Joseph Kosinski was initially known as a television commercial director, especially in the gaming industry for his Halo 3 "Starry Night" commercial as well as for his "Mad World" commercial for Gears of War. Many accolades followed this, defining him as one of the best visual directors.
In 2006, Kosinski moved to Los Angeles and began writing a story called "Oblivion." His story was picked up by Radical Pictures to be developed into a film.
In the meantime, however, he would make his big screen directorial debut with the highly anticipated TRON: Legacy (2010), which earned more than $400 million worldwide.
Just three years later, the screenplay for his original story was filmed. The sci-fi thriller Oblivion (2013) starred Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman and Olga Kurylenko. It was nominated for numerous awards and earned $286 million worldwide on a budget of $120 million.
Several years later, he directed Josh Brolin, Miles Teller, Jeff Bridges and Jennifer Connelly in Only the Brave (2017), the story of super firefighters charged with putting out violent forest fires.
Next up, Kosinski reunited with Tom Cruise for the highly anticipated sequel, Top Gun: Maverick (2020), which takes place 30 years after the original.
In addition to a talent for filmmaking, Kosinski holds a bachelor's degree from Columbia University in architecture. He enjoys teaching and has worked as an assistant professor to teach students about 3D animation and graphic elements.