Kenneth Lonergan (born October 16, 1962) is an American playwright, screenwriter and film director. He is known for his works, which explore complex emotional and interpersonal dynamics. He has received several awards, including an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award, as well as nominations for three Golden Globe Awards, a Pulitzer Prize, a Laurence Olivier Award, and three Tony Awards. In 1982, Lonergan wrote his first one-act play, The Rennings Children. He then earned acclaim for a string of off-Broadway plays, including This is Our Youth (1996), The Waverly Gallery (2000), and Lobby Hero (2001), which were later revived on Broadway, earning him nominations for three Tony Awards for Best Revival of a Play in 2015, 2019, and 2018, respectively. For his work on The Waverly Gallery, he was selected as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. He directed and wrote the drama film Manchester by the Sea (2016), which won him the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay as well as a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Director. He was previously Oscar-nominated as a writer for his first film, You Can Count on Me (2000), and as a co-writer for Martin Scorsese's historical epic film, Gangs of New York (2002). He also wrote and directed the psychological drama film Margaret (2011) and adapted E.M. Forster's novel Howards End into the 2017 miniseries of the same name. Description above from the Wikipedia article Kenneth Lonergan, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Biography from TMDB.
- October 16, 1962 (64)
- New York City, New York, USA
- Writer, actor and director
- 14 on MovieCove · 17 credits in all
What are Kenneth Lonergan's films like?
Across their 11 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 1 · Wry 0 · Earnest 7
A split, not a type: Light 5 · Serious 0 · Dark 3
A split, not a type: Grounded 5 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 2
A split, not a type: Gentle 5 · Charged 0 · Intense 3
A split, not a type: Steady 4 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 1
A split, not a type: Straight-faced 3 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 3
Slow burn 4 · Even-paced 4 · Relentless 0
A split, not a type: Casual 4 · Engaged 2 · Full focus 2
A split, not a type: Easy watch 4 · Affecting 1 · Heavy 3
Resolved 4 · Open-ended 4 · Ambiguous 0
Roles they play
- Heraldas Herbert Greenleaf in Ripley (2024)
Moods and endings
- Happy4
- Bittersweet7
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Kenneth Lonergan's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 10 of their 14 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
- BritBox
Subscription and free streaming for Kenneth Lonergan's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
17 credits, 14 with a MovieCove page; 2 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Debaters (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)
Ripley(2024)
Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all shows
My Friends(2023)
Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
White Noise(2022)
Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films
This Is Our Youth (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)
Howards End(2017)
Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all shows
Manchester by the Sea(2016)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films
Margaret(2011)
Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films
I'm Still Here(2010)
Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films
Marie and Bruce(2004)
Midcredits score: 16th percentile of all films
Gangs of New York(2002)
Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films
Analyze That(2002)
Midcredits score: 32nd percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 7th percentile of all films
You Can Count on Me(2000)
Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films
Analyze This(1999)
Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films
Doug(1991)
Midcredits score: 63rd percentile of all showsTomorrow Is a Drag (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 17 titles, 16 of them dated from 1991 to 2025.
Biggest box office
Gangs of New York (2002)
Highest rated
Manchester by the Sea (2016)
Most popular right now
Doug (1991)
Film career
- 2000Screen debut· You Can Count on Me
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Kenneth Lonergan's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 67th percentile, the median of all 11; across their 8 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 76th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up4
- 50th to 74th6
- 25th to 49th2
- Below 25th2
Shape of the crowd
5 of their 14 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved3
- Divisive1
- Crowd Pleaser5
- Broadly Agreed1
- Mixed4
Reviewers score the dialogue 66/100 and the plot and story 45/100 in their films, across 7 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Kenneth Lonergan's work okay for kids?
Across up to 7 MovieCove titles with content scores, sex & nudity, profanity, alcohol & drugs and frightening / intense run heavier than most films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does Kenneth Lonergan work with?
People who share at least 2 of Kenneth Lonergan's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Robert De Niro shares the most, 3.
Directors
- Harold RamisShared titles: Analyze That (2002), Analyze This (1999)See all 2 shared titles with Harold Ramis
Writers
- Steven ZaillianShared titles: Ripley (2024), Gangs of New York (2002)See all 2 shared titles with Steven Zaillian
- Peter TolanShared titles: Analyze That (2002), Analyze This (1999)See all 2 shared titles with Peter Tolan
Actors
- Robert De NiroShared titles: Analyze That (2002), The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle (2000), Analyze This (1999)See all 3 shared titles with Robert De Niro
- Matthew BroderickShared titles: Manchester by the Sea (2016), You Can Count on Me (2000)See all 2 shared titles with Matthew Broderick
- J. Smith-CameronShared titles: Margaret (2011), You Can Count on Me (2000)See all 2 shared titles with J. Smith-Cameron
- Mark RuffaloShared titles: Margaret (2011), You Can Count on Me (2000)See all 2 shared titles with Mark Ruffalo
Composers and editors
- Nico MuhlyShared titles: Howards End (2017), Margaret (2011)See all 2 shared titles with Nico Muhly
- Lesley BarberShared titles: Manchester by the Sea (2016), You Can Count on Me (2000)See all 2 shared titles with Lesley Barber
- Anne McCabeShared titles: Margaret (2011), You Can Count on Me (2000)See all 2 shared titles with Anne McCabe
- Howard ShoreShared titles: Gangs of New York (2002), Analyze This (1999)See all 2 shared titles with Howard Shore
Producers
- Bruce BermanShared titles: Analyze That (2002), Analyze This (1999)See all 2 shared titles with Bruce Berman
- Chris BrighamShared titles: Analyze That (2002), Analyze This (1999)See all 2 shared titles with Chris Brigham
- Jane RosenthalShared titles: Analyze That (2002), Analyze This (1999)See all 2 shared titles with Jane Rosenthal
- Len AmatoShared titles: Analyze That (2002), Analyze This (1999)See all 2 shared titles with Len Amato
Mixed roles
- Matt DamonShared titles: Manchester by the Sea (2016), Margaret (2011)See all 2 shared titles with Matt Damon
- Martin ScorseseShared titles: Gangs of New York (2002), You Can Count on Me (2000)See all 2 shared titles with Martin Scorsese
