David Heyman

David Jonathan Heyman (born 26 July 1961) is an English film and television producer. He is the founder of Heyday Films and is best known as the producer of all eight installments of the Harry Potter film series, which are based on a series of popular fantasy novels of the same name by author J. K. Rowling. Heyman then also produced all three installments of its spin-off prequel series, Fantastic Beasts. His work makes him the third-most commercially successful producer of all time. He received numerous accolades including five BAFTA Awards, a Daytime Emmy Award and two Producers Guild of America Awards, as well as nominations for four Academy Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award.

Early life and education Heyman was born in London. He is the son of John Heyman, producer of the films The Go-Between and Jesus, and Norma Heyman (née Pownall), an actress, and Oscar-nominated producer of the films Dangerous Liaisons and Mrs Henderson Presents. His paternal grandparents were German Jews who left Nazi Germany and emigrated to England prior to World War II, while his mother's family was English. At age seven, he was a page boy in the wedding of his godmother, Diana Dors, to actor Alan Lake. Heyman went to Westminster School and, following graduation, he decided to study abroad. He studied art history at Harvard University, where he was an All-American sabreman for the fencing team.

Career Heyman started in the film industry as a production assistant on David Lean's A Passage to India, and in 1986, Heyman became a creative executive at Warner Bros., and he was assistant to Mark Canton. In 1987, he became vice president of United Artists, which joined a series of changes as original production VPs had quit, and subsequently embarked on an independent producing career with his first film, Juice, in 1992, followed by the cult "stoner" film The Stoned Age (1994) and others.

In 1997 Heyman returned to London and founded his own production company, Heyday Films. He has since produced a number of films including the Harry Potter film adaptations. Other notable productions during this time include the 2007 blockbuster I Am Legend and the 2008 films The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, Is Anybody There?, and Yes Man.

After finishing work on the Harry Potter films, Heyman reunited with Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban director Alfonso Cuarón to produce the 2013 science fiction thriller Gravity, starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney. The film grossed more than $700 million worldwide and was nominated for ten Academy Awards including Best Picture, winning seven including Best Director for Cuarón. He also produced the 2013 comedy We're the Millers and the 2014 family film Paddington, for which he was nominated for the Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film.

Heyman produced the Warner Bros. film adaptation of J. K. Rowling's Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which was released in November 2016, as well as its 2018 sequel.

In 2020, he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood with Quentin Tarantino, and both of them were nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture. In addition, Heyman was also nominated for the same award for Marriage Story with Noah Baumbach.

In 2023, he produced Barbie, which became the highest-grossing Warner Bros. film, surpassing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, which he also produced. He was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture for Barbie.

In March 2025, Amazon MGM Studios announced that Heyman and Amy Pascal would oversee the Bond film franchise moving forward and produce future installments in the series through their Pascal Pictures and Heyday Films banners, respectively. In August 2026, it was announced that Heyday Films had signed a first-look deal with Amazon MGM Studios.

Personal life Heyman lives in Pimlico, London, and is married to interior designer Rose Uniacke (née Batstone). They have one son, Harper Heyman. He is stepfather to four children from her previous marriage.

Television Year Title Credit Notes 1994 Blind Justice Television film 2005 Threshold Executive producer 2011 Page Eight Television film 2013 The Thirteenth Tale 2014 Turks & Caicos Executive producer Salting the Battlefield 2019 The InBetween 2019-present The Capture 2021 Clickbait Miniseries 2024 Apples Never Fall 2026-present Upcoming series

As an actor

Year Film Role Notes 1970 Bloomfield Eldad 1999 Ravenous Mr. Janus 2000 Whipped Suit 2007 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Healer in Portrait Uncredited 2011 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 Dining Wizard in Painting

Awards and nominations

+Key Indicates non-competitive categories

+ Award Year Category Work Result AACTA Awards 2021 Best Television Drama Series Clickbait AACTA International Awards 2014 Best Film Gravity Academy Awards 2014 Best Picture Gravity 2020 Marriage Story Once Upon a Time in Hollywood 2024 Barbie Art Directors Guild Awards 2012 Outstanding Contribution to Cinematic Imagery Harry Potter British Academy Children's Awards 2002 Feature Film Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone 2005 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban 2014 Best Film Gravity Outstanding British Film 2015 Paddington 2017 Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 2018 Paddington 2 2020 Best Film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood 2024 Outstanding British Film Wonka British Academy Television Awards 2012 Best Single Drama Page Eight Children's and Family Emmy Awards 2023 Outstanding Preschool Animated Series The Adventures of Paddington Daytime Emmy Awards 2021 Outstanding Pre-School Children's Animated Series The Adventures of Paddington Film Independent Spirit Awards 2020 Best Feature Marriage Story Gotham Awards 2019 Best Feature Marriage Story Hollywood Music in Media Awards 2023 Music Themed Film, Biopic or Musical Wonka Hugo Awards 2002 Best Dramatic Presentation Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone International Cinematographers Guild Awards 2012 Motion Pictures Showmanship Award Primetime Emmy Awards 2022 Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded) Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts Producers Guild of America Awards 2002 Best Theatrical Motion Picture Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone 2014 Gravity 2016 David O. Selznick Achievement Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures 2020 Best Theatrical Motion Picture Marriage Story Once Upon a Time in Hollywood 2024 Barbie