At the age of sixteen he acted in his older brother’s (Ridley Scott, also a director) directing debut Boy and Bicycle. He directed his own short feature four years later (One of the Missing, 1969), this time starring Ridley in a smaller role. He was a gifted painter and studied applied arts and later won a scholarship for the Royal College of Art in London. Fater graduation, he worked as a painter for several years but due to financial problems, he decided to join his brother’s company Ridley Scott Associates. From early 1970’s to early 1980’s he directed many promotional films. His first feature film was The Hunger (1983) and it was made in British-American co-production. The film was badly reviewed so he returned to directing promotional films and musical videos until he received an invitation from Hollywood to direct Top Gun (1986). The film was a huge success at the box offices around the world and his later films continued to be more successful with the audience than the critics. Afterwards, he directed the second part of the film series Beverly Hills Cop II (1987). His thriller Revenge (1990) was less successful. He repeated his collaboration with Tom Cruise in Days of Thunder (1990). In the following year he directed the action comedy The Last Boy Scout (1991) starring Bruce Willis and Damon Wayans. One of his films that stands out is True Romance (1993), crime love story based on Quentin Tarantino’s screenplay. Afterwards he directed the successful thriller Crimson Tide (1995) with Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman. Somewhat less popular was his film The Fan (1996) starring Robert De Niro and Wesley Snipes. Another very successful collaboration with Gene Hackman was in the popular action thriller Enemy of the State (1998).  His next film was also an action thriller Spy Game (2001), after which he directed the crime drama Man on Fire (2004). After his short feature Agent Orange (2004), he directed Domino (2005), Deja Vu (2006.), Taking Of Pelham 123 (2009) and Unstoppable (2010). He was also a producer who produced many films and TV series. In August 2012, he committed suicide.