He is best known in his native Norway for directing the thriller film Headhunters (2011), based on the novel by Jo Nesbø, and internationally for directing the historical drama The Imitation Game (2014), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director, and the science fiction drama Passengers (2016).

[1] He originally wanted to be a musician, but abandoned the ambition when he entered film school.

Previously he had worked in television, music videos, commercials and short films.

He made his English language debut with the historical drama The Imitation Game, about the life of mathematician Alan Turing, starring Benedict Cumberbatch.

[6] After he divorced his wife and her death by suicide, he moved back to Oslo, Norway, with his son.