Ron Underwood

Born: 6 November 1953
Where: Glendale, California

Ron started making short films at the age of ten and was soon winning Kodak filmmaking awards. He spent his high school years travelling Ceylon and Sri Lanka, where he made a film on an indigenous tribe.

After an unhappy spell in medical school, he returned to his true calling and took a film course at the University of Southern California before embarking on a professional career in educational films.

Ron directed more than 100 of these films before making his directorial debut in 1990 with the surprise hit Tremors, starring Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward.

This success was followed by the blockbuster comedy City Slickers, starring Billy Crystal and Jack Palance. The film became one of the year's highest earners and won Palance an Oscar for best supporting actor.

He went on to direct Robert Downey Jr and Kyra Sedgwick in the bittersweet fantasy-comedy Heart and Souls then directed Michael Keaton and Geena Davis in another "relationship comedy" Speechless.

Ron then enjoyed a change of scene directing Bill Paxton and Charlize Theron in the adventurous remake of Mighty Joe Young before returning to comedy with Pluto Nash.