RJ Cutler

About

Known for his Oscar-nominated work The War Room, this acclaimed documentary film producer was also responsible for The September Issue and A Perfect Candidate, as well as for the television shows Nashville and American High. He directed his first feature film, If I Stay, in 2013.

Before Fame

After graduating from Harvard University with a degree in dramatic literature, he directed and produced professional theatrical productions at the American Repertory Theater (in Boston) and went on to assist legendary director James Lapine on the 1987 Broadway production of Into the Woods.

Trivia

In the early 1990s, he began teaching theater at the University of Southern California while simultaneously attending the school's film and television program as a student.

Family Life

He grew up in a Jewish family in Great Neck, New York.

Associated With

He directed the 1988 New York workshop of musical theater writer Jonathan Larson's early work, Superbia. The workshop inspired the plot of Larson's later musical, Tick, Tick, Boom.