, Jayden Revri as Charles Rowland and Kassius Nelson as Crystal Palace in 'Dead Boy Detectives'

‘Dead Boy Detectives’: Netflix Drops Teaser for Next Neil Gaiman Series (VIDEO)

Jenna Coleman and Tom Sturridge in The Sandman

‘The Sandman’ Finally Renewed For Season 2 At Netflix

'Good Omens' Season 2 poster
Comic-Con

‘Good Omens’ at NYCC: Everything We Learned About Season 2 at the Panel

Tom Sturridge as Dream, Melissanthu Mahut as Calliope in The Sandman

‘The Sandman’ Drops Surprise Animated & Live Action 2-Part Bonus Episode

Dead Boy Detectives

‘Dead Boy Detectives’: Neil Gaiman DC Comic Gets Series Order at HBO Max

Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn and Grace Saif

Neil Gaiman’s Fantasy Series ‘Anansi Boys’ Finds Its Female Leads

Good Omens Season 2 Michael Sheen and David Tennant

‘Good Omens’: Amazon Unveils First Look at Aziraphale & Crowley in Season 2

Good Omens Season 1 Michael Sheen and David Tennant

Michael Sheen Teases ‘Good Omens’ Season 2 Return as Angel Aziraphale (PHOTO)

Anansi Boys Series Announcement Poster Amazon

Neil Gaiman’s ‘Anansi Boys’ Ordered to Series at Amazon

Good Omens 2 Artwork

‘Good Omens’ Season 2: Michael Sheen & David Tennant Series Officially Returning

american gods season 3
Preview

‘American Gods’: Neil Gaiman on Season 3, Shadow Moon, and Shaping the Show to Be More like the Book (VIDEO)

Michael Sheen and David Tennant in 'Good Omens'
Q&A

‘Good Omens’: Neil Gaiman Talks the Challenges of the Book-to-Series Adaptation

good-omens-amazon
Preview

Neil Gaiman Calls ‘Good Omens’ the ‘Funniest Story I Could Tell About the End of the World’

good omens music

‘Good Omens’: Watch the Chattering Order of St. Beryl Welcome the Antichrist (VIDEO)

Exclusive

‘Good Omens’ Preview: Michael Sheen, David Tennant & Jon Hamm Tease Their Characters

Ian McShane and Ricky Whittle of 'American Gods'

Is the Future of ‘American Gods’ in Jeopardy with Showrunner Shakeup?

American Gods Key Art

Starz Releases ‘American Gods’ Premiere Date and Key Art

Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s ‘Good Omens’ Greenlit to Series at Amazon