A look under the Hood

While Hood's new film Rendition will be opening at cinemas nationwide on 30 November 2007, he's currently working on his next project X-Men Origins: Wolverine – the fourth X-Men movie tipped for worldwide release on 1 May 2009.

But while Hood has now become a household name, did you know these facts about him?

1. Hood was born within 100 meters of some of the shots used in Tsotsi (2005).

2. Hood only practiced law for six months before leaving the profession to pursue an acting career.

3. For those of us old enough to remember, Hood played the lead role in "The Game", an SABC commissioned television series in 1989.

4. In 1991 he sold everything he had and left South Africa for the United States to study film at the University of California in Los Angeles.

5. He is a father of twins and is married to actress Janine Eser.

6. Tsotsi had a budget of just under $3 million = R18 million!

7. Hood's filmmaking style has been influenced by directors Walter Salles and Ang Lee and the intimacy they share with their characters.

8. Because of his background in still photography (his father is also a still photographer), Hood prefers well-lit, composed images that capture emotion and tends to lock down cameras. We wonder what this will mean for the new Wolverine movie…

9. When Rendition's script was presented to Hood and he read the title, his first thought was that it's a musical rendition of Beethoven's 9th Symphony.

10. Hood firmly believes movies should not only be made for entertainment but also with the intention to challenge the public mind.

- Thobeka Linda & Megan Kakora