Michael Patrick Dougherty (born October 28, 1974) is an American writer, director, animator, and producer known for his work in a variety of genre films, both big and small.
Beginning his career as an animator and illustrator, Dougherty's animated work was featured on MTV, Nickelodeon, and a line of "twisted" greeting cards published by NobleWorks. He then co-wrote the blockbuster films X2 and Superman Returns before making his directorial debut with the horror comedy, Trick ‘r Treat (2007). Dougherty then directed and co-wrote the holiday horror comedy Krampus (2015). Dougherty co-wrote and directed the blockbuster Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), and co-wrote the story for its sequel, Godzilla vs. Kong (2021). Collectively, Dougherty's work has grossed over two billion dollars at the box office.
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Early life
Dougherty was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio. He attended the Tisch School of Arts at New York University in the Maurice Kanbar Institute of Film and Television, which is where he produced his 1996 short film Season's Greetings.
He is of Vietnamese descent on his mother's side and Irish and Hungarian descent on his father's. He was raised Catholic.
Career
Dougherty made his directorial and writing debut with the animated short film Season's Greetings, which was released in 1996. The hand-drawn short film marked the debut of "Sam", the pint-sized spirit of Halloween who would later become the star of Trick 'r Treat. Michael was also an animator on the Nick Jr. series Blue's Clues and Little Bill at Nick Digital.
