Todd Graff

Born: October 22 1959
Where: New York, USA

The former actor and scriptwriter made his directorial debut with the cult musical Camp.

As a teenager he attended the arts-orientated Stagedoor Manor in New York alongside Jennifer Jason Leigh and Natalie Portman.

At Stagedoor, which proved the inspiration for Camp, he later graduated to counsellor and acually coached the eight-year-old Robert Downey Jr.

His first big screen appearance was the British romantic drama Not Quite Paradise with Sam Robards and Kevin McNally.

Other roles included Alan "Hippy" Carnes in The Abyss, Zip in City of Hope and Tex Arcana in Strange Days.

At the same time he was developing a parellel career as a screenwriter, kicking off with Used People in 1992.

He went on to pen the script for the ill-advised American remake of The Vanishing and the romantic drama Angie with Geena Davis and Stephen Rea.

After five years searching for funding he eventually directed the Fame-style musical Camp, which was a cult hit.