Born in New York City, New York, Singer was adopted by Grace Sinden, an environmental activist, and Norbert Dave Singer, a corporate executive. Singer grew up in a Jewish household in West Windsor Township, New Jersey.
In his early teens, Singer started making 8mm films as well as experimenting with photography. He later attended West Windsor-Plainsboro High School, graduating in 1984.
Afterwards, Singer studied filmmaking for two years at the School of Visual Arts in New York, and later transferred to the USC School of Cinematic Arts in Los Angeles, California, where he followed the Critical studies program.
Four years later, Singer wrote, produced and co-directed directed the twenty-five-minute 1988 American short film 'Lion's Den', involving a number of friends.
These included Ethan Hawke, whom he knew from his childhood in New Jersey, and American film composer and editor John Ottman, whom he had met while working on a friend's short film.
Six years later, Singer founded the production company Bad Hat Harry Productions in 1994. This was in homage to Steven Spielberg and the famous line from his 1975 American horror/thriller film 'Jaws'.
The folvogin year, Singer followed this up by co-producing and directing the film for which he is best known. This was the 1995 American neo-noir mystery thriller/crime film 'The Usual Suspects'.
"The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist," says con man Kint (Kevin Spacey), drawing a comparison to the most enigmatic criminal of all time, Keyser Soze.
In the film, Kint attempts to convince the feds that the mythic crime lord not only exists, but is also responsible for drawing Kint and his four partners into a multi-million-dollar heist that ended with an explosion in San Pedro Harbor - leaving few survivors.
The film was shown out of competition at the 48th Cannes Film Festival in May 1995, and then initially released in a few theaters. It received favorable reviews and was eventually given a wider release.
One year later, American screenwriter, director and producer Christopher McQuarrie won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay and Spacey won for Best Supporting Actor. This occurred at the 68th Academy Awards in late March 1996.
The Writers Guild of America ranked 'The Usuals Suspects' as having the 35th greatest screenplay of all time.
The following year, Singer obtained the rights to adapt Stephen King's 1982 psychological thriller novella into the eponymous 1998 American psychological thriller/drama film 'Apt Pupil'
In 1997, a fourteen-year-old extra accused Singer of asking him and other minors to film a shower scene in the nude for the film 'Apt Pupil'. Two other adolescent boys, sixteen and seventeen years old, later supported the fourteen-year-old's claim.
The boys claimed trauma from the experience and sought charges against the filmmakers including infliction of emotional distress, negligence, and invasion of privacy, and alleged that they were filmed for sexual gratification.
A lawsuit was filed, but was dismissed for insufficient evidence. The Los Angeles District Attorney's Office declined to press charges. However, Singer had denied all of the allegations.
According to the suit filed by attorney Jeff Herman, Singer is alleged to have drugged and raped actor and model Michael Egan in Hawaii after meeting him at parties hosted by convicted sex offender Marc Collins-Rector in the late 1990s.
In November 2016, it was announced that Singer would direct the British rock band Queen biopic with the 2018 American biographical drama film 'Bohemian Rhapsody'.
Singer later produced the film with British lawyer and long-time band manager of Queen Jim Beach and English film producer Graham King.
On December 1, 2017, The Hollywood Reporter reported that 20th Century Fox had temporarily halted production due to the "unexpected unavailability" of Singer, with sources saying that he had failed to return to the set after the Thanksgiving week.
Producers were nervous about the state of production and started discussions about potentially replacing him, at which point American cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel may have stepped in to direct during Singer's absence.
Singer's absence was reportedly due to "a personal health matter concerning [him] and his family," and Singer's representatives stated his mother, who is in her late 1980s, was ill with pneumonia and he was visiting her.
However, other sources stated that the film's lead American actor and producer Rami Malek and the crew had grown tired of Singer's behavior, the director having reportedly shown up late to set on multiple occasions, and having repeatedly clashed with Malek.
On December 4, 2017, Singer was fired as director, with about two weeks remaining in principal photography.
Singer's replacement, English actor and director Dexter Fletcher, is quoted saying he came in and "just finished it up, really." 20th Century Fox later terminated his Bad Hat Harry Productions deal with the studio.
However, Singer still received directorial credit for 'Bohemian Rhapsody' due to a Directors Guild of America ruling that only a sole director can receive credit.
On a budget of $50–55 million, 'Bohemian Rhapsody' grossed $903.7 million at box offices worldwide. This allowed it to become the sixth-highest-grossing film of 2018 and setting the all-time box office records for the biopic and drama genres.
However, it received mixed reviews from critics regarding Singer's direction, the portrayal of Freddie Mercury's sexuality and the lives of the other band members. Despite this, Malek's performance and the music sequences received praise.
The following year after the release of 'Bohemian Rhapsody', the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) removed Singer's name from the nomination for the film because of the allegations against him. This occurred at the 72nd British Academy Film Awards on February 10, 2019.
Later that same month, the film won four Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Rami Malek), Best Film Editing, Best Sound Editing, and Best Sound Mixing. This occurred at the 91st Academy Awards on February 24, 2019.
Among his credits, Singer is also known for directing 'X-Men' (2000), 'X2' (2003), 'Superman Returns' (2006), 'Valkyrie' (2008), 'Jack the Giant Slayer' (2013), 'X-Men: Days of Future Past' (2014) and X-Men; Apocalypse' (2016). Singer had also co-written and produced 'X-Men: First Class' (2011).
Hailed as one of the film industry's most exciting and provocative new talents after the huge success of 'The Usual Suspects', Singer has afterwards built his reputation on making films that are essentially lengthy and verbally dexterous flirtations with the darker side of human nature.
Singer has been active from 1988–present.
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