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Writer/Director Wayne Kramer was born in South Africa, where he graduated from the Johannesburg School for Art, Drama and Music. He immigrated to the United States in 1986 to pursue a career in film.

In 1994, Wayne was a quarterfinalist in the prestigious Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting contest for his script Terminals.

In 1995, he made the Nicholl's semifinals with his script Almost Vera.

In 1996, Wayne wrote and directed the 35mm short film Crossing Over which premiered at the 1996 Santa Barbara International Film Festival. It also screened that year at the Palm Beach International Film Festival and Worldfest Houston, where it earned a Certificate of Merit – Finalist. Crossing Over debuted on television as part of KQED's Intensity TV series in 2000. The film stars Jacqueline Obradors (Tortilla Soup, NYPD Blue).

In 1997, Wayne's supernatural thriller script Foresight again made it into the Nicholl Fellowship's semifinals.

In 1998, Wayne optioned his screenplay Second Wind to Avenue Pictures (The Player, Short Cuts, Wit, Path to War) with himself attached to direct. During that time, Wayne developed the project as a starring vehicle for Chazz Palminteri.

In 1998, Wayne sold his screenplay Mindhunters to 20th Century Fox, which purchased the script after a bidding war with several studios. Mindhunters, described as Ten Little Indians in the FBI Academy, was produced by Intermedia Films in 2003. Directed by Renny Harlin and the film stars Val Kilmer, Christian Slater, L.L. Cool J, Kathryn Morris and Jonny Lee Miller.

Kramer made his feature directorial debut with The Cooler – a film he co-wrote with Frank Hannah. The Cooler debuted at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival and was released theatrically in November 2003. Alec Baldwin received an Academy Award nomination for his role as Shelly Kaplow in the film. He also received a Golden Globe nomination for his performance, along with Maria Bello.