About
David Cronenberg
Overview
David Paul Cronenberg, CC, OOnt, FRSC (born March 15, 1943 in Toronto, Ontario) is widely regarded as Canada's most influential and internationally celebrated filmmaker. Cronenberg has made a significant impact on genre cinema in Canada. Nicknamed "The Baron of Blood" and "The King of Venereal Horror," he has pushed boundaries with his controversial horror movies. His unique style of "body horror" films, including "Shivers" (1975), "The Brood" (1979), "Scanners" (1981), "Videodrome" (1983), "The Fly" (1986), "Dead Ringers" (1988), "Naked Lunch" (1991), and "Crash" (1996), have captivated audiences with their thought-provoking exploration of the complex relationship between sex, technology, and violence. Cronenberg's contributions to the film industry have been recognized with numerous awards and honours, including being a Companion of the Order of Canada, a Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et Lettres de France, and a member of Canada's Walk of Fame. He has received 10 Genie Awards and has been honoured at prestigious international film festivals, as well as receiving lifetime achievement awards from the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards, the Canadian Screen Awards, the Cannes Film Festival, and the Venice Film Festival. Cronenberg has been married twice: first to sound recordist Margaret Hindson, from 1970 to 1977, with whom he had one daughter, Cassandra Cronenberg (born 1972); then to cinematographer Carolyn Zeifman, from 1979 until her death in 2017, with whom he had one son, Brandon Cronenberg (born 1980), and one daughter, Caitlin Cronenberg (born 1984).
Known for
Acting |
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2024 | Humane | Actor | D.O.C.S. Commercials Narrator | 58 Average |
2023 | Room 999 | Actor | Self | 59 Average |
2022 | Crimes of the Future - Behind the Scenes Featurette | Actor | Self | N/A N/A |
2021 | The Death of David Cronenberg | Actor | David Cronenberg | 58 Average |
2020 | Falling | Actor | Dr. Klausner | 60 Fair |
2020 | Disappearance at Clifton Hill | Actor | Walter | 58 Average |
2019 | A Kaleidoscope of Meaning: Colour in Don't Look Now | Actor | Self | 59 Average |
2019 | Pass the Warning: Reflecting on Nic Roeg's Masterpiece | Actor | Self | 59 Average |
2019 | L’ inquiétante absence | Actor | Self | 58 Average |
2017 | Alias Grace | Actor | Reverend Verrenger | 71 Good |
2016 | Ape Sodom | Actor | Narrator | 59 Average |
2016 | Tomorrow's Shadows | Actor | G.O.D. (voice) | N/A N/A |
2013 | Tales from the Organ Trade | Actor | Narrator | 59 Average |
2013 | The Nest | Actor | Dr. Molnar (voice) | 58 Average |
2013 | Rewind | Actor | Rourke | 58 Average |
2012 | Citizens of Cosmopolis | Actor | Self | 59 Average |
2012 | A Special Day | Actor | Self | 59 Average |
2011 | Produce Your Own Damn Movie! | Actor | Self | N/A N/A |
2010 | Secret Origin: The Story of DC Comics | Actor | Self (archive footage) | 59 Average |
2010 | William S. Burroughs: A Man Within | Actor | Self | 59 Average |
2010 | Barney's Version | Actor | O'Malley Director #2 | 64 Fair |
2008 | On Screen!: Shivers | Actor | himself | N/A N/A |
2007 | To Each His Own Cinema | Actor | The Suicidal Man (segment "At the suicide of the last Jew ...") | 60 Fair |
2007 | At the Suicide of the Last Jew in the World in the Last Cinema in the World | Actor | The Last Jew in the World | N/A N/A |
2007 | At the Suicide of the Last Jew in the World in the Last Cinema in the World | Actor | The Last Jew | N/A N/A |
2007 | At the Suicide of the Last Jew in the World in the Last Cinema in the World | Actor | N/A N/A |
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2007 | At the Suicide of the Last Jew in the World in the Last Cinema in the World | Actor | The Suicidal Man | N/A N/A |
2006 | The Politics of the Dead Zone | Actor | Self | 59 Average |
2006 | Too Commercial for Cannes | Actor | Self | 59 Average |
2006 | Acts of Violence | Actor | Self | 59 Average |
2005 | The Best of Secter & the Rest of Secter | Actor | Self | N/A N/A |
2004 | Videodrome: Forging the New Flesh | Actor | Self | 59 Average |
