Eli Roth Biography

Date of Birth: April 18, 1972

Born in Boston, Eli Roth made his directorial debut with the horror film Cabin Fever (2003). He began writing the screenplay in 1993 while studying filmmaking at NYU, but getting financing proved to be difficult for the first-time filmmaker. In 1995 he won a Student Academy Award for his thesis film, Restaurant Dogs and made several contacts as a result, including David Lynch, who hired him to do research for a Broadway project. Later, Roth moved to Los Angeles to work on Lynch's official website. When Roth mentioned that he was having a difficult time finding funding for Cabin Fever, Lynch agreed to lend his name to the film as executive producer. In the meantime, Roth also worked as a production assistant on the feature film Private Parts (1997), and in 1999 managed to get financing for an animated TV show called Chowdaheads, which he also directed. Thanks to Lynch's involvement, funding finally came through for Cabin Fever and shooting began in 2001 in North Carolina.

One of Roth's best friends, actor Michael Rosenbaum, was originally set to take a lead part in the film, but before shooting began, he won the role of Lex Luther on the WB series Smallville. Roth offered him a smaller part in his film, but two days before filming began, Rosenbaum realized that he wouldn't be able to get away from the Smallville set even for a few days, and so with no time to cast another actor, Roth took over the part.

Roth loves horses and riding, and has even spent time working on a horse farm in Iceland. He currently lives in the Los Angeles area.

Filmography:

Scavenger Hunt (2006)
The Bad Seed (2006)
The Box (2006)
Hostel (2006)
Cabin Fever (2003)