David Cronenberg is a Canadian film director, screenwriter, and actor. He is known as a principal originator of the genre commonly known as body horror, with his films exploring visceral bodily transformation, infectious diseases, and the intertwining of the psychological, physical, and technological. Cronenberg is best known for exploring these themes through sci-fi horror films such as Shivers (1975), Scanners (1981), Videodrome (1983) and The Fly (1986), though he has also directed dramas, psychological thrillers and gangster films.[1]
He also directed the psychological thriller Dead Ringers (1988), the surrealist drama Naked Lunch (1991), erotic thriller Crash (1996), the action thriller A History of Violence (2005), the gangster film Eastern Promises (2007), the erotic historical drama A Dangerous Method (2011), the drama Cosmopolis (2012), the satirical drama Maps to the Stars (2014), and the science fiction horror film Crimes of the Future (2022). Six of his films were selected to compete for the Palme d'Or. He is known for frequently collaborating with actor Viggo Mortensen.
| Year | Title | Credited as | Notes | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| width=5% | Director | width=5% | Writer | width=5% | Producer | width=5% | Editor | width=5% | Other |
| 1969 | Stereo | ||||||||
| 1970 | Crimes of the Future | ||||||||
| 1975 | Shivers | ||||||||
| 1977 | Rabid | ||||||||
| 1979 | Fast Company | ||||||||
| 1979 | The Brood | ||||||||
| 1980 | Scanners | ||||||||
| 1983 | Videodrome | ||||||||
| 1983 | The Dead Zone | From Stephen King's 1979 novel | |||||||
| 1986 | The Fly | Remake of Kurt Neumann's 1958 film | |||||||
| 1988 | Dead Ringers | ||||||||
| 1991 | Naked Lunch | Partly adapted from William S. Burroughs's 1959 novel and biographical sources | |||||||
| 1993 | M. Butterfly | ||||||||
| 1996 | Crash | From J. G. Ballard's 1973 novel | |||||||
| 1999 | Existenz | [2] | |||||||
| 2002 | Spider | ||||||||
| 2005 | A History of Violence | ||||||||
| 2007 | Eastern Promises | ||||||||
| 2011 | A Dangerous Method | ||||||||
| 2012 | Cosmopolis | ||||||||
| 2014 | Maps to the Stars | ||||||||
| 2022 | Crimes of the Future | ||||||||
| 2024 | The Shrouds | ||||||||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Black Zero | Nude scene | Uncredited | ||
| 1975 | Shivers | Infected Crowd Member | |||
| 1983 | Videodrome | Max Renn (Helmet Scenes) | |||
| 1985 | Into the Night | Ed's supervisor in the boardroom | Cameo | ||
| 1986 | data-sort-value="Fly, The" | The Fly | Gynecologist in the dream sequence | Cameo | |
| 1988 | Dead Ringers | Obstetrician | Uncredited cameo | ||
| 1990 | Nightbreed | Dr. Philip K. Decker | |||
| 1992 | Blue | Directed by Don McKellar | |||
| 1994 | Trial by Jury | Director | |||
| Boozecan | Stan Coleburn | ||||
| Henry & Verlin | Doc Fisher | ||||
| 1995 | To Die For | Man at the Lake | Cameo | ||
| Blood and Donuts | Crime Boss | ||||
| 1996 | data-sort-value="Stupids, The" | The Stupids | Postal supervisor | Cameo | |
| Extreme Measures | Hospital Lawyer | ||||
| 1998 | Last Night | Duncan | |||
| data-sort-value="Grace of God, The" | The Grace of God | Psychiatrist | |||
| 1999 | Resurrection | Father Rousell | |||
| 2002 | Jason X | Dr. Wimmer | |||
| 2010 | Barney's Version | O'Malley Director No. 2 | Cameo | ||
| 2020 | Disappearance at Clifton Hill | Walter | |||
| Falling | Proctologist | ||||
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | Transfer | Also editor and cinematographer | [3] | ||||
| 1967 | From the Drain | [4] | |||||
| 2000 | Camera | Made for the 2000 Toronto International Film Festival's Preludes program | [5] | ||||
| 2007 | To Each His Own Cinema (Chacun son cinéma) | segment: At the Suicide of the Last Jew in the World in the Last Cinema in the World | [6] | ||||
| 2013 | data-sort-value="Nest, The" | The Nest | NSFW short film | [7] | |||
| 2021 | data-sort-value="Death of David Cronenberg, The" | The Death of David Cronenberg | Co-directed by Caitlin Cronenberg | [8] | |||
| Year | Title | Credited as | Notes | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| width=5% | Director | width=5% | Writer | width=5% | Producer | width=5% | Editor | width=5% | Other |
| 1971 | Jim Ritchie Sculptor | Documentary short | |||||||
| 1971 | Letter from Michelangelo | Documentary short | |||||||
| 1971 | Tourettes | Documentary short | |||||||
| 1972 | Don Valley | Documentary short | |||||||
| 1972 | Fort York | Documentary short | |||||||
| 1972 | Lakeshore | Documentary short | |||||||
| 1972 | Winter Garden | Documentary short | |||||||
| 1972 | Scarborough Bluffs | Documentary short | |||||||
| 1972 | In the Dirt | Documentary short | |||||||
| Year | Title | width=65 | Director | width=65 | Writer | Episodes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Program X | "Secret Weapons" | |||||
| 1976 | Peep Show | "The Victim" and "The Lie Chair" | |||||
| Teleplay | "The Italian Machine" | ||||||
| 1987 | "Faith Healer" | ||||||
| 1991 | Scales of Justice | "Regina vs Horvath" and "Regina vs Logan" | |||||
| Year | Title | Role | Note | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | data-sort-value="Newsroom, The" | The Newsroom | Himself | Episode "Meltdown: Part 1" | |
| 2003 | Alias | Dr. Brezzel | 2 episodes | ||
| 2013 | Rewind | Benjamin Rourke | TV movie | ||
| 2017 | Pig Goat Banana Cricket | Dr. Cronenbird (Voice) | Episode "The Goofy Turkey Zone" | ||
| Alias Grace | Reverend Verringer | 4 episodes | [9] | ||
| 2020–2024 | Dr. Kovich / Agent Daniels | Recurring role, 8 episodes | [10] | ||
| 2021 | Slasher | Spencer Galloway | Main Role (Season 4) | [11] | |
| Titles | Client | Product | Agency | Production company | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hot Showers | Ontario Hydro | Energy conservation | Burghardt Wolowich Crunkhorn | The Partners' Film Company Ltd. | [12] |
| Laundry | |||||
| Cleaners | |||||
| Timers | |||||
| Bistro | William Neilson Ltd. | Cadbury Caramilk | Scali McCabe, Sloves (Canada) Ltd. | [13] | |
| Surveillance | |||||
| Transformation | Nike International | Nike Air 180 | Wieden and Kennedy | [14] | |