Paul W.S. Anderson grew up in Newcastle, England, and focused his sights from an early age on the film industry. He left Newcastle to study at Warwick University where he graduated with a degree in Film & Literature Studies in 1986. While still a student, he wrote the first draft of the motion picture Shopping. He stayed in Warwick to become the youngest student in the universitys history to complete an MBA, in 1988.

Following graduation, Anderson continued to write across various genres. He was a principal episode writer for El Cid, a TV police drama. He also wrote and directed a short film entitled Speed, shot in his native Newcastle, and an award-winning documentary about spina bifida called The Spiral Cage.

Shopping, financed by Channel Four, was Andersons feature film directorial debut. The film, which screened at the Sundance Film Festival, starred Jude Law and Sadie Frost.

In 1992, Anderson co-founded Impact Pictures Ltd. with his partner Jeremy Bolt. The company is based in Los Angeles and London and has an overhead, development and financing deal with Germany-based Constantin Film.

Anderson then directed the action-adventure Mortal Kombat, which grossed over $150 million worldwide. His third movie, Event Horizon, starred Laurence Fishburne and Sam Neill. In 1998, Anderson was back in the United States directing Soldier, produced by Impact. The sci-fi action film starred Kurt Russell and Jason Scott Lee.

In 1999, Anderson created The Sight, a supernatural thriller television series produced by Fox Television Studios, FX networks and BSKYB. Starring Andrew McCarthy and directed by Anderson, the pilot episode was broadcast in 2000 to high ratings in both the U.K. and the U.S. It was FXs top rated original drama.

Andersons Resident Evil, which he wrote, produced and directed, was an adaptation of the best selling video game of the same name. Starring Milla Jovovich and Michelle Rodriguez, and filmed on location in Berlin, it was the first project to be produced by both Impact and Constantin.