2004 | Weird Sex and Snowshoes: A Trek Through the Canadian Cinematic Psyche | Actor | Duncan (archive footage) | 59 Average |
2002 | Masters of Horror | Actor | Self | 59 Average |
2001 | Jason X | Actor | Dr. Wimmer | 51 Average |
2001 | The Judge | Actor | Det. Stobel | 59 Average |
2000 | The American Nightmare | Actor | Self | 59 Average |
2000 | Frame by Frame: The Invisible Art of Production Designer Carol Spier | Actor | Self | N/A N/A |
1999 | David Cronenberg: I Have to Make the Word Be Flesh | Actor | 59 Average |
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1999 | Resurrection | Actor | Father Rousell | 59 Average |
1998 | Last Night | Actor | Duncan | 60 Fair |
1998 | The Grace of God | Actor | Psychiatrist | 58 Average |
1997 | David Cronenberg and the Cinema of the Extreme | Actor | Himself | 59 Average |
1996 | Extreme Measures | Actor | Hospital Lawyer | 59 Average |
1996 | The Stupids | Actor | Postal Supervisor | 57 Average |
1996 | Crash | Actor | Auto Wreck Salesman (voice) (uncredited) | 62 Fair |
1996 | Moonshine Highway | Actor | Clem Clayton | 58 Average |
1995 | To Die For | Actor | Man at Lake | 63 Fair |
1995 | Blood & Donuts | Actor | Crime Boss | 58 Average |
1994 | Boozecan | Actor | Stan Coleburn | N/A N/A |
1994 | Trial by Jury | Actor | Director | 58 Average |
1994 | Henry & Verlin | Actor | Doc Fisher | 59 Average |
1992 | Naked Making Lunch | Actor | Self | 59 Average |
1992 | Blue | Actor | 58 Average |
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1990 | Nightbreed | Actor | Dr. Philip K. Decker | 61 Fair |
1990 | Moving Pictures: J.G. Ballard | Actor | Self | 59 Average |
1988 | Dead Ringers | Actor | Obstetrician (uncredited) | 66 Fair |
1988 | The Making of Dead Ringers | Actor | Self - Writer/Director | 59 Average |
1986 | The Fly | Actor | Gynecologist | 72 Good |
1986 | Long Live the New Flesh: The Films of David Cronenberg | Actor | Self | 59 Average |
1985 | Into the Night | Actor | Group Supervisor | 61 Fair |
1983 | Videodrome | Actor | Max Renn (Helmet Scenes) (uncredited) | 70 Good |
1982 | The Making of David Cronenberg's Videodrome | Actor | Interviewee | 59 Average |
1982 | Take One: Fear on Film | Actor | Self | 59 Average |
1975 | Shivers | Actor | Infected Crowd Member (uncredited) | 61 Fair |
1967 | Buffalo Airport Visions | Actor | N/A N/A |
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1967 | Palace of Pleasure | Actor | 59 Average |
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Directing |
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2025 | The Shrouds | Directing | Director | 59 Average |
2023 | Four Unloved Women, Adrift on a Purposeless Sea, Experience the Ecstasy of Dissection | Directing | Director | 58 Average |
2022 | Crimes of the Future | Directing | Director | 60 Fair |
2021 | The Death of David Cronenberg | Directing | Director | 58 Average |
2014 | Maps to the Stars | Directing | Director | 61 Fair |
2013 | The Nest | Directing | Director | 58 Average |
2012 | Cosmopolis | Directing | Director | 57 Average |
2011 | A Dangerous Method | Directing | Director | 62 Fair |
2007 | To Each His Own Cinema | Directing | Director | 60 Fair |
2007 | Eastern Promises | Directing | Director | 71 Good |
2007 | At the Suicide of the Last Jew in the World in the Last Cinema in the World | Directing | Director | N/A N/A |
2007 | At the Suicide of the Last Jew in the World in the Last Cinema in the World | Directing | Director | N/A N/A |
2007 | At the Suicide of the Last Jew in the World in the Last Cinema in the World | Directing | Director | N/A N/A |
2007 | At the Suicide of the Last Jew in the World in the Last Cinema in the World | Directing | Director | N/A N/A |
2005 | A History of Violence | Directing | Director | 70 Good |
2002 | Spider | Directing | Director | 63 Fair |
2001 | Short6 | Directing | Director | 59 Average |
2000 | Preludes | Directing | Director | N/A N/A |
2000 | Camera | Directing | Director | 59 Average |
1999 | eXistenZ | Directing | Director | 66 Fair |
1996 | Crash | Directing | Director | 62 Fair |
1993 | M. Butterfly | Directing | Director | 61 Fair |
1991 | Naked Lunch | Directing | Director | 66 Fair |
