Boaz Yakin

Born: 1966
Where: New York, USA

The director first attracted attention with his controversial self-written feature debut Fresh at Sundance Film Festival.

Born to creative parents (they met in Paris while studying mime with Marcel Marceau), Yakin studied film-making at New York City College.

He soon moved on to New York University and made his first deal for a screenplay at the age of 19.

His first screenplay - the Dolph Lundgren vehicle The Punisher - reached the screen in 1989 and he followed in with The Rookie, starring Clint Eastwood and Charlie Sheen.

After Fresh, based on his own childhood experiences, he drew on his experiences at an Orthodox Jewish school for A Price Above Rubies.

The first film he directed but did not write - Remember The Titans starring Denzel Washington - was a massive box office hit.

Recent work includes the lame comedy Uptown Girls with Britanny Murphy and he also scripted the sequel Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights.