Yusof was born on 24 April 1954 in Jalan Pahang, Kuala Lumpur to housewife Bahyah Talib and lorry driver Md.
He became enamoured with movies through his experiences seeing Hollywood westerns and Bollywood films—with the latter, he considered one of the stars Shashi Kapoor as his acting idol.
Yusof thus decided that he would become an actor, much to objections by his father who believed that the entertainment scene held no future prospects.
He began his involvement in acting by playing an extra character in Laksamana Do Re Mi in 1972, as match spectators.
This was later followed by Pemburu Bayang in 1993, Sembilu in 1994, best-selling blockbuster film, Maria Mariana in 1996 plus its sequel two years after among others.