---
name: "Virgil Williams"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/virgil-williams"
fi1m_id: "virgil-williams"
imdb_id: "nm1125049"
tmdb_id: 1228470
wikidata_id: "Q7933835"
roles: ["Writer"]
born: "1 January 1950"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 4
average_fi1m_score: 73
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 4
updated: "2026-09-23T13:15:07.576603+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."
---

# Virgil Williams

## Identity

Virgil Williams

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/virgil-williams
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** virgil-williams
- **IMDb ID:** nm1125049
- **TMDB ID:** 1228470
- **Wikidata ID:** Q7933835
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgil_Williams, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7933835, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1125049/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1228470

Writer. Born 1 January 1950.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer
- **Born:** 1 January 1950
- **Active:** 1994–present
- **Frequently works with:** [Nelson McCormick](https://film.one/person/nelson-mccormick.md), [Anthony Hemingway](https://film.one/person/anthony-hemingway.md), [Charles Haid](https://film.one/person/charles-haid.md), [Davis Guggenheim](https://film.one/person/davis-guggenheim.md), [Elodie Keene](https://film.one/person/elodie-keene.md), [Ernest Dickerson](https://film.one/person/ernest-r-dickerson.md), [Félix Enríquez Alcalá](https://film.one/person/felix-alcala.md), [Gloria Muzio](https://film.one/person/gloria-muzio.md)
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar nomination
- **Average Fi1m score:** 73, as writer, over 4 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1990s 88 (1), 2000s 69 (2), 2020s 65 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 77 to 79 across 3 titles
- **Score spread:** 1 at 80+, 3 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 4, Crime 2, Action & Adventure 1, Mystery 1
- **Screen time:** 2 hours of reviewed films
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgil_Williams, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7933835, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1125049/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1228470

## Streaming the US now

- **Disney+:** [*ER*](https://film.one/tv/er.md) (88), [*24*](https://film.one/tv/24.md) (78)
- **Netflix:** [*The Piano Lesson*](https://film.one/film/the-piano-lesson.md) (65)
- **Apple TV:** [*Criminal Minds*](https://film.one/tv/criminal-minds.md) (60)

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

## Biography

Virgil Williams is an American screenwriter. He began his career writing for television, contributing episodes to *24* (2001) and serving as a writer and producer on *ER* (1994). He later wrote for *Criminal Minds* (2005) and *The Chicago Code* (2011).

Williams co-wrote the screenplay for the film *Mudbound* (2017) with director Dee Rees; the pair received an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. He also wrote the screenplay for *A Journal for Jordan* (2021), directed by Denzel Washington, and co-wrote *The Piano Lesson* (2024) with Malcolm Washington.

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

## On Fi1m (4)

- *The Piano Lesson* (2024), Fi1m 65, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/the-piano-lesson.md)
- *Criminal Minds* (2005), Fi1m 60, Writer — [page](https://film.one/tv/criminal-minds.md)
- *24* (2001), Fi1m 78, Writer — [page](https://film.one/tv/24.md)
- *ER* (1994), Fi1m 88, Writer — [page](https://film.one/tv/er.md)

## Complete filmography (9)

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

- *The Piano Lesson* (2024), Screenplay — Fi1m 65, [page](https://film.one/film/the-piano-lesson.md)
- *A Journal for Jordan* (2021), Adaptation, Screenplay
- *Mudbound* (2017), Screenplay, Executive Producer
- *The Chicago Code* (2011), series, Writer
- *Criminal Minds* (2005), series, Writer — Fi1m 60, [page](https://film.one/tv/criminal-minds.md)
- *Jonny Zero* (2005), series, Writer
- *24* (2001), series, Writer — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/tv/24.md)
- *ER* (1994), series, Writer, Supervising Producer, Co-Producer, Producer — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/tv/er.md)
- *Untitled George Clinton Biopic*, Writer

## Gallery

- ![Virgil Williams](https://film.one/media/person/10453/gallery-8b328f69ef64.jpg) Virgil Williams — Adam Chitayat, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Virgil_Williams_at_the_2024_Toronto_International_Film_Festival_5.jpg/1280px-Virgil_Williams_at_the_2024_Toronto_International_Film_Festival_5.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Virgil Williams at the 2025 Denver Film Festival after a screening of The Piano Lesson (2024)](https://film.one/media/person/10453/gallery-052ad37da9b6.jpg) Virgil Williams at the 2025 Denver Film Festival after a screening of The Piano Lesson (2024) — Jennifer 8. Lee, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/12/Virgil_Williams_at_the_2024_Denver_Film_Festival_2.jpg/1280px-Virgil_Williams_at_the_2024_Denver_Film_Festival_2.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Virgil Williams at the 2025 Denver Film Festival after a screening of The Piano Lesson (2024)](https://film.one/media/person/10453/gallery-549a3078f785.jpg) Virgil Williams at the 2025 Denver Film Festival after a screening of The Piano Lesson (2024) — Jennifer 8. Lee, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b3/Virgil_Williams_at_the_2024_Denver_Film_Festival_3.jpg/1280px-Virgil_Williams_at_the_2024_Denver_Film_Festival_3.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Virgil Williams, screenwriter, at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) for the movie The Piano Lesson.](https://film.one/media/person/10453/gallery-c0caeb05627e.jpg) Virgil Williams, screenwriter, at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) for the movie The Piano Lesson. — Adam Chitayat, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c8/Virgil_Williams_at_the_2024_Toronto_International_Film_Festival_2.jpg/1280px-Virgil_Williams_at_the_2024_Toronto_International_Film_Festival_2.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Virgil Williams, screenwriter, at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) for the movie The Piano Lesson.](https://film.one/media/person/10453/gallery-b12443d95d7b.jpg) Virgil Williams, screenwriter, at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) for the movie The Piano Lesson. — Adam Chitayat, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e0/Virgil_Williams_at_the_2024_Toronto_International_Film_Festival_3.jpg/1280px-Virgil_Williams_at_the_2024_Toronto_International_Film_Festival_3.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Virgil Williams, screenwriter, at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) for the movie The Piano Lesson.](https://film.one/media/person/10453/gallery-7836f8598a93.jpg) Virgil Williams, screenwriter, at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) for the movie The Piano Lesson. — Adam Chitayat, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/47/Virgil_Williams_at_the_2024_Toronto_International_Film_Festival_4.jpg/1280px-Virgil_Williams_at_the_2024_Toronto_International_Film_Festival_4.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 1 nominated

- 2018: Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay (nominated), for *Mudbound*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© 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/virgil-williams