Haggis began to work as a writer for television programs, including The Love Boat, One Day at a Time, Diff'rent Strokes, and The Facts of Life. With The Facts of Life, Haggis also gained his first credit as producer. During the 1980s and 1990s, Haggis wrote for television series including thirtysomething, The Tracey Ullman Show, FM, Due South, L.A. Law, and EZ Streets. He helped to create the television series Walker, Texas Ranger; Family Law; and Due South. Haggis served as executive producer of the series Michael Hayes and Family Law. He gained recognition in the film industry for his work on the 2004 film Million Dollar Baby, which Allmovie described as a "serious milestone" for the writer/producer, and as "his first high-profile foray into feature film". Haggis had read two stories written by Jerry Boyd, a boxing trainer who wrote under the name of F.X. Toole. Haggis later acquired the rights to the stories, and developed them into the screenplay for Million Dollar Baby. Clint Eastwood portrayed the lead character in the film. Eastwood also directed the film, and used the screenplay written by Haggis. Million Dollar Baby received four Academy Awards including the Academy Award for Best Picture. After Million Dollar Baby, Haggis worked on the 2004 film Crash. Haggis came up with the story for the film on his own, and then wrote and directed the film, which allowed him greater control over his work. Crash was his first experience as director of a major feature film. Highly positive upon release, critical reception of Crash has since polarized, although Roger Ebert called it the best film of 2005. Crash received Academy Award nominations for Best Picture and Best Director, in addition to four other Academy Award nominations. Haggis received two Academy Awards for the film: Best Picture (as its producer), and Best Writing for his work on the screenplay. With Million Dollar Baby and then Crash, Haggis became the first individual to have written Best Picture Oscar-winners in two consecutive years. Haggis said that he wrote Crash to "bust liberals", arguing that his fellow liberals were not honest with themselves about the nature of race and racism because they believed that most racial problems had already been resolved in American society.

Filmography

• Walker — Original Series Creator
• 20185B — Director
• 2015MLE — Director
• Show Me a Hero — Director, Executive Producer
• 2014Third Person — Screenplay, Director, Producer
• 2010The Next Three Days — Director, Screenplay, Producer
• 2009Kopf oder Zahl — Thanks
• Crash — Executive Producer
• 2008Ian Fleming's Incredible Creation
• 2008Quantum of Solace — Screenplay
• 2008The Road to Casino Royale
• 2007In the Valley of Elah — Producer, Director, Screenplay
• The Black Donnellys — Executive Producer, Story, Director, Writer, Creator
• 2006Casino Royale — Screenplay
• 2006Flags of Our Fathers — Screenplay
• 2006Letters from Iwo Jima — Producer, Story
• 2006The Last Kiss — Screenplay
• 2005Crash — Director, Screenplay, Producer, Story
• 2005Walker, Texas Ranger: Trial by Fire — Screenplay
• Entourage — Paul Haggis
• 2004Million Dollar Baby — Producer, Screenplay
• Mister Sterling — Writer
• Family Law — Writer, Director, Producer, Creator
• Michael Hayes — Creator
• EZ Streets — Director, Writer, Creator
• 1994Due South — Writer
• Due South — Director, Writer, Teleplay, Story, Creator
• 1993Red Hot — Director, Writer
• Walker, Texas Ranger — Creator
• City — Producer, Creator
• You Take the Kids — Director, Creator
• 1987The Return of the Shaggy Dog — Writer
• thirtysomething — Writer, Producer
• L.A. Law — Writer, Story
• Together We Stand — Writer
• CBS Storybreak — Teleplay
• Who's the Boss? — Writer
• Mr. Merlin — Writer
• The Facts of Life — Writer
• Diff'rent Strokes — Writer
• The Love Boat — Writer
• One Day at a Time — Writer

Appearances as themselves (15)

• Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath — Self
• 2015Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief — Self - Interviewee
• Late Night with Seth Meyers — Self
• 2012Casting By — Self
• 2011Miss Representation — Self
• 2010Mulholland Drive - Ein Hollywood-Mythos — Self
• 2008The Business End: Violence in Cinema — Self
• 2008The Evolution of Clint Eastwood — Self
• 2007Red Sun, Black Sand: The Making of 'Letters from Iwo Jima' — Self
• 2006Becoming Bond — Self
• 2006The Dialogue: An Interview with Screenwriter Paul Haggis — Himself
• The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson — Self
• 2005The Producers: Round 15 — Self
• Kulturplatz — Self
• The Oscars — Self