---
name: "David Cronenberg"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/david-cronenberg"
fi1m_id: "david-cronenberg"
imdb_id: "nm0000343"
tmdb_id: 224
wikidata_id: "Q55422"
roles: ["Director","Writer","Actor"]
born: "15 March 1943"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 10
average_fi1m_score: 81
average_as: "director"
average_over: 9
updated: "2026-10-04T17:21:49.675750+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# David Cronenberg

## Identity

David Cronenberg

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/david-cronenberg
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** david-cronenberg
- **IMDb ID:** nm0000343
- **TMDB ID:** 224
- **Wikidata ID:** Q55422
- **Same entity:** https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q55422, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000343/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/224

Director and writer. Born 15 March 1943 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

## Details

- **Work:** Director, Writer, Actor
- **Born:** 15 March 1943, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- **Active:** 1983–present
- **Also known as:** David Paul Cronenberg
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 10: 9 directing, 1 other
- **Frequently works with:** [Viggo Mortensen](https://film.one/person/viggo-mortensen.md), [Jeremy Thomas](https://film.one/person/jeremy-thomas.md), [Leslie Carlson](https://film.one/person/leslie-carlson.md), [Vincent Cassel](https://film.one/person/vincent-cassel.md)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 81, as director, over 9 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 83 (5), 1990s 78 (2), 2000s 84 (2), 2010s 70 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 81 to 73 across 9 titles
- **Score spread:** 5 at 80+, 4 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Lead roles:** 0 of 1 acting credits billed first or second
- **Genres:** Thriller 5, Drama 4, Horror 4, Crime 3, Science Fiction 3, Mystery 2
- **Screen time:** 15 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $242m across 9 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q55422, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000343/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/224

## Streaming the US now

- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Dead Ringers*](https://film.one/film/dead-ringers.md) (87), [*Eastern Promises*](https://film.one/film/eastern-promises.md) (79)
- **Apple TV:** [*A History of Violence*](https://film.one/film/a-history-of-violence.md) (88)
- **Pluto TV:** [*The Dead Zone*](https://film.one/film/the-dead-zone.md) (82)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on David Cronenberg

> David Cronenberg takes bodily change and uncomfortable desire seriously enough to make us keep watching. We value his patience and precision, though *Crash* shows how readily that calm can become chilly repetition.

In *Crash* (1996), people find sexual excitement in cars, damage and danger, and David Cronenberg declines to tell us how strange that is. We were unsettled by the composure of the sex scenes, because their realistic treatment made them difficult to dismiss as fantasy. He gives these encounters time and takes the desires behind them seriously. That patience makes this a good, unnerving film, even when its repetitions begin to tire us.

His route there began with experimental films in the late 1960s and early 1970s, followed by the commercial body horror of *Shivers* (1975). *Videodrome* (1983) brought media and the body together; *The Fly* (1986) made mutation part of a romance. *Dead Ringers* (1988) moved towards psychological drama without losing the bodily unease. By *Naked Lunch* (1991) and *Crash*, difficult literary adaptations had become a substantial part of his work.

Adapting J.G. Ballard in *Crash*, he makes an erotic thriller with few of the usual satisfactions. The sex is uneasy, the pace slow, and the committed actors have to sustain our interest without making their characters especially warm. They largely succeed, but there are stretches when another encounter tells us too little that we have not already understood. A little less repetition would not make these people any less troubling.

His recurring collaborators include cinematographer Peter Suschitzky and composer Howard Shore. The material has changed: *A History of Violence* (2005) began a phase of more accessible stories. With *Crimes of the Future* (2022), he returned to body horror.

Start with *Crash* if the meeting of sex and machinery interests more than it repels. We recommend it with a warning about its slow pace and emotional distance. Check that anyone sharing the sofa has agreed to an uncomfortable evening.

## Biography

David Cronenberg is a Canadian film director, screenwriter and producer. Born in Toronto in 1943, his credits include directing, writing and producing *Crash* (1996) and directing and writing *Naked Lunch* (1991).

