Oscar-winning screenwriter and director Oliver Stone is responsible for the hit films Platoon, Scarface, Born on the Fourth of July and Natural Born Killers.
1946-
Preston Sturges is regarded as the first Hollywood figure to successfully move from screenwriting to directing his own scripts.
1898-1959
Quentin Tarantino jolted onto the Hollywood scene with his screenplay for True Romance, before directing the early 1990s films Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction.
1963-
1907-1982
1952-
Julien Temple is an English filmmaker and music video director who began his career directing the Sex Pistols documentary The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle (1979).
1953-
American actor and director Justin Theroux is known for his role on the TV series Strangers with Candy, as well as film roles in Tropic Thunder, Your Highness and Wanderlust, among several other productions.
1971-
Billy Bob Thornton is an actor who has appeared in such films as Monster's Ball and who wrote, directed, and starred in Sling Blade.
1955-
French director François Truffaut established the New Wave movement in film. He won an Oscar for his 1972 film, Day for Night.
1932-1984
1905-1976
1960-
Peter Ustinov was an English actor, writer and director who is known for his Oscar-winning performances in Spartacus (1960) and Topkapi (1964).
1921-2004
1932-
Gus Van Sant, the American director known best known for the blockbuster hit Good Will Hunting, starring Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.
1952-
1906-1976
Filmmaker, director and writer John Waters, sometimes called the "King of Bad Taste" or the "Pope of Trash," has built a reputation for shocking his audiences.
1946-
Damon Wayans is an African-American comedian who appeared on the sketch comedy show In Living Color.
1960-
Comedian and actor Keenen Ivory Wayans hosted his own late night show, The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show. His famous siblings are Damon, Shawn, Marlon and Kim.
1958-
Orson Welles wrote, directed and starred in the film Citizen Kane, among others, which remains one of the most influential films ever made.
1915-1985
1945-
Samuel West is a British actor best known for his roles in the films Howards End, Notting Hill, Van Helsing and Hyde Park on Hudson.
1966-
1906-2002
Filmmaker and novelist Ed Wood is famous for his low-budget films of the 1950s like Plan 9 From Outer Space, which are celebrated today as sheer camp.
1924-1978
1902-1981
Musician Frank Zappa made more than 60 albums during his career. Flouting convention and fusing musical genres, Zappa's music was often politically charged and intentionally shocking.
1940-1993
1923-
Benh Zeitlin is an American filmmaker best known for his critically-acclaimed 2012 film, Beasts of the Southern Wild.
1982-
Academy Award-winning director Robert Zemeckis is behind Romancing the Stone, the Back to the Future trilogy, Forrest Gump, Tales from the Crypt and Cast Away.
1952-
1907-1997
Singer-filmmaker Rob Zombie has delighted and shocked audiences with his horror-rock music and his scary, violent films.
1965-