Ronny Yu

Other Name: 于仁泰

Age: 74

Birthday: July 1, 1950

Nationality: Hong Konger

Gender: Male

Ronny Yu is a Hong Kong actor and director born in Hong Kong. He dreamed of making films since he was a child. At only 9 months of age, Yu contracted polio, resulting in a long recovery that prevented him from developing an active childhood and had to spend much time in isolation. To cope with the loneliness, Yu created fantasy worlds of his own, with furniture as props. As he grew older, his world of escape became the cinema, where he could immerse in grander, more exciting adventures. It was then that his passion for becoming a director began to grow. However, as the only son of a traditional Chinese family, filmmaking was cast aside by the time he started college. Under pressure to take up the family business, Yu studied business instead and earned an MBA from Ohio University. Soon after graduation, a pivotal turning point occurred for Yu. His friend Philip Chan, a police lieutenant with acting ambitions, persuaded Yu to direct "The Servant", a screenplay that he wrote based on his experiences in the police force. Yu took up the opportunity and learned the craft as the filming proceeded. The film became the No.1 box office hit for the summer, and Yu's future seemed destined to be in film after all. Throughout the 1980s, Yu directed and produced many other box office successes in Hong Kong. In 1993, the romantic swordplay epic "The Bride with White Hair" (1993) established his signature style of kinetically-paced story-telling through sumptuous imagery. It was a huge summer hit in Hong Kong and also became an art-house theater favourite in the U.S. and Europe, leading to international critical acclaim. It also won the Grand Prize at the Fantastica Film Festival in Belgium. Following these two stunning films, Yu launched his Hollywood career. His flair for visually rich narration appealed immediately to broader Western audiences and has been associated mostly with the horror film genre, as he has revived three franchises - with "Bride of Chucky" (1998), then "Freddy vs. Jason" (2003), or the "Nightmare on Elm Street" and "Friday the 13th" franchises, respectively, where its box office total is more than the two franchises combined earnings. (Source: IMDb).