George Vincent Gilligan Jr. (born February 10, 1967) is an American screenwriter and filmmaker. He became widely known as the creator, showrunner, and executive producer of the AMC crime series Breaking Bad (2008–2013) and its spin-off prequel series Better Call Saul (2015–2022). He has received numerous accolades, including four Primetime Emmy Awards, six Writers Guild of America Awards, two Critics' Choice Television Awards, two Producers Guild of America Awards, a Directors Guild of America Award, and a BAFTA Television Award. Gilligan's other work includes writing, directing, and producing some episodes of the Fox science fiction series The X-Files (1993–2002) and co-creating its spin-off series The Lone Gunmen (2001), co-writing the screenplay for the superhero film Hancock (2008), and writing, directing, and producing the Breaking Bad sequel film El Camino (2019). He is also the creator, primary writer, and executive producer of the Apple TV science fiction series Pluribus (2025–present).
Early life George Vincent Gilligan Jr. was born in Richmond, Virginia, on February 10, 1967, the son of grade school teacher Gail and insurance claims adjuster George Vincent Gilligan Sr. He was raised Catholic but later described himself as "pretty much agnostic". His parents divorced in 1974. He and his younger brother Patrick were raised in Farmville and Chesterfield County, where they attended J.P. Wynne Campus School, the laboratory school run by Longwood College (now Longwood University) where their mother also taught; Gilligan later used the J.P. Wynne name for the fictional high school where Walter White teaches in Breaking Bad. Gilligan's grandfather was Richmond book shop owner Vincent T. Gilligan. Growing up, Gilligan was a close friend of Angus Wall, who became a film editor and title designer. His interest in film began when Wall's mother Jackie, who also taught at J.P. Wynne, loaned Gilligan her Super 8 film camera. He used the camera to produce amateur science fiction films with Patrick. One of his first films was entitled Space Wreck, starring Patrick in the lead role. One year later, he won first prize for his age group in a film competition at the University of Virginia. Jackie took Wall and Gilligan to Richmond and dropped them off at Cloverleaf Mall to see films, encouraging both of them to pursue a career in the arts. Gilligan later said, "I wouldn't be where I am today if it weren't for Jackie. She was a wonderful lady and a real inspiration." Gilligan was recognized at an early age for his talents and creativity. His father described him as a "kind of a studious-type young man, and he liked to read, and he had a vivid imagination". He introduced Gilligan to film noir classics, as well as John Wayne and Clint Eastwood Westerns on late-night television. Gilligan won a scholarship to attend the prestigious Interlochen Center for the Arts. After eighth grade, he moved back to Chesterfield to attend L. C. Bird High School. After graduating in 1985, he went on to attend NYU's Tisch School of the Arts on a scholarship, receiving a BFA in film production. While at NYU, he wrote the screenplay for Home Fries and received the Virginia Governor's Screenwriting Award in 1989 for the screenplay, which was later turned into a film. One of the judges of the competition was film producer Mark Johnson, who was impressed by Gilligan and called him "the most imaginative writer" he had ever read. Gilligan also studied holography under Jason Sapan at Holographic Studios in New York City.
Career
The X-Files and The Lone Gunmen Gilligan's big break came when he joined the Fox television drama The X-Files. He was a fan of the show and submitted a script to Fox, which became the second-season episode "Soft Light". He went on to write 29 more episodes, in addition to being co-executive producer of 44 episodes, executive producer of 40, co-producer of 24, and supervising producer of 20. He also co-created and became executive producer of the spin-off series The Lone Gunmen, which ran for one season of 13 episodes.
Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, and El Camino
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