---
name: "Michael Hirst"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/michael-hirst"
fi1m_id: "michael-hirst"
imdb_id: "nm0386694"
tmdb_id: 37631
wikidata_id: "Q2580228"
roles: ["Writer","Producer"]
born: "21 September 1952"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 4
average_fi1m_score: 69
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 4
updated: "2026-10-01T19:38:25.087853+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Michael Hirst

## Identity

Michael Hirst

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/michael-hirst
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** michael-hirst
- **IMDb ID:** nm0386694
- **TMDB ID:** 37631
- **Wikidata ID:** Q2580228
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Hirst_(writer), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2580228, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0386694/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/37631

Writer and producer. Born 21 September 1952 in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer, Producer
- **Born:** 21 September 1952, Bradford, West Yorkshire, England
- **Active:** 1998–2013
- **Also known as:** Майкл Хёрст
- **Frequently works with:** [Cate Blanchett](https://film.one/person/cate-blanchett.md), [Ciarán Donnelly](https://film.one/person/ciaran-donnelly.md), [Eric Fellner](https://film.one/person/eric-fellner.md), [Geoffrey Rush](https://film.one/person/geoffrey-rush.md), [Shekhar Kapur](https://film.one/person/shekhar-kapur.md), [Tim Bevan](https://film.one/person/tim-bevan.md)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 69, as writer, over 4 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1990s 82 (1), 2000s 60 (2), 2010s 74 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 69 to 66 across 4 titles
- **Score spread:** 1 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 1 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 4, History 2, Romance 2, Action & Adventure 1, War & Politics 1
- **Screen time:** 4 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $156m across 2 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Hirst_(writer), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2580228, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0386694/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/37631

## Streaming the US now

- **Netflix:** [*Vikings*](https://film.one/tv/vikings.md) (74)
- **Hulu:** [*The Tudors*](https://film.one/tv/the-tudors.md) (65)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Michael Hirst

> Michael Hirst makes historical drama worth following by giving the struggle for power a human cost. His characters can be absorbing; his dialogue too often tells us something and then tells us again.

In *Vikings* (2013), a raid matters for more than who wins the fight. Michael Hirst wants to know who gets to command, whose customs prevail and how knowledge changes the balance of power. Those are good reasons to keep watching, and the performances give the fighting human consequences. His weakness is the urge to have characters explain these concerns, then stress them again. We rate his historical drama most when he lets the people become absorbing enough to carry our interest without that assistance.

His screenplay for *Elizabeth* (1998), directed by Shekhar Kapur, is brisker and often witty. We were absorbed by the queen’s struggle to hold power because Cate Blanchett makes her alertness and vulnerability felt together. Hirst makes the pressures easy to grasp, and the film gives them a personal urgency. The cost of that clarity is that the people around Elizabeth can seem to be there chiefly to explain her difficulties. We understand the pressures they put on her more readily than we understand the beliefs that make them dangerous.

The turn to series creation with *The Tudors* (2007) gave Hirst longer to follow characters and competing storylines. He wrote all 38 episodes himself, then all 89 episodes of *Vikings*. That is a long time to keep several storylines moving without handing the writing to anyone else. Long-term historical adviser Justin Pollard supports his research, while Hirst’s recurring interest in religious and spiritual conflict gives him something to explore beyond the immediate struggle for command.

Hirst’s willingness to stay with his characters pays off in *Vikings*, where the early awkwardness eases as they become more absorbing. Travis Fimmel is a substantial part of the pleasure, and the battles and countryside give the series more to offer than its sometimes blunt conversations. Trevor Morris’s music sustains the pressure, although its insistence becomes tiring when the dialogue and action are already working hard. Start with *Elizabeth* for the brisker writing; give *Vikings* time if historical adventure is your evening’s choice.

## Biography

Michael Hirst is an English screenwriter and producer. Born on 21 September 1952 in Bradford, West Yorkshire, he was educated at Bradford Grammar School, the London School of Economics and the University of Nottingham, where he received a First Class Joint-Honours Degree in English and American Literature. He also studied at Trinity College, Oxford.

Hirst wrote the screenplay for the film *Elizabeth* (1998) and its sequel *Elizabeth: The Golden Age* (2007). He created, wrote and served as executive producer on the television series *The Tudors* (2007–2010) and *Vikings* (2013–2020). He has also worked on *Vikings: Valhalla* (2022) and *Billy the Kid* (2022).

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (4)

- *Vikings* (2013), Fi1m 74, Writer, Creator, Executive Producer — [page](https://film.one/tv/vikings.md)
- *Elizabeth: The Golden Age* (2007), Fi1m 54, Screenplay, Executive Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/elizabeth-the-golden-age.md)
- *The Tudors* (2007), Fi1m 65, Executive Producer, Writer, Creator — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-tudors.md)
- *Elizabeth* (1998), Fi1m 82, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/elizabeth.md)

## Complete filmography (19)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Billy the Kid* (2022), series, Writer, Creator
- *Vikings: Valhalla* (2022), series, Executive Producer, Original Series Creator
- *Vikings* (2013), series, Executive Producer, Writer, Creator — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/tv/vikings.md)
- *Camelot* (2011), series, Producer, Creator
- *Elizabeth: The Golden Age* (2007), Screenplay, Executive Producer — Fi1m 54, [page](https://film.one/film/elizabeth-the-golden-age.md)
- *The Tudors* (2007), series, Writer, Executive Producer, Creator — Fi1m 65, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-tudors.md)
- *Have No Fear: The Life of Pope John Paul II* (2006), Writer
- *The Young Casanova* (2002), Writer
- *Elizabeth* (1998), Screenplay — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/elizabeth.md)
- *Uncovered* (1995), Screenplay
- *Meeting Venus* (1991), Writer
- *The Ballad of the Sad Cafe* (1991), Screenplay
- *Fools of Fortune* (1990), Writer
- *Wherever You Are...* (1988), Writer
- *The Deceivers* (1988), Screenplay
- *The Plague Year*, series, Producer, Creator
- *Civil Blood*, series, Writer
- *Pompeii: A Day of Fire*, series, Executive Producer, Creator
- *Bloodaxe*, series, Executive Producer, Creator

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/michael-hirst