His cousins, Rizal Ashreff and Sabrina Ali and half-brother, Faizal Yusof are also actors and director TV drama.

He studied at the Malaysia Institute of Integrative Media (MIIM) or also known as Academy TV3 where he took a diploma in Film, TV Broadcasting and Journalism.

[citation needed] From 2003 to 2007, Syamsul Yusof started to direct and acted in many TV series for RTM and TV3 such as Gerak Khas, Sembilu Kasih, Air Mata Maria and Tragedi Oktober.

In 2007, he direct his first feature film, Evolusi KL Drift,[1] co-written by him and his cousin Rizal Ashreff was initially rejected by his father for further redrafting.

Despite his lack of directing experience and the immense pressure of keeping reputation of his family, Evolusi KL Drift was well-received upon its release on 3 April 2008.

[6][7] In 2011, he directed his first horror film Khurafat: Perjanjian Syaitan starring himself and Liyana Jasmay in lead roles.

He directed Aku Bukan Tomboy, his first comedy film starring Scha Alyahya as Farisha / Eisha.

After three years of absence, Syamsul came back with his latest film, Munafik, was released to Malaysian cinemas in February 2016.

[10] Ten months later, he starred as mentally-disturbed guy named Aiman in a mystery science fiction film Desolasi, directed by his brother Syafiq Yusof which was released on 8 December 2016.