1988 | Dead Ringers | Directing | Director | 66 Fair |
1986 | The Fly | Directing | Director | 72 Good |
1983 | The Dead Zone | Directing | Director | 67 Fair |
1983 | Videodrome | Directing | Director | 70 Good |
1983 | Samurai Dreams | Directing | Director | N/A N/A |
1981 | Scanners | Directing | Director | 64 Fair |
1979 | The Brood | Directing | Director | 63 Fair |
1979 | Fast Company | Directing | Director | 57 Average |
1977 | Rabid | Directing | Director | 61 Fair |
1976 | The Italian Machine | Directing | Director | 58 Average |
1976 | The Lie Chair | Directing | Director | N/A N/A |
1975 | Shivers | Directing | Director | 61 Fair |
1972 | Secret Weapons | Directing | Director | N/A N/A |
1972 | In the Dirt | Directing | Director | N/A N/A |
1972 | Scarborough Bluffs | Directing | Director | N/A N/A |
1972 | Winter Garden | Directing | Director | N/A N/A |
1972 | Lakeshore | Directing | Director | N/A N/A |
1972 | Fort York | Directing | Director | N/A N/A |
1972 | Don Valley | Directing | Director | N/A N/A |
1971 | Tourrettes | Directing | Director | N/A N/A |
1971 | Letter from Michelangelo | Directing | Director | N/A N/A |
1971 | Jim Ritchie Sculptor | Directing | Director | N/A N/A |
1970 | Crimes of the Future | Directing | Director | 57 Average |
1969 | Stereo (Tile 3B of a CAEE Educational Mosaic) | Directing | Director | 58 Average |
1967 | From the Drain | Directing | Director | 58 Average |
1966 | Transfer | Directing | Director | 58 Average |
Nike Air 180 | Directing | Director | N/A N/A |
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Writing |
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2025 | The Shrouds | Writing | Writer | 59 Average |
2023 | Four Unloved Women, Adrift on a Purposeless Sea, Experience the Ecstasy of Dissection | Writing | Writer | 58 Average |
2022 | Crimes of the Future | Writing | Writer | 60 Fair |
2021 | The Death of David Cronenberg | Writing | Writer | 58 Average |
2019 | Rabid | Writing | Original Film Writer | 58 Average |
2013 | The Nest | Writing | Writer | 58 Average |
2012 | Cosmopolis | Writing | Screenplay | 57 Average |
2007 | At the Suicide of the Last Jew in the World in the Last Cinema in the World | Writing | Writer | N/A N/A |
2007 | At the Suicide of the Last Jew in the World in the Last Cinema in the World | Writing | Writer | N/A N/A |
2007 | At the Suicide of the Last Jew in the World in the Last Cinema in the World | Writing | Writer | N/A N/A |
2001 | Short6 | Writing | Writer | 59 Average |
2000 | Camera | Writing | Writer | 59 Average |
1999 | eXistenZ | Writing | Screenplay | 66 Fair |
1996 | Crash | Writing | Writer | 62 Fair |
1995 | Scanner Cop II | Writing | Characters | 58 Average |
1994 | Scanner Cop | Writing | Characters | 59 Average |
1992 | Scanners III: The Takeover | Writing | Characters | 56 Average |
1991 | Naked Lunch | Writing | Writer | 66 Fair |
1991 | Scanners II: The New Order | Writing | Characters | 57 Average |
1988 | Dead Ringers | Writing | Writer | 66 Fair |
1986 | The Fly | Writing | Screenplay | 72 Good |
1983 | Videodrome | Writing | Writer | 70 Good |
1981 | Scanners | Writing | Writer | 64 Fair |
1979 | The Brood | Writing | Writer | 63 Fair |
1979 | Fast Company | Writing | Screenplay | 57 Average |
1977 | Rabid | Writing | Writer | 61 Fair |
1976 | The Italian Machine | Writing | Writer | 58 Average |
1975 | Shivers | Writing | Writer | 61 Fair |
1972 | Scarborough Bluffs | Writing | Writer | N/A N/A |
1972 | Winter Garden | Writing | Writer | N/A N/A |
1972 | Lakeshore | Writing | Writer | N/A N/A |
1972 | In the Dirt | Writing | Writer | N/A N/A |
1972 | Fort York | Writing | Writer | N/A N/A |
1972 | Don Valley | Writing | Writer | N/A N/A |
1971 | Tourrettes | Writing | Writer | N/A N/A |
1971 | Letter from Michelangelo | Writing | Writer | N/A N/A |
1971 | Jim Ritchie Sculptor | Writing | Writer | N/A N/A |
1970 | Crimes of the Future | Writing | Writer | 57 Average |
1969 | Stereo (Tile 3B of a CAEE Educational Mosaic) | Writing | Writer | 58 Average |
1967 | From the Drain | Writing | Writer | 58 Average |
1966 | Transfer | Writing | Writer | 58 Average |
Production |
