Biography

Rian Craig Johnson (born December 17, 1973) is an American filmmaker. He made his directorial debut with the neo-noir mystery film Brick (2005), which received positive reviews and grossed nearly $4 million on a $450,000 budget. Transitioning to higher-profile films, Johnson achieved mainstream recognition for writing and directing the science-fiction thriller Looper (2012) to critical and commercial success. Johnson landed his largest project when he wrote and directed the space opera Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017), which grossed over $1 billion. He returned to the mystery genre with Knives Out (2019), which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay, and its sequel, Glass Onion (2022). Outside of film, Johnson directed three episodes of the television drama series Breaking Bad (2008–2013). He received the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Drama Series in 2013 for his work on the season 5 episode "Fifty-One".