---
name: "William Nicholson"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/william-nicholson"
fi1m_id: "william-nicholson"
imdb_id: "nm0629933"
tmdb_id: 933
wikidata_id: "Q706935"
roles: ["Writer"]
born: "12 January 1948"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 6
average_fi1m_score: 66
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 6
updated: "2026-10-07T10:55:14.535819+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."
---

# William Nicholson

## Identity

William Nicholson

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/william-nicholson
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** william-nicholson
- **IMDb ID:** nm0629933
- **TMDB ID:** 933
- **Wikidata ID:** Q706935
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Nicholson_(writer), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q706935, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0629933/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/933

Writer. Born 12 January 1948 in Lewis, Sussex, England, UK.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer
- **Born:** 12 January 1948, Lewis, Sussex, England, UK
- **Active:** 1985–2015
- **Also known as:** ويليام نيكلسون
- **Frequently works with:** [Tim Bevan](https://film.one/person/tim-bevan.md), [David M. Thompson](https://film.one/person/david-m-thompson.md), [Eric Fellner](https://film.one/person/eric-fellner.md), [Russell Crowe](https://film.one/person/russell-crowe.md)
- **Academy Awards:** 2 Oscar nominations
- **Average Fi1m score:** 66, as writer, over 6 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1990s 79 (1), 2000s 69 (2), 2010s 60 (3)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 66 to 64 across 6 titles
- **Score spread:** 1 at 80+, 3 at 60–79, 2 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 6, History 4, Adventure 2, Romance 2, Action 1
- **Screen time:** 14 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $1,240m across 6 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Nicholson_(writer), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q706935, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0629933/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/933

## Streaming the US now

- **Hulu:** [*Gladiator*](https://film.one/film/gladiator.md) (84)
- **HBO Max:** [*Les Misérables*](https://film.one/film/les-miserables-2012.md) (62)
- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom*](https://film.one/film/mandela-long-walk-to-freedom.md) (58)

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

## Biography

William Nicholson is a British screenwriter, playwright and novelist. He began his career at the BBC, where he directed documentaries in the 1970s and 1980s before turning to drama.

Nicholson wrote the television play *Shadowlands* (1985), which he later adapted for the stage and for the 1993 feature film directed by Richard Attenborough. The film earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. His other screenplays include *Nell* (1994), *First Knight* (1995), *Gladiator* (2000, also Oscar-nominated), *Elizabeth: The Golden Age* (2007), *Les Misérables* (2012) and *Thirteen Lives* (2022). He was appointed OBE in 2015 for services to drama and literature.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, ibdb.com, web.archive.org.*

## On Fi1m (6)

- *Everest* (2015), Fi1m 61, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/everest.md)
- *Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom* (2013), Fi1m 58, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/mandela-long-walk-to-freedom.md)
- *Les Misérables* (2012), Fi1m 62, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/les-miserables-2012.md)
- *Elizabeth: The Golden Age* (2007), Fi1m 54, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/elizabeth-the-golden-age.md)
- *Gladiator* (2000), Fi1m 84, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/gladiator.md)
- *Shadowlands* (1993), Fi1m 79, Screenplay, Theatre Play — [page](https://film.one/film/shadowlands.md)

## Complete filmography (24)

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

- *Thirteen Lives* (2022), Screenplay, Story
- *Hope Gap* (2019), Screenplay, Director
- *Breathe* (2017), Screenplay
- *Everest* (2015), Screenplay — Fi1m 61, [page](https://film.one/film/everest.md)
- *Unbroken* (2014), Screenplay
- *Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom* (2013), Screenplay — Fi1m 58, [page](https://film.one/film/mandela-long-walk-to-freedom.md)
- *Les Misérables* (2012), Screenplay — Fi1m 62, [page](https://film.one/film/les-miserables-2012.md)
- *Elizabeth: The Golden Age* (2007), Screenplay — Fi1m 54, [page](https://film.one/film/elizabeth-the-golden-age.md)
- *The Many Lives of Richard Attenborough* (2003), Actor
- *Gladiator* (2000), Screenplay — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/gladiator.md)
- *Grey Owl* (1999), Screenplay
- *Firelight* (1998), Director, Writer
- *Crime of the Century* (1996), Screenplay
- *First Knight* (1995), Story, Screenplay
- *Nell* (1994), Screenplay
- *Shadowlands* (1993), Theatre Play, Screenplay — Fi1m 79, [page](https://film.one/film/shadowlands.md)
- *Sarafina!* (1992), Screenplay
- *A Private Matter* (1992), Writer
- *The March* (1990), Writer
- *The Vision* (1987), Writer
- *Life Story* (1987), Screenplay
- *Shadowlands* (1985), Writer
- *Screen Two* (1985), series, Writer
- *Martin Luther, Heretic* (1983), Writer

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 2 nominated

- 2001: Best Writing, Original Screenplay (nominated), for *Gladiator*
- 1994: Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay (nominated), for *Shadowlands*

### BAFTA Film Awards — 0 won, 4 nominated

- 2014: Best British Film (nominated), for *Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom*
- 2013: Best British Film (nominated), for *Les Misérables*
- 2001: Best Original Screenplay (nominated), for *Gladiator*
- 1994: Best Adapted Screenplay (nominated), for *Shadowlands*

### Other awards — 2 won, 5 nominated

- Carnegie Medal 2005: Carnegie Medal (nominated), for *Seeker*
- Tony Award for Best Play 2004: Tony Award for Best Play (nominated), for *The Retreat from Moscow*
- Carnegie Medal 2002: Carnegie Medal (nominated), for *Firesong*
- Nestlé Children's Book Prize 2000: Nestlé Children's Book Prize (won), for *The Wind Singer*
- Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature 1999: Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (won)
- Tony Award for Best Play 1991: Tony Award for Best Play (nominated), for *Shadowlands*
- Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play 1990: Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play (nominated)

*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/william-nicholson