Michael Bay

Director & actor · born 17 February 1965 · Los Angeles, California, USA

Michael Benjamin Bay (born February 17, 1965) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for making big-budget, high-concept action movies with fast cutting, stylistic cinematography and visuals, and extensive use of special effects, including frequent depictions of explosions. The films he has directed include Bad Boys (1995) and its sequel Bad Boys II (2003), The Rock (1996), Armageddon (1998), Pearl Harbor (2001), the first five films in the Transformers film series, 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi (2016), 6 Underground (2019), and Ambulance (2022). His films have grossed over US$7.8 billion worldwide, making him one of history's most commercially successful directors.

He is co-founder of the production house the Institute and co-owns Platinum Dunes, a production house that has remade horror films, including The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003), The Amityville Horror (2005), Friday the 13th (2009), and A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010).

Where to start: 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi (2016).