Sena was born in Niles, Ohio of Italian-American heritage. His family hails from the town of Bagnoli Irpino, Avellino, Italy. As one of the founders of Propaganda Films, Sena worked primarily in music videos early in his career. He directed several of Janet Jackson's image re-defining music videos from her Rhythm Nation 1814 album. The "Rhythm Nation" music video directed by Sena won the Grammy Award Best Long Form Music Video. Other artists that Sena has directed music videos for include Richard Marx, Tina Turner, Fleetwood Mac, Bryan Adams, Michael Bolton, Peter Cetera, E.G. Daily, and Sting. Sena was also the Cinematographer for many of the music videos he directed.
In 1993, Sena directed his first film, Kalifornia, which starred Future Hollywood stars Brad Pitt and David Duchovny. While the film garnered good reviews, it was not a commercial success and it was seven more years before Sena stepped behind the camera again.
In 2000, Sena directed the film Gone in 60 Seconds, featuring Nicolas Cage, Angelina Jolie, and Robert Duvall. Other films he has directed include Swordfish (2001), Whiteout (2009), and Season of the Witch (2011).
