Raised in Los Alamos, New Mexico, Drew Goddard got his big break after he wrote an usolicited script for the television series Six Feet Under. His work eventually ended up in the hands of two executive producers, one for Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the other for its sister series Angel. The shows' creator Joss Whedon ultimately decided that Goddard would join the Buffy family and hired him on as a staff writer for the final season. Although Goddard only wrote five episodes, his writing didn't go unnoticed and he even managed to score his first screenwriter's award for Best Dramatic Presentation/Short form for the episode "Conversations with Dead People." That particular episode also won the SyFy Portal Genre Award for Best Episode/Television. Once the show ended, Goddard moved over to Angel as executive story editor for season five. He also penned the intro for the book Seven Seasons of Buffy.
In 2005, Goddard joined J.J. Abrams' Alias, a television series about an international female spy starring Jennifer Garner and Bradley Cooper. Goddard served as co-producer for a season and also wrote several episodes, including the series finale. Abrams was impressed with Goddard's work and brought him on board as supervising producer (promoted mid-season to executive producer) and writer for the third season of his wildly popular series, Lost. Goddard, along with the rest of his team, took home the 2006 Writers Guild of America award for the drama and were nominated again the following three years in a row. He also shared the 2008 Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series.
Having enjoyed a successful run in television, Goddard finally made his debut in Hollywood by writing the screenplay for the 2008 thriller Cloverfield, which earned a Saturn Award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films for Best Science-Fiction Film. In 2012, Goddard shifted over to the director's chair for his debut film The Cabin in the Woods, which he co-wrote with his Buffy boss Joss Whedon. The pair united over their shared love for the horror genre. Goddard has also already been signed on to write the screenplay about a robot uprising for Steven Spielberg's upcoming project Robopocalypse, plus the anticipated Cloverfield sequel.
Filmography (Director):
Bad Times at the El Royale (2018)
The Cabin in the Woods (2012)