At 39, Michael Bay has achieved success in every story-telling genre he has explored so far. He has bought a characteristic energy and visual dynamism to high-grossing features (Bad Boys, The Rock, Armageddon, Pearl Harbor, and Bad Boys 2); he has directed some of television's most imaginative commercials, winning more awards than any other American director his age; and he is a sought-after director of music videos and commercials.

By age 15, Bay was working for Lucasfilm, where he watched Steven Spielberg transform seemingly mundane effects and sets into the magical experience of "Raiders of the Lost Ark." It was a metamorphosis Bay would never forget - one that would continually inspire his own interest in creating seamless visual worlds behind fascinating characters.

Eventually, Bay wound up in the influential film program at Wesleyan - where his talent was recognized with the Frank Capra Award for Best Student Film - and he went on to study at Pasadena's Art Center College of Design. After graduating, he made the decision to direct music videos, the quickest way to get immediate, hands-on shooting experience. Bay soon was drawing accolades on his very first video for the direction of Donny Osmond's surprise come-back video. He was recruited to continue directing videos for Propaganda Films, the commercial production house that has given genesis to some of Hollywood's most promising young visual artist. At Propaganda, where he now is a partner, he continued directing popular videos for such artist as Aerosmith, Tina Turner, Lionel Richie, Meatloaf, and the DiVinyls.

Bays first television ad for the American Red Cross won the prestigious Clio Award. He went on to direct some of the most widely seen and remembered ads in TV history, including spots for Nike, Budweiser, Levis, Bugle Boy, Coca Cola, Isuzu, Miller and Mercedes. His best recognized campaign, Got Milk?, is one of the most lauded and imitated series in advertising history. Bay won a Grand Prix Clio for Commercial of the Year for the Got Milk?/Aaron Burr ad -- dubbed one of the top ten commercials of all time by USA Today and the History Channel. It also garnered the Museum of Modern Art Award for Best Campaign of the Year. By the age of 26 Bay had won every major directing prize bestowed by the advertising industry including the Gold and Silver Lion at Cannes.

But even as he attained extraordinary success in commercials, Bay knew he eventually wanted to direct a feature. He turned down dozen of projects before meeting with producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer while shooting the video for "Days of Thunder." Simpson and Bruckheimer offered Bad Boys which he immediately recognized as the type of script he was seeking for his entree to film: a fun entertaining story with big audience- pleasing potential.

His debut feature, the original Bad Boys, starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, wowed audiences and critics alike grossing more than $160 million worldwide, making it Columbia Pictures top grossing film of 1995. The film has become a paragon of the stylish action comedy.

Bays second film was the big-budget action film The Rock starring Academy Award-winning actors Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage and four-time nominee Ed Harris. The film became a major summer blockbuster of 1996 and won people over with its dazzling mix of visual excitement, high-wire suspense and compelling performances. The Rock brought in over $325 million worldwide, more than doubling the breakout success of Bays debut. Bay re-teamed with Bruckheimer to make Armageddon, a story conceived with writer Jonathan Hensleigh. Starring Bruce Willis, Ben Affleck, Billy Bob Thornton, Liv Tyler and Will Patton, Armageddon marked another major global success, taking in more than $550 million, making Bay one of the youngest directors to reach the $1 billion mark.

Bay next directed and produced, with Bruckheimer, the historical epic Pearl Harbor starring Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett, Kate Beckinsale, Jon Voight and Alec Baldwin. A sweeping saga of love and war, Pearl Harbor was a hit with young audiences and World War II veterans alike. It grossed over $450 million and is one of the top-selling DVDs of all time.

Bay recently established his Platinum Dunes production banner, designed to create lower-budget film fare with wide appeal. The first film under the Platinum Dunes shingle is a re-imagining of the cult hit horror film The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.