Andrew Niccol

Born: 1964
Where: New Zealand

Screenwriter and director Niccol began his career in London, successfully directing TV ads before moving to Los Angeles in order to make films "longer than 60 seconds".

He interested producer Scott Rudin in his The Truman Show script, but Rudin was not willing to gamble on a rookie director, particularly when Jim Carrey came aboard, swelling the budget to about $60 million.

Niccol eventually made his screenwriting and directing debut with sci-fi movie Gattaca.

On the heels of his success, he negotiated a two-year production deal with DreamWorks SKG to write, direct and produce projects under the banner of Niccol Productions.

In 2001, he made the controversial decision to use a computer-generated leading lady opposite Al Pacino in Simone.