Dan Gilroy was born in Santa Monica, California, the son of Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Frank D. Gilroy, and sculptor and writer Ruth Dorothy. His brother Tony Gilroy is a screenwriter and director; and his fraternal twin brother, John Gilroy, is a film editor. Through his father, he is of Italian, Irish and German descent. Gilroy wrote the script for 2005 gambling drama Two for the Money (2005), starring Al Pacino and Gilroy's wife Rene Russo. His earliest credit is as co-writer of science fiction thriller Freejack (1992), followed by co-writing Dennis Hopper-directed comedy Chasers. He was also one of the writers to contribute to the unmade Superman film Superman Lives. He made his directorial debut with the 2014 crime thriller Nightcrawler (2014). He also wrote the screenplay, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. His second directing effort was Roman J. Israel Esq. (2017), for which Denzel Washington was nominated for an Oscar. Gilroy wrote the script with him in mind and said that he would have put it away if Washington wouldn't have agreed to play the lead. Gilroy's third feature film is entitled Velvet Buzzsaw (2019), it will be an ensemble cast horror thriller with a touch of comedy and satire to it which is set in the world of contemporary art in Los Angeles. Gilroy has been married to Rene Russo since 1992, and they have one daughter, named Rose. They reside in Brentwood, California.