In 1985, George made his debut as playwright of The Tunnel, a stage drama based on a real-life 1976 prison escape attempt from Long Kesh.
[2] In 1993, he made his debut as screenwriter and assistant director with In the Name of the Father, starring Daniel Day-Lewis, and directed and co-written by Jim Sheridan.
He wrote the screenplay for and directed the film Some Mother's Son, starring Helen Mirren and Fionnula Flanagan, for which he was named Young European Director of the Year, in 1996.
From 2000 to 2004, he served as executive producer and co-creator of the CBS television series The District, which starred Craig T. Nelson, David O'Hara and Lynne Thigpen.
He earned his second Academy Award nomination in 2004 for directing, producing and co-writing Hotel Rwanda, which starred Don Cheadle and Sophie Okonedo.
[3] Along with screenwriter William Monahan and musician Van Morrison, George was honoured at the 2nd Annual Oscar Wilde Honoring Irish Writing in Film ceremony, [clarification needed] held at the Ebell Wilshire in Los Angeles, California on 22 February 2007.
In 2016, George wrote and directed The Promise, set during the Armenian genocide of 1915 and starring Oscar Isaac, Charlotte Le Bon, and Christian Bale.
In addition he received a khachkar, made by Hrach Gukasyan and commissioned by the Arpa International Film Festival and Awards Gala, with Armenian-style patterns in the shape of a Celtic cross, the latter in honor of his Irish heritage.