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2012 | Cosmopolis | Production | Producer | 57 Average |
2008 | The Plan | Production | Executive Producer | N/A N/A |
2002 | Spider | Production | Producer | 63 Fair |
1999 | eXistenZ | Production | Producer | 66 Fair |
1998 | I'm Losing You | Production | Executive Producer | 58 Average |
1996 | Crash | Production | Producer | 62 Fair |
1988 | Dead Ringers | Production | Producer | 66 Fair |
1973 | Across This Land with Stompin' Tom Connors | Production | Production Manager | 59 Average |
1971 | Jim Ritchie Sculptor | Production | Producer | N/A N/A |
1970 | Crimes of the Future | Production | Producer | 57 Average |
1969 | Stereo (Tile 3B of a CAEE Educational Mosaic) | Production | Producer | 58 Average |
1966 | Transfer | Production | Producer | 58 Average |
Scanners | Production | Executive Producer | N/A N/A |
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Sound |
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1966 | Transfer | Sound | Sound | 58 Average |
Camera |
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1972 | Winter Garden | Camera | Director of Photography | N/A N/A |
1972 | In the Dirt | Camera | Director of Photography | N/A N/A |
1972 | Scarborough Bluffs | Camera | Director of Photography | N/A N/A |
1972 | Lakeshore | Camera | Director of Photography | N/A N/A |
1972 | Don Valley | Camera | Director of Photography | N/A N/A |
1972 | Fort York | Camera | Director of Photography | N/A N/A |
1971 | Jim Ritchie Sculptor | Camera | Director of Photography | N/A N/A |
1971 | Tourrettes | Camera | Director of Photography | N/A N/A |
1971 | Letter from Michelangelo | Camera | Director of Photography | N/A N/A |
1970 | Crimes of the Future | Camera | Director of Photography | 57 Average |
1969 | Stereo (Tile 3B of a CAEE Educational Mosaic) | Camera | Director of Photography | 58 Average |
1967 | From the Drain | Camera | Director of Photography | 58 Average |
1966 | Transfer | Camera | Director of Photography | 58 Average |
Crew |
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2019 | The Dead Don't Die | Crew | Thanks | 54 Average |
2019 | The Drema | Crew | Thanks | 59 Average |
2018 | Entre Oscuros Sueños | Crew | Thanks | 59 Average |
2016 | Ape Sodom | Crew | Additional Dialogue | 59 Average |
2014 | The Scanners Way: Creating the Special Effects in 'Scanners' | Crew | Thanks | 59 Average |
2014 | Mental Saboteur | Crew | Thanks | N/A N/A |
2014 | The Double | Crew | Thanks | 62 Fair |
2014 | Nosferatu vs. Father Pipecock & Sister Funk | Crew | Thanks | 58 Average |
2013 | Candy | Crew | Thanks | 59 Average |
2013 | Pacific Rim | Crew | Thanks | 68 Fair |
2012 | Citizens of Cosmopolis | Crew | Thanks | 59 Average |
2011 | Down to Sleep | Crew | Thanks | N/A N/A |
2011 | Acid Head: The Buzzard Nuts County Slaughter | Crew | Thanks | 59 Average |
2010 | Crank Up | Crew | Thanks | N/A N/A |
2010 | Tub | Crew | Thanks | 59 Average |
2007 | Karim | Crew | Thanks | N/A N/A |
2006 | Shortbus | Crew | Thanks | 61 Fair |
2006 | Skinwalkers | Crew | Thanks | 56 Average |
2005 | Fear of the Flesh: The Making of The Fly | Crew | Thanks | 59 Average |
2001 | Resolving Power | Crew | Thanks | N/A N/A |
2001 | Imagining 'Total Recall' | Crew | Thanks | 59 Average |
1991 | Highway 61 | Crew | Thanks | 59 Average |
1981 | Escape from New York | Crew | Thanks | 69 Fair |
Editing |
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1972 | In the Dirt | Editing | Editor | N/A N/A |
1972 | Winter Garden | Editing | Editor | N/A N/A |
1972 | Scarborough Bluffs | Editing | Editor | N/A N/A |
1972 | Lakeshore | Editing | Editor | N/A N/A |
1972 | Don Valley | Editing | Editor | N/A N/A |
1972 | Fort York | Editing | Editor | N/A N/A |
1971 | Tourrettes | Editing | Editor | N/A N/A |
1971 | Letter from Michelangelo | Editing | Editor | N/A N/A |
1971 | Jim Ritchie Sculptor | Editing | Editor | N/A N/A |
1970 | Crimes of the Future | Editing | Editor | 57 Average |
1969 | Stereo (Tile 3B of a CAEE Educational Mosaic) | Editing | Editor | 58 Average |
1967 | From the Drain | Editing | Editor | 58 Average |
1966 | Transfer | Editing | Editor | 58 Average |