His father, Anthony Shuzo Fukunaga, was a third-generation Japanese American, born in an internment camp during World War II.

[4] His family often relocated within the San Francisco Bay Area, moving to Berkeley, Albany, Vallejo, Benicia, Sebastopol and back to Oakland.

In 2010, Fukunaga directed a new film adaptation of Jane Eyre starring Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, Jamie Bell and Judi Dench.

Fukunaga directed, wrote and filmed Beasts of No Nation, based on the novel of the same name by Uzodinma Iweala, in which Idris Elba stars as Commandant, a lead character.

[25] Fukunaga directed all eight episodes of the first season of the 2014 HBO TV series True Detective, which was written and created by novelist and screenwriter Nic Pizzolatto.

[32][33] However, due to scheduling conflicts he was replaced by Jakob Verbruggen, although he retained a "created by" credit and remained as an executive producer.

Warner Bros. chose Fukunaga to develop its adaptations of Stephen King's It (2017 and 2019), the first of which was initially due to start shooting in summer 2015.

[44] In February 2017, it was reported Fukunaga was in talks to direct Shockwave, a drama about the lead-up to the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.

[45] In March 2021, he signed on to direct and produce Tokyo Ghost, based on the science fiction comic book series of the same name.

[46] Since May 2016, it was reported that Fukunaga, alongside Spielberg, could finalize the long-sought epic film about Napoleon that Stanley Kubrick worked on until the last days of his life.

[47] In September 2024, it was reported that Fukunaga would direct and produce the Jo Nesbø crime thriller adaptation Blood on Snow.

[48] It was later announced in February 2025 that Benedict Cumberbatch was replacing Hardy, while Eva Green, Emma Laird, and Ben Mendelsohn were added to the cast.

[51] In October 2021, Raeden Greer accused Fukunaga of pressuring her into doing a topless scene for True Detective that was not included in her contract for her role as a stripper.

[52] In April and May 2022, three women accused Fukunaga of various forms of sexual harassment, including pursuing relationships with them while in a position of power over them in the workplace.

[53] Actress and skateboarder Rachelle Vinberg posted videos to Instagram accusing Fukunaga of grooming her and many other young actresses, citing in particular her experience filming his "A Perfect Day" Samsung commercial in 2016 (when she was 18 years old), and said that she had been in therapy for a year and diagnosed with PTSD as a result of his behavior in their relationship.