William Nicholson was born on January 12, 1948 in Tonbridge, Kent, England, UK. He is a producer and writer, known for Les Misérables (2012), Gladiator (2000) and Unbroken (2014).

He earned his first Oscar nomination for writing the screenplay for Shadowlands (1993). He was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2015 Queen's New Years Honours List for his services to Drama and Literature.