Hans Zimmer

Though he began his career as a keyboardist for several late-1970s New Wave pop groups, Hans Zimmer used his pioneering blend of digital synthesizers and computer technology to become one of the most acclaimed and sought after film composers of his day. Following a brief, but productive partnership with composer Stanley Myers, Zimmer struck out on his own and carved a successful career that was highlighted by such early recognized work as "Rain Man" (1988), "Driving Miss Daisy" (1989) and "Thelma & Louise" (1991). Having quickly moved up the ranks, Zimmer became a go-to favorite for directors looking to add something different to the more standardized compositions offered by more classically trained composers. He reached the pinnacle of his career when he wrote the African-inspired rhythms for the hit animated feature, "The Lion King" (1994); the music from which long remained a signature for his unique stylings. From there, Zimmer seemed to be nominated for some major award or another every year, thanks to writing such memorable music for the films "Gladiator" (2000), "The Last Samurai" (2003) and "The Dark Knight" (2008). By the time of he created the critically lauded score to "Sherlock Holmes" (2009), Zimmer had established himself as a premiere composer with well over 100 films to his credit.

Born on Sept. 12, 1957 in Frankfurt, Germany, Zimmer lost his father when he was six years old, which led to using music as a form of escape. As a teenager, he moved to London, where he attended the Hurtwood House School and began his music career playing keyboards and synthesizers. In 1977, Zimmer began playing in The Buggles, a New Wave band that became semi-famous for their 1979 single, "Video Killed the Radio Star," which became the first music video to air on MTV in 1981. Meanwhile, Zimmer left The Buggles to join the Italian New Wave band, Krisma, with whom he was featured on keyboards for their third album, Cathode Mamma. Also at this time, he was writing advertising jingles for Air-Edel Associates, which led to a partnership with film composer, Stanley Myers. The two formed Lillie Yard Studio and began collaborating on the soundtracks to features like Jerzy Skolimowski's "Moonlighting" (1982) and Stephen Frears' "My Beautiful Laundrette" (1985). He also contributed music to the scores for "Wild Horses" (CBS, 1985), "The Lightship" (1986) and "The Last Emperor" (1987).

The following year, Zimmer branched out on his own, composing his first solo score for the mystery thriller, "Double Exposure" (1987). Over in England, he composed the catchy theme song for the British game show, "Going for Gold" (BBC1, 1987-2009), a Euro-pop tune that fast became a signature for the series. In 1988, Zimmer's career hit a huge turning point when his score for "Rain Man" (1988) earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score, marking the first of several such honors throughout his career. After scoring the infectious themes in "Driving Miss Daisy" (1989) and the lilting chimes of "Green Card" (1990), he wrote the music for some of the biggest movies in Hollywood at that time, including "Days of Thunder" (1990), "Backdraft" (1991), "Thelma & Louise" (1991) and "A League of Their Own" (1992). While he slipped in terms of cinematic quality with "Toys" (1992) and "Cool Runnings" (1993), Zimmer reached another career milestone when he took home an Oscar for supplementing Elton John's pop score with African-inspired rhythms for Disney's animated blockbuster, "The Lion King" (1994).

Zimmer turned to the heightened themes of such action movies as "Broken Arrow" (1996), "The Rock" (1996) and "The Fan" (1996), while capping off a busy year with his third Oscar nomination for his score in "The Preacher's Wife" (1996). The following year saw Zimmer make a return to the Academy Awards ceremony for his work on the James L. Brooks comedy/drama "As Good As It Gets" (1997), which was completed before he accepted the head of the music department post at DreamWorks SKG. While at DreamWorks, Zimmer worked on scores for the animated features "The Prince of Egypt" (1998), for which he was nominated again for an Academy Award, and "The Road to El Dorado (2000), as well as bringing to life the epic sounds of ancient Rome for his Oscar-nominated work on "Gladiator" (2000). Prior to "Gladiator," he created haunting and elegiac music that weaved in and out of the violence of the Pacific Theater in World War II for Terrence Malick's lyrical war epic, "The Thin Red Line" (1998), which earned him another well deserved Oscar nomination. Meanwhile, he returned to blockbuster territory by scoring "Mission: Impossible 2" (2000), "Hannibal" (2001), "Pearl Harbor" (2001) and "Black Hawk Down" (2001); all of which were made outside of DreamWorks.

Never at a loss for work, Zimmer continually proved a reliable contributor to film, transcending his electro-pop background with an arsenal of soundscapes and a talent for using the music to underline the themes of the film, emerging as a modern legend in the field. After serving as a last minute replacement on "Somethings Gotta Give" (2003), he earned a Golden Globe nomination for composing his 100th film, "The Last Samurai" (2003). Zimmer continued to rack up awards and accolades for his work, which including another Golden Globe nod for "Spanglish" (2004), and both a Grammy and Golden Globe nomination for "The Da Vinci Code" (2006). While scoring the films "Shark Tale" (2004) and "King Arthur" (2004), he collaborated with the likes of James S. Levine on "The Weather Man" (2005) and James Newton Howard on "Batman Begins" (2006). Following yet another Golden Globe nod - this time for "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" (2006) - Zimmer composed the haunting score for Christopher Nolan's epic crime saga, "The Dark Knight" (2008). Zimmer's excellent work was sadly overlooked this time. Following work on "The Simpsons Movie" (2007), he returned to awards contention with the Golden Globe-nominated score for "Frost/Nixon" (2008) and the Oscar-nominated "Sherlock Holmes" (2009), directed by Guy Ritchie. On the small screen, Zimmer found similar success with his score for Steven Spielberg's epic 10-part World War II miniseries, "The Pacific" (HBO, 2010), which earned him and cowriters Blake Neely and Geoff Zanelli an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries, Movie or Special. Back in the feature world, he scored "Inception" (2010) for director Christopher Nolan, which earned the composer Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations for Best Original Score. Continuing his remarkable prolific streak, Zimmer moved from strength to strength, scoring films including "The Dark Knight Rises" (2012), the Superman reboot "Man of Steel" (2013), Steve McQueen's "12 Years A Slave" (2013), "The Amazing SPider-Man 2" (2014) and another collaboration with Nolan, "Interstellar" (2014).