Mark Boal is an American journalist, screenwriter and film producer. Before he became a prominent figure of cinema, Boal worked as a journalist for such publications as Rolling Stone, The Village Voice and Playboy. Boal's 2004 article "Death and Dishonor" was adapted for the film In the Valley of Elah, which Boal also co-wrote. In 2009, he wrote and produced The Hurt Locker, for which he won both the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and the Academy Award for Best Picture. In 2012, he wrote and produced Zero Dark Thirty, teaming again with director Kathryn Bigelow, about the tracking and capture of Osama bin Laden. The film earned him Academy Award nominations for Best Original Screenplay and Best Picture and a Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay. As of 2013, Boal has won two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, two Writers Guild of America Awards, a Producers Guild of America Award and four Golden Globe Award nominations. He has also won several critics awards. 

January 23rd, 1973 in New York City (Age 51)