Krysty Wilson-Cairns

• 1. Glasgow Roots And Early Ambitions

  ›

  Krysty Wilson-Cairns was born on the 26th of May 1987 in Glasgow, Scotland. She grew up in the Shawlands area within a single-parent household. Her grandparents helped fund her education at the private Craigholme School. At age fifteen she secured a work experience placement on the Scottish detective show Taggart. The series used the mechanic shop where her father worked as a set. She watched filming during summer holidays and later became a runner on that show. She also worked as a runner on other television series including Rebus and Lip Service.

  347

• 2. Academic Training And Industry Entry

  ›

  Wilson-Cairns initially planned to study physics and become an engineer. On-set experiences as a runner shifted her focus toward the film industry. She studied Digital Film and Television at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and graduated in 2009. Her first creative work there involved a short story about killer guinea pigs. Screenwriter Richard Smith inspired her ambition to become a screenwriter while teaching at the school. She spent one year working at the BBC Comedy Unit before moving to London. She earned a Master of Arts degree in Screenwriting from the National Film and Television School in 2013. While studying she worked as a bartender in The Toucan pub located in Soho. Script ideas developed during her downtime between shifts.

  81526

• 3. Breakthrough Scripts And Staff Roles

  ›

  Wilson-Cairns sold her first film script to FilmNation Entertainment in 2014. The project was titled Aether and classified as a science fiction thriller. It made the top ten of the Black List that same year. Screenwriter John Logan read the script and hired her as a staff writer for Penny Dreadful in 2015. She contributed writing to both the television show and its comic book series. Her next commission involved adapting Charles Graeber's non-fiction book The Good Nurse. Filmmaker Sam Mendes saw her treatment and suggested future collaboration. They had previously met while working on Penny Dreadful where he served as executive producer. Two potential projects included an adaptation of Gay Talese's book The Voyeur's Motel and an Invisibilia podcast. Both projects failed due to licensing issues. Forbes named her to their 30 under 30 list in Hollywood and Entertainment in 2017.

  12131622

• 4. The Making Of One Continuous Take

  ›

  Her feature film debut arrived with the screenplay for 1917 directed by Sam Mendes. The story follows two young British soldiers on a mission to warn a battalion about a German ambush. The film appears shot as one continuous take. Wilson-Cairns traveled to battlefields and cemeteries in northern France with her mother during development. She read frontline diaries at the Imperial War Museum to inform the script. The film received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. It also earned a nomination for the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay. She shared the BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film for the project. Variety listed her among the 10 Screenwriters to Watch in 2019. In October 2020 she co-founded Great Company with producer Jack Ivins. Their company signed a two-year film deal with Universal Pictures the following year.

  1019202326

• 5. Horror Genres And Historical Adaptations

  ›

  Wilson-Cairns co-wrote Edgar Wright's psychological horror Last Night in Soho released in 2021. She appeared in the film as a bartender during production. The next year she wrote the screenplay for The Good Nurse based on Charles Graeber's novel. The film centers on serial killer nurse Charles Cullen and intensive care nurse Amy Loughren. Wilson-Cairns spent a fortnight working in a burns unit within a Connecticut hospital. This research helped her understand the American healthcare system for the script. Her work on the film earned a nomination for Best Writer Film/Television at the 2023 British Academy Scotland Awards. The story explores how Loughren helped convict Cullen through their professional relationship.

  303138

• 6. Industry Recognition And Future Projects

  ›

  Upcoming projects include an adaptation of journalist Evan Ratliff's book The Mastermind: Drugs. Empire. Murder. Betrayal. The Amazon Studios crime drama series focuses on programmer-turned-drug cartel boss Paul Le Roux. Wilson-Cairns is also writing the screenplay for a biopic about Cleopatra. Denis Villeneuve will direct the project based on Stacy Schiff's biography Cleopatra: A Life. Her major award nominations span the Academy Awards, Writers Guild of America Awards, and BAFTA Awards. These honors recognize her contributions to both 1917 and The Good Nurse. She continues to balance historical research with genre storytelling across multiple mediums.

  35363740