Academy Award winning Oliver Stone has written and directed over 20 feature films,
among them some of the most influential films of the last decades. Some have been at
deep odds with conventional myth—films such as “Platoon” (1986), “Born on the Fourth
of July” (1989), “JFK” (1991), “Natural Born Killers” (1994), and “Nixon” (1995).
Stone’s films have often reached wide audiences and have had significant cultural
impact. These include “Salvador” (1985), deeply critical of the U.S. Government’s
involvement in Central America; “Wall Street” (1987), an exposé of America’s new
capitalism; “World Trade Center” (2006), a true story of two 9/11 survivors; “The Doors”
(1991), a poetic look at Jim Morrison’s ecstatic music; and “Snowden” (2016), the
international story of a recent American whistleblower.
His other films include “Any Given Sunday” (1999), an unconventional view of the
world of American sports; “Alexander” (2004), an epic historical drama; “W.” (2008), a
satirical view of former U.S. President George W. Bush; and “Wall Street: Money Never
Sleeps” (2010), a realistic sequel about the 2008 financial crash.
In addition to “Natural Born Killers,” Stone has made a series of crime-related films—“U
Turn” (1997) and “Savages” (2012), both dark in tone and humor.
His documentaries include three on Fidel Castro—“Comandante” (2003), “Looking for
Fidel” (2004), and “Castro in Winter” (2012); one on South America, “South of the
Border” (2009), prominently featuring Hugo Chavez and six other Presidents in a
continent undergoing huge social changes; and “Persona Non Grata” (2003) on Israel-
Palestine relations.
His later documentaries include “The Untold History of the United States” (Showtime,
2012), a monumental 12-hour interrogation of the conventional, triumphalist narrative of
U.S. History; “The Putin Interviews” (Showtime, 2017), a four-part conversation with the
Russian President; “JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass” (2021), a re-examination
of the assassination in the wake of his landmark 1991 film; “Nuclear Now” (2023), which
proposes common sense solutions to our world’s urgent climate crisis; and the upcoming
“Lula” (2025), a series of conversations with then-former Brazilian President Lula da
Silva in the leadup to his historic re-election against Jair Bolsonaro.
Stone was born September 15, 1946 in New York City. He served in the U.S. Army
Infantry in Vietnam in 1967-68 and was decorated with the Bronze Star for Valor. After
returning from Vietnam, he completed his undergraduate studies at NYU Film School in
1971.