Grant Heslov

Did You Know?

• Heslov was raised in the Palos Verdes area of Los Angeles County.
• His father, Arthur Heslov, was a dentist, and his mother, Jerrie (née Rosen), a businesswoman.
• He is a member of Phi Kappa Psi.

Career

Heslov's acting credits include the films True Lies, Dante's Peak, Enemy of the State, The Scorpion King, Good Night and Good Luck, Congo, Black Sheep, and Catch Me If You Can. He also appeared in television series such as Murder, She Wrote, Happy Days, Seinfeld, Family Ties, Spencer, Mama's Family, L.A. Law, Matlock, Sleeper Cell, and The X-Files. In 2001, he joined Section Eight Productions as director of development, and then became head of the television division when the company started its business in 2003.

In August 2006, Heslov and George Clooney started Smokehouse Pictures and began writing screenplays for production. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay (with Clooney) and as producer for Best Film for Good Night, and Good Luck. Clooney and Heslov also won the Golden Osella for Best Screenplay for that film. Heslov appears in the film as Don Hewitt, the director of the TV series See It Now, around which the movie is centered.

He directed a screen adaptation of The Men Who Stare at Goats, starring Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges, and Kevin Spacey, and co-produced The American starring Clooney in 2012. He also worked on 2011's The Ides of March. In June 2012, he was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In 2013, Heslov, alongside Clooney and Ben Affleck, won the Academy Award for Best Picture for Argo (2012).

The three also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama and the BAFTA Award for Best Film. Heslov directed the first and fifth episodes of the 2019 miniseries Catch-22, on which he was also executive producer. In 2024, it was announced Heslov and George Clooney will co-write and Clooney will star in Good Night, and Good Luck, a Broadway adaptation of the film Good Night, and Good Luck. For the play, he was nominated for a Drama League Award and won the 2025 Outer Critics Circle John Gassner Award for Playwriting with Clooney.