The only son of Ivan Reitman -- the famed producer and director of classic comedies such as Stripes (1981) and Ghostbusters (1984) -- Jason Reitman was born Oct. 19, 1977, in Montreal. As a boy, he often found himself on his father's movie sets, so it was only a matter of time until he began experimenting with his own films.

Reitman nearly walked away from the craft, however, in favor of a medical career. After ending his pre-med studies and graduating from film school, he specialized in short films and commercials, premiering two shorts at the Sundance Film Festival: Operation (1998) and In God We Trust (2000). The satire Thank You for Smoking (2005) marked Reitman's first foray into feature-length movies.

But it was Reitman's second feature, Juno (2007), that garnered him a slew of praise and critical acclaim, including an Oscar nomination for Best Director.