Cast & creator
Alexander Payne
Best known for Hung, Hung, The Holdovers
Alexander Payne (born February 10, 1961) is an Oscar-winning filmmaker whose work has helped define modern-day American cinema. He is best known for the features Election (1999), Sideways (2004), The Descendants (2011), About Schmidt (2002), Nebraska (2013) and The Holdovers (2023). His movies have garnered a total of 24 Academy Award nominations, including four times for Best Picture and three times for Best Director. He has won two Oscars for Best Adapted Screenplay (Sideways, The Descendants), and two of his films have won the Golden Globe for Best Picture. His most recent film, The Holdovers, earned a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Da’Vine Joy Randolph. Five of his movies were shot at least partially in Nebraska, where he continues to live, dividing his time between there and Los Angeles. An Omaha native, Payne studied History and Spanish Literature at Stanford before earning an MFA in Film at UCLA. He serves on the boards of the Telluride Film Festival and The Film Foundation.
Also known as: Constantine Alexander Payne, אלכסנדר פיין, Александер Пейн
60
film credits
2
television credits
12
1985–2026 · acting roles
6.2
average across scored titles
Signature credits
Known for
Across film & television
Filmography (62)
Showing 62 of 62 credits
Hung
Director
2009Hung
Executive Producer
2009
The Holdovers
Director
2023
The Descendants
Director
2011The Descendants
Screenplay
2011The Descendants
Producer
2011
I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry
Screenplay
2007
Downsizing
Director
2017Downsizing
Screenplay
2017Downsizing
Producer
2017
A Good Person
Thanks
2023
Paris Je T'aime
Oscar Wilde (segment " Pere-Lachaise")
2006Paris Je T'aime
Director
2006Paris Je T'aime
Writer
2006
Sideways
Director
2004Sideways
Screenplay
2004
Nebraska
Director
2013
About Schmidt
Director
2002About Schmidt
Screenplay
2002
Cedar Rapids
Producer
2011
Election
Director
1999Election
Screenplay
1999
The Savages
Executive Producer
2007
The Assassination of Richard Nixon
Executive Producer
2004
The Last Shift
Executive Producer
2020
Crash Pad
Executive Producer
2017
King of California
Producer
2007
The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing
Self
2004
Citizen Ruth
Director
1996Citizen Ruth
Screenplay
1996
Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter
Executive Producer
2014
Trespassing Bergman
Self
2013
Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession
Self
2004
Gray Matters
Executive Producer
2007
Frank Capra: Mr. America
Self - Director and Screenwriter
2023
Dernsie: The Amazing Life of Bruce Dern
2026
Carmen
Director
1985Carmen
Music
1985
Inside Out 3
Director
1992
Christoph Waltz - The Charm of Evil
Self
2021
Hal
Self
2019
The Replacement Child
Thanks
2008
Small Town Wisconsin
Executive Producer
2020
Cinema16: American Short Films
Director
2006
Inside Out
Writer
1991Inside Out
Director
1991Somewhere Out There
Director
Sideways
Story
2009Sideways
Executive Producer
2009Sideways
Original Film Writer
2009
The Passion of Martin
Director
1991The Passion of Martin
Screenplay
1991The Passion of Martin
Editor
1991The Passion of Martin
Producer
1991
Berlanga!!
Self - Filmmaker
2021
Program Notes: An Introduction To The Last Detail By Alexander Payne
Self
2017Program Notes: An Introduction To The Last Detail By Alexander Payne
Writer
2017
About a Trip: Alexander Payne on Hal Ashby's 'The Last Detail'
2017
Jurassic Park III
Writer
2001
14e Arrondissement
Director
2006Untitled Alexander Payne Western
Director
Election - "The Passion of Martin" Introduction
Himself
2017