Robert Zemeckis

Born: 14th May 1951
Where: Chicago

The Oscar-winning director has made some of the biggest grossing films of all time, including Forrest Gump, Back to the Future and Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

He owes his success in part to regular producer Bob Gale and Steven Spielberg, who championed his career from the early days.

At school he was already making 8mm films, and while at the University of Southern California, he studied film and directed his first short movie - The Lift.

In 1973, whilst still at college, Zemeckis made the 14-minute A Field of Honor, which he screened for Spielberg who helped him secure a development deal.

The resulting original screenplay was the basis for a project that eventually became the film 1941 - a misfiring comedy directed by Spielberg.

In 1978, Zemeckis had his feature film directorial debut with I Wanna Hold Your Hand but it wasn't until 1984 that he enjoyed his first box office success with Romancing the Stone.

This was followed closely by the worldwide smash hit, Back To The Future, which starred Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd, and resulted in two sequels.

Switching styles, Who Framed Roger Rabbit was an experimental combination of live action and animation, which proved hugely successful at the box office.

After a few TV projects and minor films, Zemeckis teamed up with Tom Hanks for the historial fantasy Forrest Gump, which landed eight Oscars including best director.

In 1997, he made the sci-fi mystery Contact with Jodie Foster and then directed the thriller What Lies Beneath with Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer.

Cast Away saw him reteaming with Hanks, who played a FedEx executive who found himself stranded on a desert island.

As a producer, Zemeckis has worked on movies including Ghost Ship, Gothika, Thir13een Ghosts and Matchstick Men.

In 2004, working with Hanks again, he adapted the Chris van Allsburg children's Christmas story The Polar Express.