Craig Mazin

Early life

Mazin was born to Ashkenazi Jewish parents in New York City's Brooklyn borough in 1971, and grew up in the city's Staten Island borough. He moved as a teenager to Marlboro Township, New Jersey, where he attended Freehold High School in nearby Freehold Borough. The school later inducted him into its Hall of Fame in 2010. He graduated magna cum laude with a degree in psychology from Princeton University in 1992. His roommate during his freshman year was future Republican politician Ted Cruz, whom he has since described as a "huge asshole".

Career

Mazin began his entertainment career as a marketing executive with Walt Disney Pictures in the mid-1990s, where he was responsible for writing and producing campaigns for studio films. He made his screenwriting debut with 1997's sci-fi comedy RocketMan, co-written with his then-writing partner Greg Erb. He has since written movies such as Senseless, Scary Movie 3, Scary Movie 4, and Identity Thief. He has directed two films: 2000's low-budget superhero film The Specials, which he also produced, and the 2008 superhero spoof Superhero Movie, which he also wrote (he also made a cameo appearance as a janitor).

Since 2006, Mazin has collaborated with director Todd Phillips on several occasions. He co-wrote both Hangover sequels, The Hangover Part II and The Hangover Part III, and executive produced School for Scoundrels. In 2004, he was elected to the board of directors of the Writers Guild of America, West. He did not seek re-election and his term expired in September 2006. Along with fellow former WGA board member Ted Elliott, Mazin ran a website called The Artful Writer, which focused on issues relevant to working screenwriters. It closed in 2011 after seven years. In 2011, Mazin and fellow screenwriter John August began Scriptnotes, a weekly podcast on the craft of screenwriting and the U.S. film industry.

In 2017, HBO and Sky Television announced Chernobyl, a five-part drama miniseries created by Mazin about the infamous Chernobyl disaster. The series aired in 2019 and was filmed in Lithuania and Ukraine. Mazin said that the "lesson of Chernobyl isn't that modern nuclear power is dangerous [...] the lesson is that lying, arrogance, and suppression of criticism are dangerous". In an interview with Decider, he said, "If I came to HBO and said 'I want to do another season of Chernobyl, except it's gonna be about another tragedy,' whether it's Bhopal or Fukushima or something like that, I would imagine they at least would give me polite interest."

In 2019, it was announced that Disney had hired Mazin to co-write the screenplay of a sixth Pirates of the Caribbean movie with original Pirates screenwriter Ted Elliott. He was named as the scriptwriter for the Lionsgate film adaptation of the Borderlands video game series in February 2020, though his name was removed from the project by 2023. In January 2021, Mazin signed an overall deal with HBO.

He was announced as co-writer and co-executive producer for a television series adaptation of the video game The Last of Us for HBO in March 2020, alongside the game's co-director and writer Neil Druckmann. The Last of Us adaptation was greenlit by HBO in November 2020, and was released in January 2023. In July 2025, it was announced Mazin would have creative control of the third season as Druckmann and Halley Gross exited the series to pursue other commitments.

In August 2025, Mazin has been tapped by HBO to executive produce Blackout Room, a high-concept mystery thriller drama. He will work alongside Jacqueline Lesko and Cecil O’Connor.

In the summer of 2026, he and his production company, Word Games, will be producing Natasha Lyonne's film, Bambo.

Personal life

Mazin and his wife Melissa have two children. He supported Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election. He has a tattoo of a switchblade belonging to The Last of Uss Ellie on his arm.

Filmography

Film

Special thanks

• The Words (2012)
• Free Birds (2013)
• Don't Think Twice (2016)

Actor

Television

Actor

Accolades

References

References

1. (August 21, 2019). "How 'Chernobyl' Creator Craig Mazin Morphed from Comedy Screenwriter to Emmy-Contending HBO Showrunner".
2. (January 15, 2016). "Ted Cruz's Jewish College Roomie Remembers when — with Acid Tongue".
3. (April 12, 2022). "American Television during a Television Presidency". Wayne State University Press.
4. Celano, Clare Marie. [https://archive.today/20130102182913/http://newstranscript.gmnews.com/news/2010-03-03/Front_Page/Freehold_Hall_of_Fame_inductees_to_be_feted.html "Freehold Hall of Fame inductees to be feted"], ''News Transcript'', March 3, 2010. Accessed February 5, 2011. "Screenwriter and author Craig Mazin, a native of Staten Island, N.Y., was 13 when he moved to Marlboro."
5. Patricia Murphy. [http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/08/19/ted-cruz-at-princeton-creepy-sometimes-well-liked-and-exactly-the-same.html "Ted Cruz at Princeton: Creepy, Sometimes Well Liked, and Exactly the Same"] {{Webarchive. link. (May 17, 2017)
6. (December 4, 2015). "Fuckin' Craig Mazin: An Appreciation of Ted Cruz's College Roommate". Politics.
7. (June 15, 2020). "Ted Cruz's College Roommate Says Texas Senator Has Been 'Pathetic Since 1988'". [[Newsweek]].
8. (July 29, 2013). "Interview (Part 1): Craig Mazin – Go Into The Story". Go Into The Story.
9. "Scriptnotes on iTunes ".
10. Littleton, Cynthia. (July 26, 2017). "HBO Sets 'Chernobyl' Miniseries to Star Jared Harris". Variety.
11. (June 23, 2019). "Will HBO's 'Chernobyl' Miniseries Impact Perceptions of Nuclear Power?". Inside Sources.
12. (June 6, 2019). "People are asking the writer of Chernobyl to do a similar show and he has some thoughts". [[Joe (website).
13. Kit, Borys. (October 25, 2019). "'Chernobyl' Creator Craig Mazin Tackling 'Pirates of the Caribbean' Reboot (Exclusive)".
14. McNary, Dave. (February 20, 2020). "Eli Roth to Direct 'Borderlands' Movie for Lionsgate". [[Variety (magazine).
15. Hailu, Selome. (July 12, 2023). "'Borderlands' Movie; Craig Mazin Says He's 'Not a Credited Writer' and Reports of Pseudonym Credit Are 'False'". [[Variety (magazine).
16. (January 25, 2021). "'Last of Us' EP Craig Mazin Extends HBO Overall Deal".
17. Otterson, Joe. (March 5, 2020). "'The Last of Us' Series in Development at HBO From 'Chernobyl' Creator". [[Variety (magazine).
18. White, Peter. (November 20, 2020). "'The Last Of Us': HBO Hands Series Order To Video Game Adaptation From Craig Mazin & Neil Druckmann".
19. Campione, Katie. (2025-07-02). "'The Last Of Us' Co-Creator Neil Druckmann To Step Back Creatively From HBO Series Ahead Of Season 3".
20. Andreeva, Nellie. (2025-08-12). "Craig Mazin Executive Producing ‘Blackout Room’ Drama In Works At HBO From ‘Nine Days’ Edson Oda".
21. Otterson, Joe. (2023-03-17). "Craig Mazin’s Production Company Word Games Promotes Jacqueline Lesko to President of Production".
22. Strause, Jackie. (2025-12-19). "Natasha Lyonne Sets Next Feature Film ‘Bambo’ (Exclusive)".
23. (June 8, 2011). "Writer's art doesn't reflect his life".
24. (June 3, 2019). "The Creator of Chernobyl on Viewers Taking Away the Wrong Lessons". Slate.
25. "The Last Of Us Showrunner Gets Ellie's Trusty Knife Tattooed On His Arm".
26. D'Alessandro, Anthony. (November 16, 2019). "'How 'Charlie's Angels' Fell From Grace At The Box Office With An $8M+ Opening". [[Deadline Hollywood]].
27. "Dune: Part 2". [[Writers Guild of America West]].
28. "Wicked". [[Writers Guild of America West]].
29. Strause, Jackie. (2025-12-19). "Natasha Lyonne Sets Next Feature Film ‘Bambo’ (Exclusive)".