Brian Koppelman

Brian William Koppelman (born April 27, 1966) is an American television and film writer, producer and director. Koppelman is the co-writer of Ocean's Thirteen and Rounders, a producer of films including The Illusionist and The Lucky Ones, the director of films including Solitary Man and the documentary This Is What They Want for ESPN's 30 for 30 series, and the co-creator, showrunner, and executive producer of Showtime's Billions and Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber.

Early life and education Koppelman was born on April 27, 1966, in Roslyn Harbor, New York, the son of Brenda "Bunny" Koppelman and Charles Koppelman. Koppelman is Jewish. His father was a producer and media executive. Koppelman holds degrees from Tufts University and Fordham University School of Law.

Career He first started managing local Long Island bands as a teenager. He would also book bands at a local nightclub. Through booking acts, he came into contact with Eddie Murphy and helped arrange Murphy's first record deal. During his career, Koppelman was an A&R representative for music labels Elektra Records, Giant Records, SBK Records and EMI Records. Since then, Koppelman has worked on a dozen films, including having written Ocean's Thirteen and directed an ESPN 30 for 30 documentary, This Is What They Want.

Other writings and podcasts Koppelman was a contributor and essayist at Grantland.com, a website that was dedicated to sports and pop culture. Additionally, since March 2014, Koppelman has hosted a weekly podcast, "The Moment", on ESPN Radio. In October, 2013, Koppelman received significant media attention for releasing a series of videos on the platform Vine in which he gives screenwriting advice in six seconds or less called "Six Second Screenwriting Lessons". His "Screenwriting, in Six Seconds or Less" Vine from July 31, 2014, generated over 15 million loops in less than nine days. He has also written a short story, "Wednesday is Viktor's", for the anthology Dark City Lights: New York Stories (Have a NYC), published in 2015. Koppelman has a chapter giving advice in Tim Ferriss' book Tools of Titans.

Television Showtime's drama Billions, created by Koppelman with The New York Times columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin and writing partner David Levien, and starring Paul Giamatti and Damian Lewis, premiered to strong reviews in 2016. In 2025 Netflix ordered eight episodes of a casino-industry drama set in the 1990s, with Martin Scorsese executive producing and Koppelman and Levien attached as showrunners.

Lawsuits Koppelman has been involved in several lawsuits regarding his work, namely Grosso v. Miramax Film Corp., Cayuga Nations v. Showtime Networks Inc., and Shull v. Sorkin. Both Grosso and Shull claimed that Koppelman stole their ideas and copyright work in his creation of Rounders and Billions respectively. All cases have since been dismissed. Shull's case was recently dismissed a second time. In 2014, Koppelman won an Emmy Award for his 30 for 30 documentary.

Personal life In 1992, Koppelman married novelist Amy Levine at the Central Synagogue in Manhattan. The couple have two children, including the journalist Sam Koppelman. His sister is Jennifer Koppelman Hutt, who hosts a Sirius Satellite Radio show called Just Jenny. Regarding religion, Koppelman describes himself as culturally Jewish, but from a philosophical standpoint he identifies himself as an atheist. Koppelman is a fan of the Knicks, Jets, and Yankees.

Filmography

Film Year Title Director Writer Producer Notes 1998 Rounders 2001 Knockaround Guys Co-directed with David Levien 2002 Interview with the Assassin 2003 Runaway Jury 2004 Walking Tall 2006 The Illusionist 2007 Ocean's Thirteen 2007 The Lucky Ones 2009 Solitary Man Co-directed with David Levien The Girlfriend Experience 2013 Runner Runner 2015 I Smile Back

Television Year Title Director Writer Producer Notes 2003 The Street Lawyer TV pilot 2005 Tilt Co-creator 2013This Is What They Want 2016 Billions Co-creator 2022 Super Pumped Co-creator

Actor Michael Clayton (2007) The Bear (2024-2026)