Films for which he is credited as director and often writer include *Scanners* (1981), *Videodrome* (1983), *The Dead Zone* (1983), *The Fly* (1986), *eXistenZ* (1999), *A History of Violence* (2005), *Eastern Promises* (2007), *A Dangerous Method* (2011) and *Cosmopolis* (2012). He collaborated with actor Viggo Mortensen on *A History of Violence*, *Eastern Promises*, *A Dangerous Method* and *Crimes of the Future* (2022).

*Crash* received a Special Jury Prize at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival. Seven of his films have competed for the Palme d'Or, including *The Shrouds* (2024).

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org.*

## On Fi1m (10)

### Directed (9) — the average rests on these

- *A Dangerous Method* (2011), Fi1m 70, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/a-dangerous-method.md)
- *Eastern Promises* (2007), Fi1m 79, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/eastern-promises.md)
- *A History of Violence* (2005), Fi1m 88, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/a-history-of-violence.md)
- *Crash* (1996), Fi1m 78, as Auto Wreck Salesman (voice) (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/crash.md)
- *Naked Lunch* (1991), Fi1m 78, Writer, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/naked-lunch.md)
- *Dead Ringers* (1988), Fi1m 87, as Obstetrician (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/dead-ringers.md)
- *The Fly* (1986), Fi1m 88, as Gynecologist — [page](https://film.one/film/the-fly.md)
- *The Dead Zone* (1983), Fi1m 82, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/the-dead-zone.md)
- *Videodrome* (1983), Fi1m 82, as Max Renn (Helmet Scenes) (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/videodrome.md)

### Also credited (1) — thanks, archive footage, uncredited

- *Escape from New York* (1981), Fi1m 76, Thanks — [page](https://film.one/film/escape-from-new-york.md)

