David Mamet
David Mamet is a prolific playwright, screenwriter, and director known for his distinct style and sharp dialogue. Born in Chicago in 1947, Mamet began his career as a playwright in the 1970s, quickly gaining a reputation for his gritty, realistic portrayals of working-class characters.
Date of Birth: November 30, 1947 (78)
Birth Place: Chicago, IL, USA
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BIO
David Mamet is a prolific playwright, screenwriter, and director known for his distinct style and sharp dialogue. Born in Chicago in 1947, Mamet began his career as a playwright in the 1970s, quickly gaining a reputation for his gritty, realistic portrayals of working-class characters.
Mamet's breakthrough came in 1976 with his play "American Buffalo," which premiered at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago before moving to Broadway the following year. The play, which follows a group of small-time crooks planning a heist, was praised for its raw, naturalistic dialogue and won the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best American Play.
In the years that followed, Mamet continued to write plays that explored the darker corners of American society, including "Glengarry Glen Ross" (1984), which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and "Oleanna" (1992), a controversial play about sexual harassment on college campuses.
Mamet also found success as a screenwriter, penning scripts for films such as "The Verdict" (1982), "The Untouchables" (1987), and "Wag the Dog" (1997). His screenplay for "The Untouchables" earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.
In addition to his work in theater and film, Mamet has also written several novels and worked as a director for both stage and screen. He made his directorial debut with the film "House of Games" (1987) and has since directed several other films, including "The Spanish Prisoner" (1997) and "Redbelt" (2008).
Mamet's most recent work includes the play "The Penitent," which premiered Off-Broadway in 2017. The play, which centers on a psychiatrist who refuses to testify in a court case, explores themes of guilt, redemption, and the nature of truth.
Photos
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From left, actress Rebecca Pidgeon and David Mamet arrive for the opening night performance of "Blithe Spirit" at Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre on December 14, 2014, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Ryan Miller/Capture Imaging)
From: Photo Flash: BLITHE SPIRIT National Tour, Starring Angela Lansbury, Opens in Los Angeles!
Productions
Writing
Source Material
See how David Mamet connects to other Broadway stars and creatives.
Six Degrees of Broadway Beta
See how many degrees separate David Mamet from another Broadway star or creative.
David Mamet
Connection
Movies
[ 1979 ] Writer
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[ 1987 ] Herb
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[ 2008 ] writer/director
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[ 2025 ] based on a play by
TV Shows
[ 1997 ] David
[ 2006-2009 ] Creator
[ 2011 ] David Mamet
Awards and Nominations
David Mamet, Boston Marriage
David Mamet, The Cryptogram
David Mamet, The Cryptogram
winner
David Mamet, Cryptogram
David Mamet, The Cryptogram
David Mamet, The Cryptogram
David Mamet, Oleanna
David Mamet, Speed the Plow
David Mamet, Speed-the-Plow
David Mamet, Glengarry Glen Ross
winner
David Mamet, Glengarry Glen Ross
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David Mamet, Glengarry Glen Ross
David Mamet, Glengarry Glen Ross
David Mamet, Edmund
winner
David Mamet, Glengarry Glen Ross
David Mamet, The Water Engine
David Mamet, American Buffalo
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David Mamet, American Buffalo
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David Mamet, American Buffalo
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David Mamet, Sexual Perversity in Chicago
Videos
Video: GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS Star Indira Varma Talks 'Plays That Made Me' at Old Vic
by Rachel Stone - 2026-08-22 10:11:59
Video: Indira Varma as Levene in New Clip From GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS at the Old Vic
by Stephi Wild - 2026-07-07 09:20:27
Video: Michael McKean Shares Stories from on His 4-Decade Career on Broadway
by Backstage Live with Richard Ridge - 2025-06-14 08:00:20
Video: Michael McKean Recalls the Original Production of GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS
by Josh Sharpe - 2025-05-13 10:20:47
Video: Bill Burr Shares Backstory for GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS Character
by Josh Sharpe - 2025-05-01 10:10:03
