Biografie

Is known for his notable uses of actors Kim Bodnia, Mads Mikkelsen, Tom Hardy, Ryan Gosling, Elle Fanning and Angela Bundalovic.

Usually sets his films in Copenhagen, Denmark

The color red is frequently shown throughout all of his films

Shoots all his films in chronological order and without rehearsal

Effective use of rock, electronic, and pop music in films

Despite directing Drive (2011), he doesn't have a drivers' license. He failed his driving test 8 times.

Is a big fan of Hayao Miyazaki whom he considers one of the great masters and frequently watches his films together with his daughters.

In an interview regarding the definition and risks of beauty, regarding The Neon Demon, for the BBC, he talked about his childhood, being very hard. He was laughed at because he is dyslexic and wasn't able to read and write properly and he also wasn't good at sports. He said he didn't have a girlfriend until he was 24 and famous. But with time he learned to look at all of those "weaknesses" as strengths, the things that make him who he is.

Is a huge fan of Stanley Kubrick's films. He often worked with the cinematographer Larry Smith, who was frequent collaborator of Kubrick, for example on Eyes Wide Shut (1999).

He didn't learn to read until he was thirteen.

Like all art forms, film is a media as powerful as weapons of mass destruction; the only difference is that war destroys and film inspires.

The auteur theory is such a strange theory, because you're dealing with human beings. You only make good stuff if your collaborators are a part of your process and a part of your ideas, and there's no point in fighting them or them fighting you. Even Ingmar Bergman had a lot of discussions with his actors about pros and cons. An auteur doesn't have to write every single word, because the writer's there to help the director do what the director wants to do, and that was certainly my case.

[on Ryan Gosling] The thing with Ryan, you can look at him for hours. Very few actors have that. It's a gift.

Well, art is an act of violence. It is about penetration, about speaking to our subconscious and our moods at different levels.

[on casting Kristin Scott Thomas in Only God Forgives (2013)] I was initially looking for an unknown in the role and then I heard she was interested through the grapevine. So I went to Paris to meet her and very quickly realized she had no problem in turning on the bitch switch. But she said, 'In order for me to do this, I need to transform'. And I said, ''You're preaching to the choir, baby'.