## Complete filmography (117)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Ready or Not: Here I Come* (2026), as Chester Danforth
- *Cronenberg, à corps ouvert* (2025), Actor
- *The Hanging of Stuart Cornfeld* (2025), Actor
- *The Shrouds* (2025), Director, Writer
- *Humane* (2024), as D.O.C.S. Commercials Narrator
- *Leo* (2023), Original Film Writer
- *Four Unloved Women, Adrift on a Purposeless Sea, Experience the Ecstasy of Dissection* (2023), Director, Writer
- *The Death of David Cronenberg* (2023), as David Cronenberg · Director, Writer
- *Crimes of the Future* (2022), Director, Writer
- *Slasher: Flesh & Blood* (2021), series, as Spencer Galloway
- *Falling* (2020), as Dr. Klausner
- *Disappearance at Clifton Hill* (2020), as Walter
- *Rabid* (2019), Original Film Writer
- *The Dead Don't Die* (2019), Thanks
- *The Drema* (2019), Thanks
- *Alias Grace* (2017), series, as Reverend Verrenger
- *Star Trek: Discovery* (2017), series, as Dr. Kovich
- *Ape Sodom* (2016), as Narrator · Additional Dialogue
- *Tomorrow's Shadows* (2016), as G.O.D. (voice)
- *Slasher* (2016), series, as Spencer
- *Pig Goat Banana Cricket* (2015), series, as Dr. Cronenbird (voice)
- *The Scanners Way: Creating the Special Effects in 'Scanners'* (2014), Thanks
- *Maps to the Stars* (2014), Director
- *Mental Saboteur* (2014), Thanks
- *The Double* (2014), Thanks
- *Nosferatu vs. Father Pipecock & Sister Funk* (2014), Thanks
- *Tales from the Organ Trade* (2013), as Narrator
- *Candy* (2013), Thanks
- *The Nest* (2013), as Dr. Molnar (voice) · Director, Writer, Producer
- *Rewind* (2013), as Rourke
- *Pacific Rim* (2013), Thanks — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/film/pacific-rim.md)
- *Citizens of Cosmopolis* (2012), Thanks
- *Cosmopolis* (2012), Director, Screenplay, Producer
- *A Dangerous Method* (2011), Director — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/film/a-dangerous-method.md)
- *Down to Sleep* (2011), Thanks
- *Acid Head: The Buzzard Nuts County Slaughter* (2011), Thanks
- *Barney's Version* (2010), as O'Malley Director #2
- *Happy Town* (2010), series, as Dr. Leichman
- *Crank Up* (2010), Thanks
- *Tub* (2010), Thanks
- *The Plan* (2008), Executive Producer
- *To Each His Own Cinema* (2007), as The Suicidal Man (segment "At the suicide of the last Jew ...") · Director
- *Eastern Promises* (2007), Director — Fi1m 79, [page](https://film.one/film/eastern-promises.md)
- *At the Suicide of the Last Jew in the World in the Last Cinema in the World* (2007), as The Last Jew · Director, Writer
- *Karim* (2007), Thanks
- *Shortbus* (2006), Thanks
- *Skinwalkers* (2006), Thanks
- *Fear of the Flesh: The Making of The Fly* (2005), Thanks
- *A History of Violence* (2005), Director — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/film/a-history-of-violence.md)
- *Weird Sex and Snowshoes: A Trek Through the Canadian Cinematic Psyche* (2004), as Duncan (archive footage)
- *Spider* (2002), Director, Producer
- *Jason X* (2001), as Dr. Wimmer
- *Alias* (2001), series, as Dr. Brezzel — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/tv/alias.md)
- *The Judge* (2001), as Det. Stobel
- *The Judge* (2001), series, as Det. Stobel
- *Imagining 'Total Recall'* (2001), Thanks
- *Resolving Power* (2001), Thanks
- *Preludes* (2000), Director
- *Camera* (2000), Director, Writer
- *David Cronenberg: I Have to Make the Word Be Flesh* (1999), Actor
- *Resurrection* (1999), as Father Rousell
- *eXistenZ* (1999), Director, Screenplay, Producer
- *Last Night* (1998), as Duncan
- *SexTV* (1998), series, Actor
- *I'm Losing You* (1998), Executive Producer
- *The Grace of God* (1998), as Psychiatrist
- *Extreme Measures* (1996), as Hospital Lawyer
- *The Stupids* (1996), as Postal Supervisor
- *Crash* (1996), as Auto Wreck Salesman (voice) (uncredited) · Director, Producer, Writer — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/film/crash.md)
- *Moonshine Highway* (1996), as Clem Clayton
- *To Die For* (1995), as Man at Lake
- *Blood & Donuts* (1995), as Crime Boss
- *Scanner Cop II* (1995), Characters
- *Boozecan* (1994), as Stan Coleburn
- *Trial by Jury* (1994), as Director
- *Scanner Cop* (1994), Characters
- *Henry & Verlin* (1994), as Doc Fisher
- *M. Butterfly* (1993), Director
- *Scanners III: The Takeover* (1992), Characters
- *Blue* (1992), Actor
- *Naked Lunch* (1991), Director, Writer — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/film/naked-lunch.md)
- *Highway 61* (1991), Thanks
- *Scanners II: The New Order* (1991), Characters
- *Scales of Justice* (1990), series, Director
- *Nightbreed* (1990), as Dr. Philip K. Decker
- *Dead Ringers* (1988), as Obstetrician (uncredited) · Director, Writer, Producer — Fi1m 87, [page](https://film.one/film/dead-ringers.md)
- *Friday the 13th: The Series* (1987), series, Director
- *The Fly* (1986), as Gynecologist · Director, Screenplay — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/film/the-fly.md)
- *Into the Night* (1985), as Group Supervisor
- *The Dead Zone* (1983), Director — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/the-dead-zone.md)
- *Videodrome* (1983), as Max Renn (Helmet Scenes) (uncredited) · Director, Writer — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/videodrome.md)
- *The Making of David Cronenberg's Videodrome* (1982), as Interviewee
- *Escape from New York* (1981), Thanks — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/film/escape-from-new-york.md)
- *Scanners* (1981), Director, Writer
- *The Brood* (1979), Director, Writer
- *Fast Company* (1979), Director, Screenplay
- *Rabid* (1977), Director, Writer
- *Teleplay* (1976), series, Director, Writer
- *Peep Show* (1975), series, Director
- *Shivers* (1975), as Infected Crowd Member (uncredited) · Director, Writer
- *Across This Land with Stompin' Tom Connors* (1973), Production Manager
- *Lakeshore* (1972), Director, Writer, Editor, Director of Photography
- *Winter Garden* (1972), Director, Editor, Director of Photography
- *Scarborough Bluffs* (1972), Director, Writer, Editor, Director of Photography
- *In the Dirt* (1972), Director, Writer, Editor, Director of Photography
- *Don Valley* (1972), Director, Writer, Editor, Director of Photography
- *Fort York* (1972), Director, Writer, Editor, Director of Photography
- *Tourrettes* (1971), Director, Writer, Editor, Director of Photography
- *Jim Ritchie Sculptor* (1971), Director, Writer, Producer, Editor, Director of Photography
- *Letter from Michelangelo* (1971), Director, Writer, Director of Photography, Editor
- *Programme X* (1971), series, Director
- *Crimes of the Future* (1970), Director, Producer, Writer, Editor, Director of Photography
- *Stereo (Tile 3B of a CAEE Educational Mosaic)* (1969), Director, Writer, Producer, Director of Photography, Editor
- *Palace of Pleasure* (1967), Actor
- *From the Drain* (1967), Director of Photography, Director, Writer, Editor
- *Buffalo Airport Visions* (1967), Actor
- *Transfer* (1966), Director of Photography, Director, Writer, Editor, Sound, Producer

