Tom McCarthy

**Thomas Joseph McCarthy** (born June 7, 1966) is an American film director, screenwriter, and actor who has appeared in several films, including *Meet the Parents* and *Good Night, and Good Luck*, and television series such as *The Wire*, *Boston Public*, *Law & Order* etc. He is the creator, a writer and director, and an executive producer on ***Alaska Daily***.

## Early life

McCarthy was raised in New Providence, New Jersey, one of five children of Carol and Eugene F. "Gene" McCarthy; Gene worked in the textile industry. McCarthy was raised Catholic, in a family of Irish descent. McCarthy is a graduate of New Providence High School in New Providence, New Jersey and Boston College, Class of 1988, where he was a member of the improv comedy troupe My Mother's Fleabag; and the Yale School of Drama, where he studied under Earle R. Gister.

## Career

McCarthy spent several years doing stand-up comedy and theater in Minneapolis and Chicago before going into television and film. He starred in *Flags of Our Fathers* as James Bradley, and in the final season of *The Wire* as the morally challenged reporter Scott Templeton. He made his Broadway debut in the 2001 revival of *Noises Off!.*

McCarthy's directorial debut, *The Station Agent*, which he also wrote, won the Audience Award and the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival. The film also won the BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay and the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay and the Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award. *The Station Agent* also won awards at film festivals ranging from San Sebastian to Stockholm, Mexico City, and Aspen.

McCarthy's second feature film was *The Visitor*, which premiered at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival. For *The Visitor*, McCarthy won the 2008 Independent Spirit Award for Best Director. McCarthy appeared in the 2009 dramas *The Lovely Bones* and *2012*. In 2010, McCarthy was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the animated film *Up*.

In 2010, McCarthy directed the unaired pilot for the HBO series *Game of Thrones,* but the final cut of the episode was poorly received by showrunners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. McCarthy was replaced by Tim Van Patten, who directed the final version of the pilot that aired in 2011. The experience discouraged McCarthy from returning to television directing for several years.

He also co-wrote and directed 2011's *Win Win* based on his experiences as a wrestler at New Providence High School.

McCarthy's most recent film, the independent drama film *Spotlight*, received widespread acclaim following its release in 2015. The film received six Academy Awards nominations, three Golden Globe Awards nominations, two Screen Actors Guild Awards nominations, and eight Critics' Choice Movie Awards nominations.

McCarthy directed the first two episodes of *13 Reasons Why*, from Anonymous Content and Paramount Television. The show is based on the 2007 *The New York Times* bestselling YA book by Jay Asher. In 2019, he signed a deal with Fox 21 Television Studios.

In September 2021, it was announced that he had created ***Alaska Daily*** for ABC and would write, direct and executive produce the pilot episode.

## Gallery

### Images

* Events
* Behind the scenes