Ronald Harwood came to England from South Africa in 1951 and studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He was an actor for seven years, and began writing in 1960. Since then he has written numerous plays for the stage, including 'After the Lions', 'Tramway Road', 'Interpreters', 'Another Time', 'Quartet', 'Equally Divided' and 'Mahler's Conversion', and an adaptation of Chekhov's 'Ivanov'. He also wrote the screenplay for the film of his West End and Broadway hit, The Dresser, which received five Academy Award nominations, including one for Best Screenplay, and the screenplay for The Pianist, the Palme d'Or-winning movie directed by Roman Polanski.