Zak Penn is an American film and television writer, producer, and director. He was born on March 23, 1968 in New York City, New York.
Penn graduated from Wesleyan University in 1990. His screenplay for the 1994 film PCU was based on his experiences at the Eclectic Society house.
Penn's writing credits include the films Last Action Hero (1993), Inspector Gadget (1999), Behind Enemy Lines (2001), X2 (2003), Incident at Loch Ness (2004), Suspect Zero (2004), Elektra (2005), X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), The Grand (2007), The Incredible Hulk (2008), The Avengers (2012), Ready Player One (2018), and Free Guy (2021).
His directorial debut was Incident at Loch Ness in 2014, followed by The Grand in 2007. He also directed the 2014 documentary film Atari: Game Over.
On television, Penn created, wrote and executive produced Syfy's superhero series Alphas (2011-2012). He also created, wrote and executive produced the science-fiction series Beacon 23 that premiered on MGM+ in 2023.
In July 2012, Avatar Press released the first issue of Penn's first comic book, Hero Worship. The six-issue series is co-written with Star Wars: The Clone Wars screenwriter Scott Murphy and drawn by Michael DiPascale. It centers on Zenith, an indestructible hero who has fans following every disaster, trying to catch a glimpse of the ultimate celebrity and risking their own lives in the process. One fan becomes so obsessed that it leads to the development of his own powers.
Penn has been married to film and television producer Michele Weiss since 1998.
