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Born March 1943 in Toronto, Canada, Cronenberg studied science at Toronto University before switching to English. Formed, along with producer/director Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters, Junior, Road Trip), the Toronto Film Co-op.
Cronenberg’s feature debut, Shivers (1975) was inspired by a dream he had of a spider crawling out of a woman’s mouth and outraged Canadian politicians when they discovered it had been partly funded by government money. The success of The Fly (1986) gave Cronenberg more mainstream options but he would turn down Top Gun, Flashdance and The Truman Show for more obviously leftfield fare like The Naked Lunch.
In 1996 Crash (controversial even before its release for its frank portrayal of sex and banned by Westminster Council) won a prize at Cannes for its ‘audacity’.
