Best known as the son of late director Anthony Minghella (The English Patient) and Chinese choreographer Carolyn Choa, Max Minghella began life in Hampstead, England, and opted to become an actor in his teens for reasons that were (as he later recalled) entirely unrelated to his father's business. He attended Columbia University beginning in the early 2000s, then moved into feature roles, first with a bit part in his dad's Civil War opus Cold Mountain (2003), then striking out on his own with parts in Hollywood features including Syriana (2005), Art School Confidential (2006), How to Lose Friends and Alienate People (2008), and Hippie Hippie Shake (2009). ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide