Jon Chu Bio: In His Own Words – Video Exclusive, News, Photos, Justin Bieber

Jon Chu Biography

Jon Chu was born November 2, 1979, in Palo Alto, California. The son of Chef Chu’s restaurant owners in Los Angeles, Chu began working in film at a young age.

Chu attended the University of Southern California School of Cinema-Television. His student film When The Kids Are Away got him signed to the William Morris Agency. Chu is an A/C or the Adam/Chu Dance Crew member.

Jon Chu Films Awards

Chu has done a number of films, and nearly all of them have included dance numbers. His more notable films include Step Up 2: The Streets, Step Up 3D, Justin Bieber: Never Say Never and Justin Bieber’s Believe.

Chu’s other projects include Silent Beats, When The Kids Are Away, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, The Legion Of Extraordinary Dancers and Killing Babies. Though it never came to fruition, Chu was set to direct the remake of Bye Bye Birdie. He was attached to the 2013 film The Great Gatsby, but the project ultimately went to Baz Luhrmann.

In 2016, Chu directed the second movie in the Now You See Me series. In 2018, he directed Crazy Rich Asians, won the Critics Choice Award for Best Comedy in 2019, and was nominated for multiple other awards. In 2021, Chu helped direct Lin Manuel Miranda’s In The Heights, and he is currently working on the highly anticipated 2024 movie Wicked, which will star Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo.

Chu has won many awards, including the Princess Grace Award, the Jack Nicholson Directing Award and the Dore Schary Award. He was also an honoree for Project: Involve.

Jon Chu Interview

Working with pop superstar Bieber has shown Chu what the media’s eye can do. “I think a lot of it [his reputation] is press hype. He’s not as crazy as everyone thinks he may be from those headlines,” Chu told Uinterview exclusively. “But also, he’s not as perfect as he may portray himself to be. I think the two together just makes him human. I think that that’s what’s fascinating about how I know him and how we try to show that truth in our movie. Inside, he has a really great foundation. He’s a really great kid.”