Emigrated to New York with his mother and stepfather in 1978 but returned to Denmark as a teen; didn't make his first English-language film until 2003's Fear X
Made his directing debut in Denmark with Pusher (1996), the first film in a drug-dealer trilogy (the others were released in 2004 and 2005)
Wife Liv Corfixen appears in his films Bleeder (1999) and Fear X
The 2006 Danish documentary Gambler follows Winding Refn and Corfixen during the filming of Pusher II and III
Won directing awards for Drive, a 2011 action-adventure film about a stunt driver, but doesn't have a driver's license
Awards
2017Robert Awards-Best Director:nominated
2017Robert Awards-Best Danish Film:nominated
2017Bodil Awards-Best Danish Film:nominated
2014Robert Awards-Best Director:nominated
2012BAFTA Film Awards-Best Director:nominated
2012Robert Awards-American Film of the Year:winner
2012Bodil Awards-American Film of the Year:nominated
2012Critics' Choice Movie Awards-Best Director:nominated