MEET DAVID AYER: The hard-edged director of 'Suicide Squad'

To bring one of DC Comics' most complex franchises "Suicide Squad" to the screen, Warner Brothers needed a director who was as intense as the diabolical characters that make up the group.

The choice was David Ayer, a writer-director known for his unsympathetic look at the harsh realities in the world like police patrolling South Central LA in "End of Watch" and a doomed World War II tank platoon in "Fury."

Here's how this talent went from humble beginnings to directing one of the most anticipated movies of 2016.