Paul Thomas Anderson

Directing

Paul Thomas Anderson

Born 1970-06-26 · Studio City, California, USA

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.

Acting credits

Minority Report poster
7.4

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.

Minority Report

2002

Magnolia poster
7.7

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.

Magnolia

1999

"Sr." poster
6.9

A portrait of the life and career of Robert Downey Sr. (1936-2021), the visionary and fearless US filmmaker — father of actor Robert Downey Jr. — who in the sixties and seventies laid the foundations for countercultural comedy.

"Sr."

2022

Altman poster
6.6

Robert Altman's life and career contained multitudes. This father of American independent cinema left an indelible mark, not merely on the evolution of his art form, but also on the western zeitgeist. With its use of rare interviews, representative film clips, archival images, and musings from his family and most recognizable collaborators, Altman is a dynamic and heartfelt mediation on an artist whose expression, passion and appetite knew few bounds.

Altman

2014

Learning, Studying… Always Perfecting: The Making of One Battle After Another poster
8.0

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.

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

2026

Junun poster
7.2

A documentary capturing the creation of the album Junun inside Rajasthan’s 15th-century Mehrangarh Fort. Paul Thomas Anderson follows Jonny Greenwood, Shye Ben Tzur, Nigel Godrich, and the Rajasthan Express as they record a cross-cultural fusion of Indian, Israeli, and Western music.

Junun

2015

That Moment: Magnolia Diary poster
7.7

A very in-depth documentary that follows the very over-worked director Paul Thomas Anderson through a gruelling 80+ days of shooting for the film Magnolia (1999), containing behind-the-scenes footage and interviews.

That Moment: Magnolia Diary

2000

Wadd: The Life & Times of John C. Holmes poster
6.1

Friends, enemies, acquaintances, and family of porn star John Holmes recall their experiences with him, from his childhood to his eventual death from AIDS in 1988.

Wadd: The Life & Times of John C. Holmes

1999

Cameron Winter at Carnegie Hall poster
NR

A concert film documenting Cameron Winter's sold-out performance at Carnegie Hall.

Cameron Winter at Carnegie Hall

2026

Art-House America: Austin Film Society poster
NR

Founded by Richard Linklater in 1985 as a screening series dedicated to bringing experimental and art cinema to the city of Austin, Texas, the Austin Film Society has grown into a cornerstone of the city's creative community - while remaining true to its edgy, eclectic roots.

Art-House America: Austin Film Society

2023

Chryskylodon Blues poster
6.0

On the set of Paul Thomas Anderson's Inherent Vice.

Chryskylodon Blues

2015

A Christmas Eve Conversation With Quentin Tarantino & Paul Thomas Anderson poster
7.0

Two great filmmakers discuss the evolution of film, 70mm and Tarantino's "The Hateful Eight".

A Christmas Eve Conversation With Quentin Tarantino & Paul Thomas Anderson

2015

Production Assistant poster
2.0

In 1992, Anderson was knee-deep at night in devising what would eventually become “Boogie Nights,” but during the day he worked as a production assistant on “Sworn To Vengeance,” a telefilm thriller starring Robert Conrad. From this gig sprang a brief, fascinating clip of the future director giving viewers a tour of the different departments on-set, from transpo to catering and make-up/wardrobe.

Production Assistant

1992

Behind the camera

One Battle After Another poster
7.3

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.

One Battle After Another

2025

One Battle After Another poster
7.3

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.

One Battle After Another

2025

One Battle After Another poster
7.3

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.

One Battle After Another

2025

There Will Be Blood poster
8.1

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.

There Will Be Blood

2007

There Will Be Blood poster
8.1

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.

There Will Be Blood

2007

There Will Be Blood poster
8.1

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.

There Will Be Blood

2007

Boogie Nights poster
7.6

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.

Boogie Nights

1997

Boogie Nights poster
7.6

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.

Boogie Nights

1997

Boogie Nights poster
7.6

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.

Boogie Nights

1997

Magnolia poster
7.7

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.

Magnolia

1999

Magnolia poster
7.7

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.

Magnolia

1999

Magnolia poster
7.7

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.

Magnolia

1999

Inherent Vice poster
6.5

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

Inherent Vice

2014

Inherent Vice poster
6.5

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

Inherent Vice

2014

Inherent Vice poster
6.5

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

Inherent Vice

2014

Licorice Pizza poster
6.9

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.

Licorice Pizza

2021

Licorice Pizza poster
6.9

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.

Licorice Pizza

2021

Licorice Pizza poster
6.9

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.

Licorice Pizza

2021

Phantom Thread poster
7.3

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

Phantom Thread

2017

Phantom Thread poster
7.3

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

Phantom Thread

2017

Phantom Thread poster
7.3

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

Phantom Thread

2017

The Master poster
7.1

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.

The Master

2012

The Master poster
7.1

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.

The Master

2012

The Master poster
7.1

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.

The Master

2012