Louis Leterrier

Born: June 17 1973
Where: Paris, France

The onetime wannabe drummer made his directorial debut with the Riviera-set action thriller The Transporter.

The son of a film-maker and costume designer, he originally hoped to be rock drummer but switched his attention to making short films.

After working in publicity in his teens, he studied film at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.

After become a teaching assistant, he met director Jean-Pierre Jenuet, who was looking for French-speaking assistants to work on Alien Resurrection.

Back in France, Leterrier became Luc Besson's assistant on The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc as well as working on TV adverts for L'Oreal and Club Internet.

In 2002, he made his directorial debut with The Transporter, starring Jason Statham and Shu Qui.

His next effort was the violent Luc Besson-scripted thriller Unleashed, starring Jet Li as Glasgow gangster Bob Hoskin's human attack dog.

Upcoming projects include The Transporter 2 with Jason Statham reprising his role as Frank Martin.