Writer

Henry Jackman


Biography

Henry Jackman has established himself as one of today’s top composers by fusing his classical training with his experience as a successful record producer and creator of electronic music.

Jackman grew up in the southeast of England, where he began composing his first symphony at the age of six. He studied classical music at Oxford and sang in the St. Paul’s Cathedral Choir—but simultaneously got involved in the underground rave scene and began producing popular electronica music and dance remixes, eventually working with artists such as Seal and The Art of Noise.

In 2006 he caught the attention of film composers Hans Zimmer and John Powell, and began writing additional music for Powell on Kung Fu Panda and then for Zimmer on The Dark Knight, ...

Henry Jackman has established himself as one of today’s top composers by fusing his classical training with his experience as a successful record producer and creator of electronic music.

Jackman grew up in the southeast of England, where he began composing his first symphony at the age of six. He studied classical music at Oxford and sang in the St. Paul’s Cathedral Choir—but simultaneously got involved in the underground rave scene and began producing popular electronica music and dance remixes, eventually working with artists such as Seal and The Art of Noise.

In 2006 he caught the attention of film composers Hans Zimmer and John Powell, and began writing additional music for Powell on Kung Fu Panda and then for Zimmer on The Dark Knight, The Da Vinci Code, and The Pirates of the Caribbean films, which rapidly led to scoring blockbuster films on his own. His first solo feature film then came to be ‘Monsters v Aliens’ directed by Rob Letterman.

“I’ve spent a lot of time working in the record industry,” says Jackman, “and for my money being a film composer is way more fun. You can be working on X-Men, and then a movie set in 17th-century Italy. It’s not about showing off what you think is cool or what you want to hear, but ‘what is this movie about, and what would best serve it?’ That process just leads to strange and remarkable places.”

His most recent works include ‘Cherry’ from The Russo Brothers, and Marvel’s ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’. He recently completed ‘Jumanji 3’, a continuation of the magical board game adventure story, and ‘Detective Pikachu’, following the story of the beloved Pikachu Pokémon character starring Ryan Reynolds, and the animated ‘Ron’s Gone Wrong’ film. His other recent work includes ‘Ralph Breaks the Internet’, which was nominated for Best Animated Feature. His other diverse credits include Captain America: Civil War, Kong: Skull Island, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, Big Hero 6, and Kingsman: The Golden Circle. His upcoming animation project, ‘The Gray Man, is due to be released in summer 2022.

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