The only son of Ivan Reitman -- the director of classic comedies such as Stripes (1981) and Ghostbusters (1984) -- Jason Reitman was born Oct. 19, 1977, in Montreal. As a boy, he often found himself on his father's movie sets, so it was only a matter of time till he began experimenting with his own films.

Reitman nearly walked away from the craft, however, in favor of a medical career. After ending his pre-med studies and graduating from film school, he specialized in short films and commercials, premiering two shorts at Sundance: Operation (1998) and In God We Trust (2000). Thank You for Smoking (2005) marked his first foray into feature-length movies.

Reitman's second feature, Juno (2007), earned him critical acclaim and an Oscar nod for Best Director. Two years later, he scored a Golden Globe nomination for directing and his first win for co-writing Up in the Air, along with Oscar nods in the same categories.