David O Russell

Born: 20 August 1958
Where: New York, USA

The maverick director was heaped with accolodes for his Gulf War satire Three Kings with Mark Wahlberg and George Clooney.

After graduating in English and Political Science from Amerhurst College in 1981 Russell claims he pursued a cinema career after seeing Dustin Hoffman in The Graduate.

He marked time as a political activist and documentary-maker while also waiting tables at Manhattan's Museum of Modern Art during parties for the likes of Martin Scorcese.

His debut short Bingo Inferno attracted interest at the Sundance Film Festival and he was able to finance the comedy short Hairway to the Stars.

Russell's first featur - Spanking The Monkey - won the audience award at the Sundance Film Festival, as well as further plaudits at the Independent Spirit Awards.

Flirting With Disaster, starring Ben Stiller and Rosanna Arquette, told the story of couple tracing the husband's birth parents.

In 1999, Three Kings, starring Clooney and Wahlberg as American soldiers who try to steal Iraqi gold, landed Russell a nomination for best original screenplay from the Writers Guild Of America.

He followed this with I Heart Huckabees, a philosophical comedy following two existential detectives - Dustin Hoffman and Lily Tomlin.

Russell returned to documentary-making with Soldiers Pay, in which he interviews American soldiers about the 2004 war in Iraq.