# Peter Straughan

Peter Straughan (born 1968) is a British playwright, screenwriter and author. He won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Conclave (2024), and was previously nominated in the category for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011).

## Early life

Straughan's first ambition was to be a professional musician and he achieved this while playing bass guitar with Newcastle-based band The Honest Johns. He spent four years touring and recording with the band through the late 1980s and into the early 1990s before leaving to take up full-time education at Newcastle University. While Straughan was a student he was also a member of the band Cactusman. He wrote the song "Killer", which appeared on the CD album North of London, a collection of music by North East bands released through Newcastle Arts.

## Screenwriting

Straughan co-wrote the 2006 feature film, Mrs Ratcliffe's Revolution and adapted Toby Young's memoir How to Lose Friends & Alienate People. He is the writer of the 2009 film The Men Who Stare at Goats, and co-writer of the 2011 film Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Adapted Screenplay, a screenplay he wrote in collaboration with his late wife Bridget O'Connor. O'Connor died of cancer, aged 49, in 2010, before the film was released. They were awarded a BAFTA for Best Adapted Screenplay.
He adapted Wolf Hall for television. Series 2 of Wolf Hall was confirmed to be in development on 27 May 2019.
In 2025, he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay, the BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, and the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Conclave.

## Filmography

Short film
| Year | Title | Director | Writer |
| 2011 | Gee Gee | Yes | Yes |
Film writer
* Sixty Six (2006)
* Mrs Ratcliffe's Revolution (2007)
* How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (2008)
* The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009)
* The Debt (2010)
* Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
* Frank (2014)
* Our Brand Is Crisis (2015)
* The Snowman (2017)
* The Goldfinch (2019)
* Conclave (2024)
* Crime 101 (2025)
Television
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Notes |
| 2014 | Playhouse Presents | Yes | Yes | Episode "Nosferatu in Love" |
| 2015, 2024 | Wolf Hall | No | Yes | 12 episodes |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Title | Award/Nomination |
| 2011 | Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy | BAFTA Award for Best British Film BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay British Film Bloggers Circle Awards for Best Adapted Screenplay International Cinephile Society Awards for Best Adapted Screenplay Italy Screenplay Award for Best International Adapted Screenplay Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Richard Attenborough Regional Film Awards for Best Screenplay San Francisco Film Critics Circle Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated – Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated – Association of Women Film Journalists Award for Best Screenplay Nominated – British Independent Film Award for Best Screenplay Nominated – London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Screenplay Nominated – USC Scripter Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated – Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Adapted Screenplay |
| 2015 | Wolf Hall | Nominated – Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special |
| 2024 | Conclave | Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay St. Louis Film Critics Association Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Runner-up – Toronto Film Critics Association Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated – Astra Film and Creative Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated – Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated – Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated – San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated – San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle Award for Best Adapted Screenplay |