Kevin Burns is an American film and television director, producer, and writer. He is best known for his work on the documentary series Ancient Aliens and for the documentary film The Heart of Nuba.
Burns was born in New York City in 1961. He attended the University of Southern California, where he earned a degree in Film Production in 1983. After graduating, Burns worked as an assistant editor for two years while also writing screenplays and short films.
Burns began his career directing music videos and documentaries, including the award-winning feature documentary The Heart of Nuba (1997). He went on to direct several episodes of the hit History Channel series Ancient Aliens. He also wrote and directed the feature film American Standoff (2000), a fictionalized account of a labor dispute.
In 2004, Burns wrote and directed a series of documentaries for National Geographic called The Real Face of Jesus. The series was critically acclaimed and was nominated for an Emmy Award.
Burns has also produced several documentaries, including the award-winning The War Tapes (2006) and the Emmy-nominated For Love of Liberty: The Story of America’s Black Patriots (2010). He has also directed several television series, including The Universe (2007-2012) and The Bible (2013-2014).
Burns has been a prolific writer and director, with credits on over 100 episode of television and film. He has also been involved in the production of several feature films, including The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013), The Fault in Our Stars (2014), and The Revenant (2015).
Burns is currently producing and directing a new documentary series for National Geographic called The Story of God with Morgan Freeman. He is also producing a feature-length documentary about the late Steve Jobs for HBO.
Burns has received numerous awards and accolades throughout his career, including two Emmy nominations and a Peabody Award. He has also been inducted into the International Documentary Association Hall of Fame.
