Biography
Jason Hall's story started in California, where he grew up with aspirations of becoming an actor. It was a hard, long road, with his first credited role coming in 1996 on an episode of "Pacific Blue" (USA 1996-2000). For the rest of the 1990s, Hall played background, minor roles, with his biggest break coming as Devon MacLeish, a classmate of Buffy Summers on the classic "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (WB/UPN 1997-2003). However, that role, much like his others, was nothing than a periphery character. As the 2000s came around, Hall tried to take a novel approach to finding acting roles: he started writing his own material. In between guest spots on "Without a Trace" (CBS 2002-09) and "CSI: Miami" (CBS 2002-2012), he wrote screenplays with lead roles meant to be played by himself. While he received good buzz on his writing, Hall doggedly wanted to remain an actor despite being turned down constantly. It wasn't until the end of the 2000s that he relented, conceding the lead role in his script "Spread" (2009) to Ashton Kutcher. From then on, Hall focused solely on writing. His next project was the Gary Oldman and Harrison Ford-starring "Paranoia" (2013). By the time that film hit theaters, the buzz around his next project, the Clint Eastwood-directed "American Sniper" (2014), was already growing. Before "American Sniper" even hit theaters, Hall already was working with Warner Bros. and DreamWorks on future projects. Luckily for all involved, "American Sniper" was a box office and awards show success, netting Hall an Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.
