[1] In 1985, Burns graduated summa cum laude with a degree in English from the University of Minnesota.
[2] After graduating from the University of Minnesota, Burns began his career in advertising, later becoming a television commercials director.
He wrote and directed the film The Report (2019), a drama about the secret torture program inside the CIA.
[9][10] In a March 2020 interview, Burns commented on the film's resurgence and similarities to the active pandemic, especially in the wake of a round of CDC budget cuts: "I was terrified.
I was very aware that our Department of Homeland Security had a pandemic team standing by because this is a real threat.