His productions include Chariots of Fire, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture, The Mission, The Killing Fields, Local Hero, Midnight Express and Memphis Belle.

[2] Educated at Minchenden Grammar School in London, Puttnam had an early career in advertising, including five formative years at Collett Dickenson Pearce, and as agent acting for the photographers David Bailey and Brian Duffy.

Puttnam and Lieberson went on to produce The Final Programme (1973), a science fiction film, and made some more documentaries, these being Double Headed Eagle: Hitler's Rise to Power 1918–1933 (1973) and Swastika (1974).

Puttnam and Lieberson executive-produced the Ken Russell biopic Mahler (1974), and did a sequel to That'll Be The Day, entitled Stardust (1974) and directed by Michael Apted.

Six were made as a series called First Love for the fledgling Channel Four: P'tang, Yang, Kipperbang (1982), directed by Apted; Experience Preferred...

Puttnam continued to executive produce television movies such as The Frog Prince (1985), Mr. Love (1985), Defence of the Realm (1986), and Knights & Emeralds (1986).

He also produced The Mission (1986), directed by Joffe from a script by Robert Bolt, which won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1986.

[7][8][9] Puttnam returned to producing individual films with Memphis Belle (1990), Meeting Venus (1991), A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia (1992), Being Human (1994), War of the Buttons (1994), The Confessional (1994), and My Life So Far (1995).

[18] In 2002, he chaired the joint scrutiny committee on the Communications Bill, which recommended an amendment to prevent ownership of British terrestrial television stations by companies with a significant share of the newspaper market.

When the government opposed the amendment, Puttnam brokered a compromise – the introduction of a 'public interest' test, to be applied by the new regulator Ofcom but without explicit restrictions.

[21] During the same period, Puttnam – who lives in Skibbereen, County Cork – was named Ireland's Digital Champion by Communications Minister Pat Rabbitte, TD.

[22] In August 2014, Puttnam was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September's referendum on that issue.

Puttnam announced his retirement from the House of Lords in October 2021,[25] as he delivered the Shirley Williams Lecture, detailing his reasons for leaving in his speech.

For 10 years, Puttnam was chairman of the National Film and Television School whose alumni included people such as Nick Park; and in 2017, he succeeded Richard Attenborough as Life President.

Puttnam was a member of the Commonwealth of Learning's Board of Governors until January 2020 [33] and stood down as Chair of Film London Executive Task Force in 2022.

[34] As well as being Chair of Atticus Education,[35] today he holds a number of positions including President of the Film Distributors’ Association, Chair of the NAE Education Advisory Board, leading on the Groups Digital Transformation, Life President of the National Film & Television School, , UNICEF Ambassador, Member of the Advisory Board of Accenture (Ireland), Adjunct Professor of Film Studies and Digital Humanities at University College Cork, Adjunct Professor of the School of Media & Communications at RMIT University (Australia), Patron of the Dublin Bid World Summit on Media for Children 2020/2023 and International Ambassador, WWF.

In October 2022 Lord Puttnam was awarded a fellowship by adult education provider, City Lit,[36] for his contribution to the world of film and media.

He made the occasion notable by delivering a particularly moving homage to his late father, who had died before he could see his son receive the Best Picture Oscar for Chariots of Fire.

[46] All in all, Puttnam's films have won 10 Oscars, 31 BAFTAs, 13 Golden Globes, nine Emmys, four David di Donatellos in Italy and the Palme d'Or at Cannes.

[50] On 19 August 2007, Puttnam gave the oration at the annual Michael Collins commemoration in Béal na Bláth, County Cork.