Screenwriter John Logan spent ten years penning plays in Chicago before he hit box-office gold with scripts for the blockbusters "Any Given Sunday" (1999) and "Gladiator" (2000), and the multiple-Emmy nominated HBO drama "RKO 281" (1999). Raised as a Navy brat, Logan spent a peripatetic childhood and when he entered Northwestern harbored dreams of an acting career. After taking a writing class, though, he quickly shifted gears and set out to be a playwright. Working steadily for nearly a decade, he churned out several plays that were based on factual events, such as 1985's "Never the Sinner"
Moved frequently while growing up due to father's career in the US Navy
Worked as a playwright in Chicago for 10 years after college; wrote 14 plays, half of which were historical dramas based on the likes of Illinois villains Leopold and Loeb ("Never the Sinner" 1985), and the Russian Revolution
1995
"Never the Sinner", his play about Leopold and Loeb, revived at Chicago's Victory Gardens Theater
1996
Sold first spec script, a football-themed drama called "Any Given Sunday" to Turner Pictures, with Oliver Stone attached as producer
1996
Penned "Pure Evel", a proposed biopic of daredevil Evel Knievel
