Born on October 31, 1961, in New Zeland, Peter Jackson started his prolific career at the young age of 8, creating short films with a 8-mm movie camera. Without any formal training, Jackson has directed a number of successful films ranging across all genres. He is most well-known for his film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy, which has won numerous awards. He stayed with the Tolkien fantasy brand when The Hobbit film series was released.