A member of both the Directors Guild of America and the Directors Guild of Canada, Lee Cleary is regarded as one of the most respected professionals in film today.

In 1981, straight out of school, Lee embarked on a career in film working as a runner to director Hugh Hudson (Chariots of Fire) and producer Lord David Puttnam (Chariots of Fire, The Killing Fields).

From there, he forged an impressive career as an assistant director, working under David Tomblin (considered one of the finest first assistant directors in the world). Lee considers this one of his greatest achievements.

Lee has also worked with some of the greatest directors in film history, including Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard, George Lucas, Steven Soderbergh, Lord Richard Attenborough, Sydney Pollack, Stephen Frears, Kevin Costner, Warren Beatty, Robert Redford, Clint Eastwood, and Bryan Singer.

His first assistant director credits include X-Men, X2 and Fantastic Four as well as co-producing credits on Valkyrie (starring Tom Cruise), Hurricane Season (starring Forest Whitaker), Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer, and X-Men: The Last Stand.

Lee is also an avid fan of the Arsenal Football Club.