Paris Barclay

Director and Producer



External Advisory Board

Paris Barclay, one of television’s most successful and honored directors, is the President of the Directors Guild of America.

Throughout his illustrious career in television, Paris has directed over 150 episodes of television, including NYPD Blue, Sons of Anarchy, ER, The West Wing, Lost, The Good Wife, CSI, NCIS: Los Angeles, House, Glee, and Smash. He won two Emmy Awards for his direction of NYPD Blue and has received six additional Emmy nominations for producing and directing, including for three episodes of Glee. Paris has also garnered ten Directors Guild nominations, for shows as diverse as NYPD Blue, ER, The West Wing, House, Weeds, In Treatment and Glee. He became the first Director in the history of the Guild to receive a comedy and drama nomination in the same year, two years in a row (2008 & 2009). He’s also received three NAACP Image Awards, for producing, co-creating, and directing City of Angels, directing Cold Case, and directing Smash. (He was inducted into the NAACP Image Awards Hall of Fame in 2014). He’s also received honors such as a Writers Guild of America nomination (for the telefilm “Pedro”), four prestigious Peabody Awards, two Humanitas Prizes, and countless other recognitions.

Paris Executive Produced and was the principal director for the FX hit Sons of Anarchy. It finished its 7-year run in 2014 as the highest rated program in the history of the network. He is current Executive Producing and directing FX’s The Bastard Executioner, for which he helmed the pilot.

He has directed three films: the feature Don’t Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood for Miramax, and television films The Cherokee Kid for HBO and The Big Time for TNT.

Paris got his start in advertising working as a creative executive and then segued into directing music videos for some of music’s biggest stars, such as: Janet Jackson, Bob Dylan, and LL Cool J. In addition to his service to the DGA, Paris has been recognized for his service and contributions to many charitable organizations, including Liberty Hill, GLAAD, and Project Angel Food. He and Taylor Hackford shared the 2007 Robert Aldrich Award, given for extraordinary service to the Directors’ Guild of America.

Paris was first elected President of the DGA in June 2013 (and reelected in 2015) and is the first African-American and openly gay President in the history of the Guild. Before being elected president, Paris served four terms as the First Vice President of the Directors Guild of America. Before that, he served two terms as the Guild’s Third Vice President, the first African American Officer in the history of the Guild. He is a member of the Western Directors Council, the Creative Rights Committee, Co-Chair of the Diversity Committee, former Chair of the DGA PAC Leadership Council and former co-chair of the African American Steering Committee. One of the most prominent and acclaimed television directors, Mr. Barclay first joined the DGA in 1992, and was elected to the Western Director’s Council and the National Board in 1997. He has said: “What’s the point of any success if you don’t give back?”