Background
John Lee Hancock was born on December 15, 1956, in Longview, Texas to John Hancock, a teacher and coach, and Sue (Hoover) Hancock, a teacher. Hancock is the eldest of four children.
John graduated from Baylor University with B.A. and J.D.
director lawyer screenwriter film producer
John Lee Hancock was born on December 15, 1956, in Longview, Texas to John Hancock, a teacher and coach, and Sue (Hoover) Hancock, a teacher. Hancock is the eldest of four children.
John graduated from Baylor University with B.A. and J.D. He also attended Dr. Tom Hanks’ Chaucer course and David Guinn’s constitutional law class.
John worked in a prominent Houston law firm after graduation, but he soon decided to pursue screenwriting and moved to Los Angeles, where he became a writer, director and producer.
To quell the temptation to use his legal career as a safety net, Hancock opted not to take the California bar exam. Instead, he held numerous non-legal jobs for the next several years, while taking acting classes and working in local theater.
A screenplay he wrote in 1991 was noticed by Clint Eastwood and went on to become A Perfect World, directed by Eastwood and starring Eastwood and Kevin Costner. He also produced the critically acclaimed My Dog Skip before finding widespread recognition as director of The Rookie, which won an ESPY for Best Sports Movie in 2002. He also wrote the screenplay for Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and directed The Alamo. With The Blind Side, Hancock returned to his football roots. The film, starring Sandra Bullock, received an Academy Award Best Picture nomination. Hancock also worked in television, writing and producing the CBS drama L.A. Doctors (1998) and producing the CBS show Falcone (2000).
His most recent work includes writing the screenplay for Snow White and the Huntsman (2012) and directing Saving Mr. Banks (2013), which was named a Movie of the Year by the American Film Institute.
He also directed The Founder (2016), about the McDonald's fast food chain, and co-wrote the upcoming musical film The Goree Girls.
John married Holly Jones, a psychotherapist, in 1994.