born May 15, 1943, Toronto, Ont., Can.
Canadian film director, screenwriter, and actor.
He began making horror films in the 1970s and acquired a cult following with films such as Scanners (1981) and Videodrome (1982). He found a wider horror-film audience with The Dead Zone (1983), The Fly (1986), and Dead Ringers (1988). Later films included Naked Lunch (1991), Crash (1996), and eXistenZ (1999).