Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; educated at the University of Oregon (architecture, fine arts) and the Art Center College of Design, Los Angeles. A student of architecture and the arts, Gassner was a successful linebacker in college football but turned down a try-out for the Los Angeles Rams in order to continue his studies in graphic design. After designing some record albums, Gassner moved into film work when an old art school friend, then one of Coppola's assistant directors on APOCALYPSE NOW (1979), got him a job as production assistant on the film. Gassner worked at Coppola's Zoetrope Studios for several years after that on such features as HAMMETT (1983) and ONE FROM THE HEART (1982), a film that Gassner claims required "six miles of neon." Shortly thereafter he earned his first production designer credit for the harsh, stylized look of Coppola's RUMBLE FISH (1983). Since the mid-1980s, Gassner's eye for detail and talent for evoking the fantastic within the mundane have enhanced several films by the Coen brothers (MILLER'S CROSSING, 1990; BARTON FINK, 1991; THE HUDSUCKER PROXY, 1994; O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU?, 2000; THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE, 2001; THE LADYKILLERS, 2004), as well as FIELD OF DREAMS (1989), THE GRIFTERS (1990) and BUGSY (1991), which earned him his first Oscar®. Gassner won BAFTA Film Awards for his production designs for THE TRUMAN SHOW (1998) and ROAD TO PERDITION (2002). Other notable production designer credits include HERO (1992), WATERWORLD (1995), BIG FISH (2003), JARHEAD (2005), ASK THE DUST (2006), THE GOLDEN COMPASS (2007), and BOND 22 (scheduled for 2008).  Nominated for Achievement in Art Direction 1991: BARTON FINK - Art Direction  Best Achievement in Art Direction 1991: BUGSY - Art Direction  Nominated for Achievement in Art Direction 2002: ROAD TO PERDITION - Art Direction  Nominated for Achievement in Art Direction 2007: THE GOLDEN COMPASS - Art Direction 4 nominations, 1 Award