## Gallery

- ![David Cronenberg](https://film.one/media/person/79774/gallery-d95418bd7a12.jpg) David Cronenberg — Image via TMDB
- ![David Cronenberg](https://film.one/media/person/79774/gallery-d68268638824.jpg) David Cronenberg — Image via TMDB
- ![David Cronenberg](https://film.one/media/person/79774/gallery-32d7e11a4d43.jpg) David Cronenberg — Image via TMDB
- ![David Cronenberg](https://film.one/media/person/79774/gallery-3699ab24b838.jpg) David Cronenberg — Image via TMDB
- ![David Cronenberg](https://film.one/media/person/79774/gallery-1e572013b76a.jpg) David Cronenberg — Image via TMDB
- ![David Cronenberg](https://film.one/media/person/79774/gallery-fdb1c6170b07.jpg) David Cronenberg — Image via TMDB

## Awards

### Other awards — 10 won, 2 nominated

- Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement 2024: Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement (won)
- Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel 2014: Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel (nominated), for *Consumed*
- Carrosse d'or 2006: Carrosse d'or (won)
- European Film Award for Best Non-European Film 2002: European Film Award for Best Non-European Film (nominated), for *Spider*
- Sitges Film Festival Best Director award 2002: Sitges Film Festival Best Director award (won), for *Spider*
- Time Machine Award 2002: Time Machine Award (won)
- Canada's Walk of Fame 1999: Canada's Walk of Fame (won)
- Jury Prize 1996: Jury Prize (won), for *Crash*
- Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television Award for Best Motion Picture 1992: Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television Award for Best Motion Picture (won)
- Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television Award for Best Motion Picture 1989: Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television Award for Best Motion Picture (won)
- Sitges Film Festival Best Screenplay award 1977: Sitges Film Festival Best Screenplay award (won), for *Rabid*
- Sitges Film Festival Best Director award 1975: Sitges Film Festival Best Director award (won), for *Shivers*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/david-cronenberg