Nguyễn Việt Tú was born in 1977 in Hanoi in a three generation artist family. His grandfather is a stage director, his mother was a water puppet artist at Thăng Long Water Puppet Theater. His father was a TV director working at Vietnam Television (VTV).

In 1991, Việt Tú entered Vietnam National Academy of Music. Although he had a passion for drum and guitar, he studied clarinet and met his close friend – the young star Trần Thu Hà. However, study performance of Việt Tú at the Academy was not outstanding. Supported by his family, his passion for filmmaking led him to the film director department of Hanoi Academy of Theatre and Cinema in 1995.

Since 1997, he has started practicing at Vietnam Television, in charge of director of photography, music video and music stage. After graduating in 1999, Việt Tú stayed at VTV until September 2005, concurrently joining a training course about contemporary art, theater management and entertainment in New York Film Academy.