---
name: "Ryan Fleck"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/ryan-fleck"
fi1m_id: "ryan-fleck"
imdb_id: "nm0281396"
tmdb_id: 53068
wikidata_id: "Q3453777"
roles: ["Director","Writer"]
born: "20 September 1976"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 4
average_fi1m_score: 72
average_as: "director"
average_over: 4
updated: "2026-09-24T11:26:16.066423+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."
---

# Ryan Fleck

## Identity

Ryan Fleck

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/ryan-fleck
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** ryan-fleck
- **IMDb ID:** nm0281396
- **TMDB ID:** 53068
- **Wikidata ID:** Q3453777
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_Fleck, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3453777, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0281396/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/53068

Director and writer. Born 20 September 1976 in Berkeley, California, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Director, Writer
- **Born:** 20 September 1976, Berkeley, California, USA
- **Active:** 2006–present
- **Frequently works with:** [Anna Boden](https://film.one/person/anna-boden.md)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 72, as director, over 4 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 2000s 81 (1), 2010s 60 (1), 2020s 72 (2)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 72 to 72 across 4 titles
- **Score spread:** 1 at 80+, 3 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 3, Action 1, Adventure 1, Science Fiction 1, War & Politics 1
- **Screen time:** 4 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $1,136m across 2 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_Fleck, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3453777, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0281396/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/53068

## Streaming the US now

- **Disney+:** [*Mrs. America*](https://film.one/tv/mrs-america.md) (79), [*Captain Marvel*](https://film.one/film/captain-marvel.md) (60)
- **Pluto TV:** [*Half Nelson*](https://film.one/film/half-nelson.md) (81)
- **Apple TV:** [*Masters of the Air*](https://film.one/tv/masters-of-the-air.md) (66)

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

## Fi1m on Ryan Fleck

> Ryan Fleck is good at letting us like people whose judgement we have reason to doubt. His partnership with Anna Boden gives actors room to make those people complicated; *Half Nelson* is our clearest reason to recommend him.

In *Half Nelson* (2006), Ryan Gosling’s Dan Dunne is a teacher we can like while doubting his judgement. Fleck lets him be easy company, which makes his friendship with a pupil, played by Shareeka Epps, more troubling. A less careful film would have the child repair the adult and call that progress. Fleck keeps the wish to help alive while making us question how much help either can give. We were moved by Gosling’s restraint: he leaves Dan’s difficulties visible without continually asking for our pity.

That attention to people has been developed in close partnership with Anna Boden, who co-wrote *Half Nelson* and collaborates with Fleck across writing, directing and editing. The independent films that followed included *Sugar* (2008), about immigration and baseball, and the road-gambling drama *Mississippi Grind* (2015). *Captain Marvel* (2019) marked the move into major studio filmmaking. *Freaky Tales* (2025), an anthology drawing on his Oakland upbringing and 1980s culture, takes another turn.

*Half Nelson* also shows where that approach can falter. Fleck and Boden interrupt the teacher and pupil’s story with passages of history, but do too little to make those passages matter to the friendship. We understand the wish to look beyond two individuals; the interruption still weakens our involvement with them. The occasional lull is easier to forgive because Gosling and Epps remain persuasive when the writing grows thin. Their performances give us a reason to stay through passages the script has not made interesting enough.

The baseball in *Sugar* and the gambling in *Mississippi Grind* fit his recurring interest in people struggling within a particular social setting. We would rather see those pressures emerge through a character’s choices than have them explained in an interlude. In *Half Nelson*, he questions the expected progress of a teacher-and-pupil drama without making the wish to help seem foolish. Whatever the setting, that is the care we want him to keep. Start with *Half Nelson* for Gosling and Epps, and leave some time afterwards to disagree about Dan.

## Biography

Ryan Fleck is an American film director, writer and producer. Born in Berkeley, California, he studied film at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.

Fleck is known for his long-term collaboration with filmmaker Anna Boden. Together they wrote and directed the independent drama *Half Nelson* (2006), which starred Ryan Gosling and earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. Their subsequent features include *Sugar* (2008), *It's Kind of a Funny Story* (2010), *Mississippi Grind* (2015) and the Marvel film *Captain Marvel* (2019).

