American screenwriter, producer, director and actor
Ian Brennan
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Brennan in 2011
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Born
| (
1978-04-23
)
April 23, 1978
(age 46)
Mount Prospect, Illinois
, U.S.
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Occupation
|
- Screenwriter
- producer
- director
- actor
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Spouse
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Children
| 2
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Ian Brennan
(born April 23, 1978) is an American screenwriter, director and actor. He is known for his work on the American television shows
Glee
,
Scream Queens
,
The Politician
, and
Dahmer ? Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story
.
Early life
[
edit
]
Brennan is the son of John and Charman Brennan.
[1]
He is
Irish Catholic
and his father was a Paulist priest.
[2]
[3]
Brennan spent four years at
Prospect High School
in
Mount Prospect, Illinois
during the mid-1990s, and was a member of the school
show choir
, which he did not find particularly enjoyable. He was friends with actress
Jennifer Morrison
. Brennan aspired to be an actor, and as his high school musical director was also the show choir director, he joined the choir to enhance his chance of being cast in musical productions. Brennan credits his high school theatre director John Marquette for inspiring him to act. The character
Will Schuester
in
Glee
is partially based on Marquette. Brennan went on to study theatre at
Loyola University Chicago
.
[4]
He graduated in 2000,
[5]
and acted for a time in Chicago, studying at
The Second City Training Center
and working with the
Steppenwolf
and
Goodman Theatres
,
[6]
before moving to
New York City
to continue his acting career.
[5]
He has performed in
off-Broadway
plays at the
Vineyard
,
Playwrights Horizons
and MCC Theatres.
[6]
His early writing experience was limited to sketch pieces in high school and college plays he describes as "terrible".
[4]
Career
[
edit
]
Brennan conceived the idea for
Glee
based on his own experience as a member of the Prospect High School show choir. He explained: "I find it interesting that there is something in everybody, a longing for something transcendent, particularly in a place like Mt. Prospect, a place that's very suburban and normal and plain. Even in places like that, there's this desire to shine. That's fascinating and very funny to me, especially when people try to accomplish this through show choir ? which, to me, is inherently a little ridiculous."
[4]
Brennan was inspired by these events,
[6]
and in August 2005, purchased a copy of
Screenwriting for Dummies
and wrote the first draft of
Glee
, initially envisioned as a film rather than a
television series
.
[4]
He completed the script in 2005, but could not generate interest in the project for several years.
[5]
Mike Novick, a television producer and a friend of Brennan's from
Los Angeles
, was a member of the same gym as writer and producer
Ryan Murphy
, and gave him a copy of Brennan's script.
[7]
Murphy had been in a show choir while at college, and as such felt he could relate to the script. Murphy and his
Nip/Tuck
colleague
Brad Falchuk
suggested that
Glee
be adapted to a television show format.
[4]
The script was entirely re-written,
[5]
and was picked up by
Fox
within 15 hours of being received. Murphy and Falchuk became the show's executive producers and showrunners, while Brennan is a co-executive producer and Novick is a producer.
[8]
Brennan, Falchuk and Murphy wrote all of the show's episodes in the first two seasons,
[9]
and were nominated for two 2010
Writers Guild of America Awards
for
Glee
, with nominations in the Best Comedy Series and Best New Series categories.
[10]
Glee
concluded after its sixth season, which aired in early 2015.
Brennan, Falchuk and Murphy created
Scream Queens
, a comedy-horror series set on a college campus and in a hospital, that aired from September 2015 to December 2016,
[11]
and starred
Emma Roberts
,
Ariana Grande
,
Lea Michele
,
Keke Palmer
,
Abigail Breslin
,
[12]
and
Jamie Lee Curtis
.
[13]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Brennan lives in both
New York City
and
Los Angeles
. He married actress
Trilby Glover
in September 2016 and the couple have two children, Blaise (born in April 2016) and Juno (born in August 2018).
[14]
[15]
[16]
[17]
Credits
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Naqvi, Jameel (January 18, 2010).
"Suburban-tied 'Glee' a big winner at Golden Globes"
.
Daily Herald
. Retrieved
January 19,
2010
.
- ^
Barnes, Brooks (October 22, 2010).
"The Nice Guy Who Puts the Mean into 'Glee'
"
.
The New York Times
.
- ^
"The Catholic behind Glee"
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Mastony, Colleen (September 8, 2009).
"
"Glee Club" TV series creator uses Mt. Prospect high school for inspiration"
.
Chicago Tribune
.
Tribune Company
. Retrieved
January 19,
2010
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Arado, Matt (May 19, 2009).
"Mount Prospect native helped create new Fox show 'Glee'
"
.
Daily Herald
. Archived from
the original
on February 20, 2012
. Retrieved
January 19,
2010
.
- ^
a
b
c
"Ian Brennan"
.
Fox Broadcasting Company
. Archived from
the original
on January 17, 2010
. Retrieved
January 19,
2010
.
- ^
Fernandez, Maria Elena (April 26, 2009).
"Will TV audiences watch with 'Glee'?"
.
Los Angeles Times
. Retrieved
June 1,
2009
.
- ^
Schneider, Michael (July 23, 2009).
"Fox greenlights 'Glee' pilot"
.
Variety
.
Reed Business Information
. Retrieved
January 19,
2010
.
- ^
Silver, Curtis (December 7, 2009).
"We're All Gleeks ? 10 Questions for Glee Co-Creator Brad Falchuk"
.
Wired
.
Conde Nast Publications
. Archived from
the original
on December 25, 2011
. Retrieved
January 19,
2010
.
- ^
"2010 WGA Awards TV Nominees Announced"
(Press release).
Writers Guild of America
. December 14, 2009. Archived from
the original
on January 29, 2010
. Retrieved
December 15,
2009
.
- ^
"Ryan Murphy & His 'Glee' Co-Creators Get Fox Series Order For Comedy-Horror Anthology 'Scream Queens'
"
. Deadline. October 20, 2014.
- ^
"Meet All of the "Scream Queens"!"
. Bloody Disgusting. December 8, 2014.
- ^
"Emma Roberts, Jamie Lee Curtis join Ryan Murphy's 'Scream Queens'
"
. Entertainment Weekly. December 8, 2014.
- ^
Mackey, Jaimie (October 19, 2020).
"Trilby Glover and Ian Brennan's Wedding Fairy-Tale"
. Brides
. Retrieved
May 24,
2018
.
- ^
Glover, Trilby.
"It's our anniversary!"
. Instagram. Archived from
the original
on December 24, 2021
. Retrieved
September 4,
2019
.
- ^
Glover, Trilby.
"He's here!"
. Instagram. Archived from
the original
on December 24, 2021
. Retrieved
April 30,
2016
.
- ^
Glover, Trilby.
"My daughter!"
. Instagram. Archived from
the original
on December 24, 2021
. Retrieved
August 9,
2018
.
- ^
a
b
"Ian Brennan"
.
Broadway World
. Retrieved
January 19,
2010
.
External links
[
edit
]
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International
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National
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Artists
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