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Where it all started - Fukunaga was born in Alameda, California. His dad, Anthony, was a third-generation Japanese-American, who was born in a Japanese internment camp during World War II.

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Home hopping - The Fukunaga family moved around California’s Bay Area, from Berkeley to Vallejo, Benicia to Oakland.

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Career change - Until his mid-twenties, Fukunaga wanted to be a pro snowboarder, before switching over to film.

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Close to the stars - Fukunaga got started out as a camera intern, working on music videos for Destiny’s Child. He later applied to film school.

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A good education - After studying at the University of California, Santa Cruz and the Institut d'études politiques de Grenoble, Cary went on the Tisch School of the Arts Graduate Film Program at New York University.

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'Kofi' - While at NYU, he wrote and directed short films such as ‘Kofi’, shot entirely in black and white.

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'Victoria para Chino' - However, Fukunaga made it big with ‘Victoria para Chino’, a film about illegal immigrants driving from Mexico to Texas.

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An early success - The film was screened at the Sundance Film Festival, and even received a Student Academy Award in 2005.

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‘Chinatown Film Project’ - The director followed this success by working on ‘Chinatown Film Project’ in 2009.

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‘Sin Nombre’ - In 2009, Fukunaga made his feature film debut with ‘Sin Nombre’.

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‘Sin Nombre’ - The film is about a young Honduran girl and a Mexican gangster, who are united in a journey across the American border.

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‘Sin Nombre’ - To research for the film, Fukunaga spent two years on trains across Central America. He interacted with gangsters, and even asked them to edit the script to make it realistic.

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‘Sin Nombre’ - ‘Sin Nombre’ was a hit, grossing millions worldwide and getting rave reviews from critics. Fukunaga received the New Director’s Award at Sundance, as well as many other awards.

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'Jane Eyre’ - The same year, the BBC tapped Fukunaga to direct a new adaptation of ‘Jane Eyre’, a novel by Charlotte Brontë.

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'Jane Eyre’ - The film starred Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, and Judi Dench.

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'Jane Eyre’ - ‘Jane Eyre’ received an Oscar nomination for Best Achievement in Costume Design. Fukunaga’s career was only going up.

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‘True Detective’ -

After that, Fukunaga took the world by storm with a new TV show: ‘True Detective’.

(Photo: Wikimedia/CC BY-SA 3.0)

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‘True Detective’ -

Fukunaga directed the entire first season for HBO. It starred Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson in the lead roles: two detectives who search for a serial killer.

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‘True Detective’ -

‘True Detective’ was a hit around the world. It won a BAFTA and several Emmys, like Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for Fukunaga.

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‘True Detective’ -

Fukunaga did not return to direct series 2, but he did serve as Executive Producer of the show.

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'Beasts of No Nation' -

Fukunaga went to Ghana for his next feature film, ‘Beasts of No Nation’.

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'Beasts of No Nation' -

The film centres on Agu, a child soldier who fights in an endless civil war. Idris Elba also stars, with a SAG-winning performance.

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'Beasts of No Nation' -

Fukunaga wrote, directed, and filmed ‘Beasts of No Nation.’ It was bought by Netflix for a reported US$12 million.

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'It' -

Fukunaga was soon called back to Hollywood to work on ‘It,’ an adaptation of Stephen King’s beloved novel. Fukunaga helped write the screenplay for the horror film.

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'Maniac' -

After that, Fukunaga partnered with Netflix for ‘Maniac,’ a dark comedy series which stars Emma Stone and Jonah Hill.

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'Maniac' -

The series follows Stone and Hill as two strangers, who undergo huge transformations after taking part in a pharmaceutical trial.

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'Bond 25' -

On September 20, Fukunaga was announced as the director of ‘Bond 25.’ The film is set to be released in 2020.

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'Bond 25' -

Danny Boyle was previously announced as the film’s director, but swiftly dropped out because of creative differences. But what does Fukunaga have planned for the future?

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'Shockwave' -

In 2017, it was reported that the director was in talks to make a film titled ‘Shockwave,’ which would focus on the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.

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'The Angel of Darkness' -

Fukunaga has also been announced as the executive producer of ‘The Angel of Darkness’, a crime show based on Caleb Carr’s novel of the same name.

Check out some other directors that started young!

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