[2] He is a 1997 graduate of Union College (Schenectady, New York), where he was a member of the Delta Upsilon fraternity and played wide receiver on the football team for two years.

[3] Thurber worked as an assistant to screenwriter John August, beginning with the television show D.C.[4] In 2002, he wrote and directed the original Terry Tate: Office Linebacker commercials for Reebok.

[10] Thurber wrote and directed the 2018 action film Skyscraper from Legendary Pictures, reteaming with Dwayne Johnson and released by Universal.

[11] He next wrote and directed Legendary's $150 million budget action comedy Red Notice (2021), starring Ryan Reynolds, Gal Gadot and Johnson.

[13] In 2021, Ubisoft announced Thurber would direct the film adaptation of its game series The Division, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Jessica Chastain.