Video: Shia LaBeouf Stars in First Trailer for David Mamet's HENRY JOHNSON Film
by Josh Sharpe - 2025-04-16 12:13:47
Video: Bill Burr Debunks Matinee Myths on LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS
by Josh Sharpe - 2025-04-04 10:27:08
Video: How Nathan Lane's Endorsement Landed Bill Burr a Role in GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS
by Josh Sharpe - 2025-04-01 11:19:05
Video: Bill Burr Discusses the Surprising Humor in GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS
by Josh Sharpe - 2025-03-20 16:21:19
Video: Bill Burr Comments on GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS Previews, Broadway Audiences on THE TONIGHT SHOW
by Josh Sharpe - 2025-03-19 11:45:02
Video: Watch Raúl Esparza Sing 'Come to Your Senses' at MCC MISCAST22
by Michael Major - 2025-03-17 16:42:45
Video: Bill Burr Shares Why GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS Remains Relevant
by Josh Sharpe - 2025-03-13 12:51:53
Video: Kieran Culkin Talks GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS Broadway, Oscar Nom on THE TONIGHT SHOW
by Josh Sharpe - 2025-02-07 11:32:19
Video: Bill Burr Reveals the Show That Ignited His Passion for Acting
by Josh Sharpe - 2025-01-15 11:35:40
Video: Patti LuPone Sings 'I Dreamed a Dream' from LES MISERABLES at Carnegie Hall
by Blair Ingenthron - 2024-08-10 14:50:08
Video: LuPone & Everett Sing Bob Dylan's 'Forever Young' at Carnegie Hall
by Blair Ingenthron - 2024-08-03 14:56:24
News
by Rachel Stone - Oct 8, 2026
Film and television actor Shawn Doyle has joined the cast of David Mamet's AMERICAN BUFFALO at Coal Mine Theatre in Toronto, alongside Ted Dykstra and Mackenzie Wojcik, directed by Jordan Laffrenier.
by Greer Firestone - Oct 9, 2026
Living or dead, to the Addams brood, “We’re all family!” They’re creepy, kooky, mysterious and spooky. And at Philadelphia’s Walnut Street Theatre, they’re singing, dancing, falling in love, and confronting that most terrifying prospect of all: normality.
by Nicole Rosky - Oct 7, 2026
BroadwayWorld has just learned that following a sold-out developmental run last year, A Kidman Carol will open Off-Broadway this holiday season starring three-time Tony Award-nominee and Olivier Award-winner Marla Mindelle as Nicole Kidman and Drama Desk Award-nominee Josh Sharp as Cate Blanchett. Written by Kevin Zak and directed by Skylar Fox, the production will play a limited, 6-week engagement at New World Stages beginning Monday, November 16 with an official opening on Monday, November 30.
by Atlantic Theater Company - Oct 6, 2026
Practical Aesthetics Scholarship recipient Langston Darby, who recently began his first year at our Full-Time Professional Conservatory, discusses how the Atlantic Technique helps develop actors who are comfortable with change.
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Oct 6, 2026
Symphony Space will present a special evening celebrating the 20th anniversary of Grey Gardens. Christine Ebersole will revisit her Tony Award-winning performance, alongside the show's composer, Scott Frankel.
by Sherry Shameer Cohen - Sep 27, 2026
There's no excuse to miss this reading of David Mamet's ode to the theatre.
by Rachel Stone - Sep 25, 2026
Actor Bill Bruner makes his stage return in Bailey Theatre Company's production of EARLY ONE EVENING AT THE RAINBOW BAR AND GRILLE, playing bartender Shep, the role that launched his professional career decades ago.
by Rachel Stone - Sep 22, 2026
Tangent Theatre Company will present a special fall reading of Clifford Odets' THE COUNTRY GIRL, made possible through a New York state project grant. The eight-actor ensemble cast includes Sean Cullen, Maggie Adams McDowell, and Michael Rhodes.
by Michael Gioia - Sep 19, 2026
'Evita' is making its way back to Broadway, but it’s been more than four decades since Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s Tony Award-winning musical first arrived in New York City. BroadwayWorld looks back at the original cast.
by Stephi Wild - Sep 16, 2026
Three-time Tony Award winner Patti LuPone will star as Diana Vreeland in a new production of the one-woman play Full Gallop, written by Mark Hampton and Mary Louise Wilson. Learn more here!
by A.A. Cristi - Sep 14, 2026
Tony Award winner Ben Platt and Russell Tovey have joined the fifth and final season of HBO and BBC's Industry, alongside Dianna Agron, Zosia Mamet, Cary Elwes, Sam Riley, Jessica Brown Findlay and more.
by - Sep 10, 2026
Rise and shine, BroadwayWorld! It is September 10, 2026 and it's time to catch up on all of the theatrical happenings you may have missed in the last 24 hours.
by Stephi Wild - Sep 9, 2026
Creative Coven LLC will present David Mamet's BOSTON MARRIAGE, a queer period comedy staged inside a private Studio City residence with actors swapping roles nightly.
