Shawn Ku Biography

Fast Facts

• Won the International Federation of Film Critics' Prize and the Gryphon Award for best film for "Beautiful Boy․"
• Was nominated for a Directors Guild of America Award for "The American Mall․"
• Won the Jury Prize at the AFI Fest for his role in "Samsara" in 2001
• Graduated from Harvard University with a degree in chemistry and trained at the University of Southern California Film School
• Started out as a Broadway performer who appeared in the shows "Fosse," "Miss Saigon" and "The King and I․"
• Quote: "All filmmakers are storytellers, and I guess I just realized I had stories to tell․ And they all come from my life․ All I really write is myself, again and again; they just happen to be with different faces and different voices․"
• Best known as the director of "Beautiful Boy" and "Pretty Dead Girl․"