Cronenberg was born in Toronto, the son of filmmakers David and Carolyn Zeifman and the brother of photographer Caitlin Cronenberg. Cassandra, his half-sister from his father’s first marriage, is also alive. Cronenberg attended Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada, where he studied film. Growing up, he considered himself to be a “book nerd” who aspired to be a writer, painter, or musician. He realized that film contained all of those elements and enrolled in film school.
Cronenberg directed the short film Broken Tulips in 2008, about people who pay to be injected with viruses harvested from celebrities. Cronenberg has stated that the film was inspired by a viral infection he once had. The “central idea came to him in a fever dream during a bout of illness,” according to journalist Jill Lawless.
It was shaped further when he saw Sarah Michelle Gellar’s interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live!; what struck him was when “she said she was sick and if she sneezed she’d infect the entire audience, and everyone just started cheering.”
The short was based on a script he was writing for his first feature film, Antiviral. The feature film adaptation was shot primarily in Hamilton, Ontario, and Toronto.
Brandon Cronenberg’s Wife: Is Brandon Cronenberg Married?
There is no information about Brandon’s marital status.