John Michael McDonagh is a screenwriter and film director with British and Irish nationality. He wrote and directed The Guard (2011) and Calvary (2014), both films starring Brendan Gleeson, receiving a BAFTA Award nomination for the former. He was born in London in 1967. He is the older brother of playwright and filmmaker Martin McDonagh.McDonagh made his first foray into writing and directing with The Second Death, a short film released in 2000. Next McDonagh adapted Robert Drewe's 1991 novel Our Sunshine into the screenplay for the 2003 film Ned Kelly, which was directed by Gregor Jordan. Wikipedia