Thunder Levin was born and raised in New York City, graduated from
Hunter College High School, and received a BFA in Film from NYU before
moving to Los Angeles at age 23. He credits the original Star Trek
television series with opening his mind to both the wonders of science
fiction and filmmaking as a child, while the original Star Wars
solidified his desire to make movies when he grew up.
Mutant Vampire Zombies from the 'Hood! (2008)
starring C. Thomas Howell was Thunder's feature film directorial debut.
This led to him writing and/or directing several films for production
company The Asylum, including
American Warships (2012)
and
AE: Apocalypse Earth (2013),
culminating in the pop culture phenomenon
Sharknado (2013). While
continuing to write and direct feature films, he is also developing
episodic television projects.
Thunder is a lifelong sailor and car enthusiast who's recently taken up
motorcycle riding. In addition to his film and television work, he is
writing his first novel. He lives in Santa Monica, CA, but considers
himself a "temporarily misassigned New Yorker". Thunder is his real
name. Please don't ask why.