Dean Devlin

Early life

Devlin's father, Don Devlin (1930–2000), an actor turned writer-producer who was noted for discovering Steven Spielberg, was Jewish, and his mother, Pilar Seurat, was a Filipino actress.

Career

Film

Devlin appeared as an actor on numerous television shows throughout the 1980s. He also appeared in films including My Bodyguard, The Wild Life, Real Genius and Martians Go Home. Due to his youthful appearance, Devlin often played teenage characters despite being in his 20s.

Devlin gradually began writing scripts. His first produced screenplay was for Universal Soldier. He reached prominence as a writer/producer working alongside director Roland Emmerich, with whom he teamed after appearing in Emmerich's film Moon 44. Together they cowrote and produced Stargate, the first movie to have a web site. The team then produced Independence Day and Godzilla. They split following the 2000 Mel Gibson film The Patriot, but re-teamed to film Independence Day: Resurgence in 2016. Devlin has also produced Cellular, Who Killed the Electric Car?, and Flyboys.

Devlin's directorial debut was the action sci-fi film Geostorm for Warner Bros. The film was set for a March 2016 release, later rescheduled for October 2017. It starred Gerard Butler as the lead with Jim Sturgess, Abbie Cornish, Ed Harris and Andy García. The film made $221 million on a $120 million budget. In March 2018, Deadline Hollywood calculated the film lost Warner Bros. $71.6 million when factoring in all other expenses and revenues.

Devlin's second film as director was the 2018 thriller Bad Samaritan, starring Robert Sheehan and David Tennant.

Television

Devlin produced The Triangle miniseries, Leverage (of which he has directed twelve episodes), The Librarian franchise, and The Outpost. He also co-created The Visitor series.

In 2019 Devlin began working with the Philippine media conglomerate ABS-CBN to produce a new series called Almost Paradise (originally titled Off Tropic.) The series premiered in the United States on May 30, 2020, on WGN America, and premiered on Kapamilya Channel in 2021. It was filmed entirely in the Philippines and the majority of the cast members are Filipino, aside from the lead—played by Christian Kane, whom Devlin also worked with on the television shows Leverage and The Librarians.

Delvin produced The Ark TV series for Syfy, which aired starting in February 2023.

Video games

Devlin was an advisor to the video game company ZeniMax Media from 1999 to 2004. Additionally Devlin was involved in video game projects The 10th Planet and Godzilla Online.

Personal life

Devlin's daughter, Hannah Devlin, is an actress who guest starred in Devlin's TV series The Librarians: The Next Chapter.

Filmography

Television

The numbers in directing and writing credits refer to the number of episodes.

Acting roles

Awards and nominations

References

References

1. Brown, Lourdes O.. (2000-12-19). "Don Devlin".
2. Longwell, Todd. (2025-10-10). "How ‘Star Trek’ and ‘Star Wars’ Fandom Inspired Dean Devlin to Become a Billion Dollar Producer".
3. (September 24, 2006). "Fil-Am producer Dean Devlin soars with 'Flyboys'". Philippine Daily Inquirer.
4. "Pilar Cerveris Obituary (2001) - Los Angeles, CA - Los Angeles Times".
5. (December 11, 2000). "Godzilla guy has a love for the game". Reed Business Information.
6. (June 24, 2011). "ID Forever: Emmerich is producing with Dean Devlin and Harald Kloser.". Collider.com.
7. (November 29, 2006). "FLYBOYS Squadron Gets Massive New Update-Free Update, Great Reviews, and a Real Fighter Pilot Flight!". [[Berkshire Hathaway]].
8. McNary, Dave. (11 April 2014). "Gerard Butler to Star in Sci-Fi Thriller 'Geostorm'". variety.com.
9. (2 May 2014). "Warner Bros Slots 'Geostorm' For 2016". [[Deadline Hollywood]].
10. "Jim Sturgess, Abbie Cornish in Talks to Join Gerard Butler in 'Geostorm'". hollywoodreporter.com.
11. [https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=geostorm.htm Box Office Mojo: Geostorm]
12. D'Alessandro, Anthony. (March 29, 2018). "What Were The Biggest Bombs At The 2017 B.O.? Deadline's Most Valuable Blockbuster Tournament".
13. (September 16, 2013). "Dean Devlin Sets Next Directorial Effort As Electric Entertainment Picks Up 2 Projects". Deadline.
14. (September 19, 1997). "FOX SETTLES LAWSUIT OVER 'THE VISITOR'". [[Digital First Media]].
15. Camus, Miguel R.. (September 26, 2019). "ABS-CBN begins Hollywood gamble with crime series".
16. (December 21, 2020). "'Together as One in 2021': Here are ABS-CBN's upcoming shows, offerings".
17. (19 January 2020). "Christian Kane Is Trying to Avoid Stress in 'Almost Paradise'". TVInsider.com.
18. (February 2, 2023). "Dean Devlin explains why 'The Ark' isn't 'woke' sci-fi: 'There's an attempt to politicize everything now'".
19. (September 23, 2001). "ZeniMax Media | profile – business advisory board".
20. McNicholas, Conor. (October 1995). "The Bizarre Tenth Planet".
21. "Godzilla Online".
22. https://twitter.com/Dean_Devlin/status/1950010625440276786
23. Petski, Denise. (March 20, 2024). "''The Librarians: The Next Chapter'': Callum McGowan, Three More Round Out Cast".