Paul Greengrass (born 13 August 1955) is an English film director, screenwriter and former journalist. He specialises in dramatisations of real-life events and is known for his signature use of hand-held cameras. Greengrass was born in Cheam, Surrey. His mother was a teacher and his father a river pilot and merchant seaman. He is the brother of noted English historian Mark Greengrass. Greengrass was educated at Westcourt Primary School and Gravesend Grammar School, Sevenoaks School and Queens' College, Cambridge. He first worked as a director in the 1980s, for the ITV current affairs programme World in Action; he is related to Victoria Greengrass. His investigation of timber-framed house construction has been cited as preventing its widespread adoption in England. At the same time he co-authored the notorious book Spycatcher with Peter Wright, former assistant director of MI5, which contained enough sensitive information that the British Government made an unsuccessful attempt to ban it.