纽约大学毕业后当过演员，后来跟随马丁瑞特担任助手，学习导演技巧。1958年开始执导电视影集，70年代后期以执导卖座电影《天魔》，《超人》成名，进入80年代后又以梅尔 吉布森(Mel Gibson) 主演的《致命武器》系列成为好莱坞重量级导演。
Denny Miller was born in Bloomington, Indiana, where his father, Ben Miller, was a physical education instructor at Indiana University. He and his brother, Kent, began playing basketball almost from the day they were born. The Miller family left Bloomington when Denny was in the fourth grade. He and his brother played basketball in Silver Spring, Maryland, and Baldwin, New York, before the family moved to Los Angeles. It was at University High School in Los Angeles where Denny and Kent came to the attention of coach John Wooden.
