Stephen Dorff was born in Atlanta, Georgia, to Nancy and Steve Dorff, a renowned composer. He was selected from over 2000 young men worldwide and won the prestigious role of "PK" in John G. Avildsen's critically acclaimed film, The Power of One (1992),starring alongside Morgan Freeman, John Gielgud, and Fay Masterson. For his outstanding performance, he received the Male Star of Tomorrow Award from the National Association of Theater Owners.
Dorff's impressive filmography includes notable roles in NewLine's Blade (1998),opposite Wesley Snipes, for which he won the "Best Villain" at the MTV Movie and Blockbuster Entertainment Awards. He also co-starred with Susan Sarandon in HBO's Earthly Possessions (1999),based on Anne Tyler's novel about an unlikely romance between a young, fumbling bank robber and his hostage. Additionally, he starred in Scott Kalvert's street gang drama, Deuces Wild (2002),for MGM, and as the champion of bad cinema in John Waters' comedy, Cecil B. Demented (2000),co-starring Melanie Griffith.
His extensive credits also include XIII: The Conspiracy (2008),Entropy (1999),Blood and Wine (1996) with Jack Nicholson, and opposite Harvey Keitel in City of Industry (1997). He played the role of Stuart Sutcliffe, the fifth Beatle, in Iain Softley's Backbeat (1994),and as the notorious Candy Darling in I Shot Andy Warhol (1996).
In the 2000s, Dorff appeared in Oliver Stone's World Trade Center (2006),Robert Ludlum's Covert One: The Hades Factor (2006),.45 (2006) with Milla Jovovich, Shadowboxer (2005) with Cuba Gooding Jr. and Helen Mirren, and the Disney thriller, Cold Creek Manor (2003),with Dennis Quaid and Sharon Stone, directed by Mike Figgis.
Stephen Dorff's recent roles include his portrayal of disillusioned Hollywood actor and single father Johnny Marco in Sofia Coppola's Somewhere (2010),which won a Golden Lion at the 2010 Venice Film Festival. In 2009, he teamed up with Somewhere producer G. Mac Brown on Michael Mann's gangster drama Public Enemies (2009),starring opposite Johnny Depp and Christian Bale.
Most recently, Dorff was cast in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre prequel Leatherface (2017) and the fantasy family film Albion: Rise of the Dannan (2016).