Josh Cooper Waller was born and raised on the California Central Coast in the 1970s and 1980s, where he spent his formative years split between cattle ranches and the arts and cinemas.
As a child, Waller developed a sense of cinematic awe and wonder after watching early outdoor viewings of "Close Encounters" with his family, and was further inspired by his concert violinist grandmother.
In 1992, Waller decided to join the US Marines, which would provide him with the direction and purpose he was seeking. During his Reserve duty, he worked with private learning centers across the US, specifically with children dealing with ADD, Dyslexia, and various learning disorders.
After his time in the Marines, Waller moved to New York City in 1996 to study acting at the William Esper Studio, where he met and later became roommates with frequent collaborator Daniel Noah.
In 2001, following the passing of his mother, Waller moved back to the West Coast and immersed himself in script writing, short film writing and direction, and feature film development for several years. He worked various odd jobs and service industry positions to support himself during this time.
In 2010, Waller partnered with his best friends Daniel Noah and Elijah Wood to form SpectreVision, a genre production company dedicated to supporting unique voices within the genre space. The company went on to produce over a dozen films, including "Cooties", "The Boy", "Bitch", "Daniel Isn't Real", "Mandy", and "Color Out of Space".
In 2019, Waller stepped away from SpectreVision and Company X to focus on his directorial pursuits and launch a new production shingle in Portugal called Woodhead, which aims to help other filmmakers realize that sense of awe and wonder in their work.