by A.A. Cristi - Sep 2, 2026
Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia will present THE ADDAMS FAMILY: The Musical on its Mainstage, with Richard Stafford returning as director and choreographer for the Tony-nominated musical.
by Nicole Rosky - Aug 31, 2026
Tony, Emmy, and Golden Globe Award winner Darren Criss returns to his hometown of San Francisco for a special one-night-only concert at ATG San Francisco's Curran Theatre on Saturday, November 14 at 7:30 p.m.
by Stephi Wild - Aug 28, 2026
Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia will open its new season with THE ADDAMS FAMILY: The Musical, starring Lindsey Bliven and Damon Bonetti as Morticia and Gomez Addams.
by Rachel Stone - Aug 22, 2026
Indira Varma, currently starring in GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS at The Old Vic, discusses five plays that shaped her career in a new video from the theatre's Script Library series.
by Stephi Wild - Aug 18, 2026
Angela Pierce stars as Christine de Pizan in Lorraine Liscio's new play, directed by Myriam Cyr, staged at Theater for the New City's Johnson Theater.
by A.A. Cristi - Aug 5, 2026
Mitch and Murray Productions in Vancouver will present its first three-show season, featuring Western Canadian premieres of MARY JANE and EUREKA DAY alongside A LIFE IN THE THEATRE.
by A.A. Cristi - Jul 27, 2026
GALA will present the world premiere of GARBO: The Actor Who Saved the World, a drama about a double agent who misled the Nazis during World War II, written by Gustavo Ott.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
David Mamet has written 29 shows including A Life in the Theatre (Playwright), The Water Engine (Playwright), Duck Variations (Playwright), The Woods (Playwright), Prairie du Chien and The Shawl (Playwright), Orchards (Adaptation), Urban Blight (Bookwriter), Bobby Gould in Hell (Playwright), Reunion (Playwright), Oleanna (Playwright), Death Defying Acts (Playwright), The Cryptogram (Playwright), Edmond (Playwright), The Old Neighborhood (Playwright), The Water Engine/Mr. Happiness (Playwright), Sexual Perversity in Chicago-The Duck Variations (Author), Boston Marriage (Playwright), Romance (Playwright), Glengarry Glen Ross (Playwright), The Voysey Inheritance (Adaptation), November (Playwright), Speed-The-Plow (Playwright), American Buffalo (Playwright), Two Unrelated Plays by David Mamet: Keep Your Pantheon and School (Playwright), Oleanna (Playwright), Race (Playwright), China Doll (Author), The Penitent (Playwright), Bitter Wheat (Okaywright).
Best New Comedy (Olivier Awards) for Boston Marriage, Outstanding One Person Show (Drama Desk Awards) for The Cryptogram, Outstanding Play (Drama Desk Awards) for The Cryptogram, Best Play (Obie Awards) for Cryptogram, The Pulitzer Prize for Drama (The Pulitzer Prize) for The Cryptogram, The Pulitzer Prize for Drama (The Pulitzer Prize) for The Cryptogram, Outstanding New Play (Drama Desk Awards) for Oleanna, Outstanding New Play (Drama Desk Awards) for Speed the Plow, Best Play (Tony Awards) for Speed-the-Plow, Outstanding Play (Drama Desk Awards) for Glengarry Glen Ross, Best American Play (New York Drama Critics Circle Awards) for Glengarry Glen Ross, The Pulitzer Prize for Drama (The Pulitzer Prize) for Glengarry Glen Ross , Best Play (Tony Awards) for Glengarry Glen Ross, Outstanding Play (Drama Desk Awards) for Edmund, Play of the Year (Olivier Awards) for Glengarry Glen Ross, Best New Play (Drama Desk Awards) for The Water Engine, Best New American Play (Drama Desk Awards) for American Buffalo, Best American Play (New York Drama Critics Circle Awards) for American Buffalo, Best New American Play (Obie Awards) for American Buffalo and Best New American Play (Obie Awards) for Sexual Perversity in Chicago.
David Mamet has won several prestigious awards, including: - Best Play (Obie Awards) for Cryptogram - Best American Play (New York Drama Critics Circle Awards) for Glengarry Glen Ross - The Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Glengarry Glen Ross - Play of the Year (Olivier Awards) for Glengarry Glen Ross - Best American Play (New York Drama Critics Circle Awards) for American Buffalo - Best New American Play (Obie Awards) for American Buffalo - Best New American Play (Obie Awards) for Sexual Perversity in Chicago.
