Joe Carnahan

Born: 1969
Where: Sacramento, California, USA

Carnahan wrote and directed his first feature Blood, Guts, Bullets and Octane while working as a TV trailer cutter.

Shot on weekends and edited at night, the 1998 movie was made for about £5,000 and was a hit with critics and audiences alike.

Overnight, he graduated to the big time with bleak cop thriller Narc, starring Jason Patric and Ray Liotta.

Recent work includes Hire: The Ticker, starring Britain's Clive Owen, and A Walk Among The Tombstones with Harrison Ford.

Also in the works is Killing Pablo with Javier Bardem playing drugs baron Pablo Escobar.