Named after the character played by Jack Palance in Arrowhead (1953), Steven Torriano Berry was born on January 3, 1958 in Kansas City, KS.

An accomplished scholar and an award-winning filmmaker, Berry graduated with an M.F.A. from UCLA film school in 1985 and currently is an associate professor at Howard University's Department of Radio, Television and Film. He has directed a number of film and video shorts, including Monologue (1984), Deathly Realities (1985), Money'll Eat You Up (1992), and Euphrates Sun (1993). Berry's first feature-length film, Embalmer (1996), which he also edited as a short film, was a finalist in Showtime's Black Filmmaker's Showcase. Berry created and executive produced the Black Independent Showcase, a television series that featured independent and student film projects; The Black Beyond, an anthology series of horror shorts; Black Visions Silver Screen, a showcase for Howard University student filmmakers; Noh Matta Wat!, the first dramatic television series of Belize; and the half hour television movies The Light and When It's Your Turn.

Black Visions Silver Screen is produced for WHUT - TV 32, in Washington, D.C., Howard University's licensed Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) television station. This series served as a showcase for the students of Howard University's Department of Radio, Television, and Film. Individual episodes all run approximately one hour and have various hosts; short films are grouped into episodes by genre.

Noh Matta Wat! was the first dramatic television series of Belize, first airing in 2005. Berry was extensively involved with the series, serving as director and videographer of the first three seasons, a total of 22 episodes.

Berry is co-author of the cinema book The 50 Most Influential Black Films: A Celebration of African American Talent (2001), and he has written two novels, Tears (1991) and The Honeyman's Son (2002).