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

## On Fi1m (4)

- *Masters of the Air* (2024), Fi1m 66, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/masters-of-the-air.md)
- *Mrs. America* (2020), Fi1m 79, Director, Executive Producer — [page](https://film.one/tv/mrs-america.md)
- *Captain Marvel* (2019), Fi1m 60, Story, Director, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/captain-marvel.md)
- *Half Nelson* (2006), Fi1m 81, Writer, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/half-nelson.md)

## Complete filmography (22)

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

- *Freaky Tales* (2025), Director, Writer, Producer
- *Masters of the Air* (2024), series, Director — Fi1m 66, [page](https://film.one/tv/masters-of-the-air.md)
- *Naked Singularity* (2021), Executive Producer
- *Mrs. America* (2020), series, Director, Executive Producer — Fi1m 79, [page](https://film.one/tv/mrs-america.md)
- *Captain Marvel* (2019), Director, Screenplay, Story — Fi1m 60, [page](https://film.one/film/captain-marvel.md)
- *Room 104* (2017), series, Director, Writer
- *Billions* (2016), series, Director
- *Mississippi Grind* (2015), Director, Writer
- *The Affair* (2014), series, Director
- *The Day the Series Stopped* (2014), Director
- *Looking* (2014), series, Director
- *It's Kind of a Funny Story* (2010), Director, Screenplay
- *The Big C* (2010), series, Director
- *30 for 30* (2009), series, Director
- *Sugar* (2008), Writer, Director
- *In Treatment* (2008), series, Director
- *Half Nelson* (2006), Director, Writer — Fi1m 81, [page](https://film.one/film/half-nelson.md)
- *Young Rebels* (2005), Director, Director of Photography
- *Gowanus, Brooklyn* (2004), Director, Writer
- *Have You Seen This Man?* (2003), Director
- *Criminal*, series, Director
- *Atmosphere*, Writer, Director, Producer

## Gallery

- ![Ryan Fleck](https://film.one/media/person/99330/gallery-e6ede8c7b4a0.jpg) Ryan Fleck — Nate "Igor" Smith from Brooklyn, NY, USA - Drivenbyboredom.com, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/Ryan-fleck_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, “Captain Marvel” co-directors, answer questions during a round table at the Pentagon, Arlington, Va., March 7, 2019. The media round ](https://film.one/media/person/99330/gallery-6d982112de3e.jpg) Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, “Captain Marvel” co-directors, answer questions during a round table at the Pentagon, Arlington, Va., March 7, 2019. The media round  — U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Rusty Frank, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/20/Anna_Boden_and_Ryan_Fleck_at_the_Pentagon.jpg/1280px-Anna_Boden_and_Ryan_Fleck_at_the_Pentagon.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, “Captain Marvel” co-directors, answer questions during a round table at the Pentagon, Arlington, Va., March 7, 2019. The media round ](https://film.one/media/person/99330/gallery-cf070127270a.jpg) Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, “Captain Marvel” co-directors, answer questions during a round table at the Pentagon, Arlington, Va., March 7, 2019. The media round  — U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Rusty Frank, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/41/Anna_Boden_and_Ryan_Fleck_at_the_Pentagon_2.jpg/1280px-Anna_Boden_and_Ryan_Fleck_at_the_Pentagon_2.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein holds an office call with Captain Marvel co-directors and producers in the Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia, March  (2019)](https://film.one/media/person/99330/gallery-16a1d3c964dd.jpg) Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein holds an office call with Captain Marvel co-directors and producers in the Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia, March  (2019) — U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Rusty Frank, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/ba/Anna_Boden_and_Ryan_Fleck_at_the_Pentagon_3.jpg/1280px-Anna_Boden_and_Ryan_Fleck_at_the_Pentagon_3.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Ryan Fleck](https://film.one/media/person/99330/gallery-0cebc5d5a1e9.jpg) Ryan Fleck — Image via TMDB
- ![Ryan Fleck](https://film.one/media/person/99330/gallery-0590ff2a12c8.jpg) Ryan Fleck — Image via TMDB
- ![Ryan Fleck](https://film.one/media/person/99330/gallery-21c979acddc9.jpg) Ryan Fleck — Image via TMDB
- ![Captain Marvel Co-Directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck give remarks during a screening of Captain Marvel in Washington, D.C., March 7, 2019. The screening was he](https://film.one/media/person/99330/gallery-553123eb9223.jpg) Captain Marvel Co-Directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck give remarks during a screening of Captain Marvel in Washington, D.C., March 7, 2019. The screening was he — U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Rusty Frank, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/08/Anna_Boden_and_Ryan_Fleck_at_the_Pentagon_4.jpg/1280px-Anna_Boden_and_Ryan_Fleck_at_the_Pentagon_4.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Members of the cast and crew of Captain Marvel visit Edwards Air Force Base with Gen. Jeannie Leavitt, the first female fighter pilot (2019)](https://film.one/media/person/99330/gallery-8e476cf26d03.png) Members of the cast and crew of Captain Marvel visit Edwards Air Force Base with Gen. Jeannie Leavitt, the first female fighter pilot (2019) — Shannon Collins, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e9/Captain_Marvel_at_Edwards_Air_Force_Base_03.png/1280px-Captain_Marvel_at_Edwards_Air_Force_Base_03.png?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)

---
© 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/ryan-fleck