New Zealand-born screenwriter-director Andrew Niccol began his career in London, successfully directing TV commercials before moving to Los Angeles in order to make films "longer than 60 seconds." He interested high-powered producer Scott Rudin in his THE TRUMAN SHOW (1998) script, but Rudin was not willing to gamble on a rookie director, particularly when Jim Carrey came aboard, swelling the budget to about $60 million. Peter Weir helmed instead, bringing a complementary vision which lightened the material somewhat, and the clever satire, which followed a cheerful insurance man (Carrey) as he slowly realizes that all the people in his life are just actors in a TV show, opened to critical raves. Since the deal for "Truman" came together slowly, Niccol actually made his screenwriting and directing debut with GATTACA (1997), a superb, well-acted sci-fi movie that raised issues of genetic engineering in a totalitarian environment. Subsequent notable credits include S1M0NE (2002, writer, producer & director) and THE TERMINAL (2004, writer & producer), LORD OF WAR (2005, writer, producer & director), and DALI & I: THE SURREAL STORY (scheduled for release in 2009, writer & director). Since 2002, Niccol has been married to actress Rachel Roberts (b. 1978), who played the title role in Niccol's S1M0NE. They have one child, Jack, born in 2003.  Nominated for Achievement in Writing (Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen) 1998: THE TRUMAN SHOW 1 nomination