Edward Burns

EDWARD BURNS Lauded by critics and audiences alike, Burns gained international recognition for his first feature THE BROTHERS MCMULLEN, which premiered in competition at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival, winning the Grand Jury prize. The film, which Burns wrote, directed and starred in, was shot on a budget of only $25,000 and went on to gross over $10 million at the domestic box office, making it the most profitable film of 1995. The film also won "Best First Feature" at the 1996 Independent Spirit Awards. Burns' second film, the romantic comedy SHE'S THE ONE starring Jennifer Aniston and Cameron Diaz, reinforced Burns' versatile talent as a writer, director, and actor able to simultaneously and successfully wear multiple hats. Burns continues to write, direct, star in and produce his films, including the Paramount Classics relationship comedy SIDEWALKS OF NEW YORK and more recently PURPLE VIOLETS, which also starred Selma Blair, Debra Messing and Patrick Wilson. In a groundbreaking deal, Purple Violets was the first feature film to premiere exclusively on iTunes. His 9th feature film as a writer, director and actor is the character comedy NICE GUY JOHNNY that premiered at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival. Burns has been involved with TFF since the festival’s inception in 2002. This was his 5th film in the festival. As an actor, Burns starred opposite Tom Hanks and Matt Damon in Steven Spielberg’s critically acclaimed World War II epic SAVING PRIVATE RYAN. He also starred in the thriller 15 MINUTES opposite Robert De Niro, CONFIDENCE opposite Dustin Hoffman, and most recently the 20th Century Fox romantic comedy hit 27 DRESSES opposite Katherine Heigl. Ed Burns was born in Woodside, Queens and raised on Long Island. While at Hunter College in New York City, Burns switched his focus from English to filmmaking before quickly moving on to make The Brothers McMullen. When the film won the Grand Jury Prize at Robert Redford's Sundance Film Festival, Redford was so impressed with Burns' talents that he served as executive producer on both She's The One and No Looking Back. He lives in New York City with his wife and two children.