Steven Berkoff was born in London in 1937. He studied Drama in London and Paris. He performed with repertory companies before forming the London Theatre Group (L.T.G.) in 1968. Their first professional production was In the Penal Colony, an adaptation of a short story by Kafka. Berkoff's first original stage play East, was presented at the Edinburgh Festival in 1975.
Other original plays include West, Decadence, Greek, Kvetch, Acapulco, Harry's Christmas, Lunch, Sink the Belgrano, Massage, Sturm und Drang, Brighton Beach Scumbags, The Secret Love Life of Ophelia, Bow of Ulysses, Ritual in Blood and Messiah.
Among the many adaptations Steven Berkoff has created for the stage are Kafka's Metamorphosis and The Trial, Agamemnon (after Aeschylus) and Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher. His plays and adaptations have been performed in many countries and many languages. He has also directed and toured productions of Hamlet, Macbeth and Oscar Wilde's Salome.
Steven Berkoff has acted in films as diverse as A Clockwork Orange, Barry Lyndon, The Passenger, Octopussy, Beverly Hills Cop, Rambo, Under the Cherry Moon, Absolute Beginners and The Krays. He directed and co-starred with Joan Collins in the film version of Decadence.
He has published collections of short stories, production journals, travel writings, poetry and his autobiography Free Association.