Pub GuideShanley, John Patrick
The Irish Americans: Entertainment
In an interview with Irish America, writer-director John Patrick Shanley said of his play "Doubt,": “I’m dealing with the hierarchy of the Catholic Church and how it deals with a problem that is not really modern, but one that has come to light in a dramatic way only in recent times.”
The play won a Tony and the Pulitzer Prize in 2006. Now, three years later, "Doubt" has continued forging its dramatic path with five Oscar nominations and several awards for the moving film adaptation, written and directed by Shanley. The film, which traces the unnerving story of a determined nun and a possibly abusive priest, has been a critical sensation earning award wins and nominations for all four leading cast members Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams and Viola Davis. Shanley and his cast were all honored this year with Oscar nominations.
The son of an Irish farmer from Co. Leitrim, Shanley won an Academy Award for "Moonstruck" in 1988. The New York City native has almost two dozen plays under his belt and twelve films, two of which he directed in addition to writing. Shanley grew up in an Irish Catholic home and battled his way through school expulsions before joining the Marine Corps. Just as his experiences as a schoolboy influenced his work in "Doubt," his time in the Marines stood him to good stead in his more recent play, "Defiance."
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