The Best action composers.
by nicesegue | created - 16 Sep 2013 | updated - 11 Nov 2013 | PublicList by an action fan.
1. Steve Jablonsky
Composer | Transformers
Steve Jablonsky is an American film composer who is known for his collaborations with film directors Michael Bay and Peter Berg. He composed five Transformers films, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Lone ...
2. Hans Zimmer
Composer | Gladiator
German-born composer Hans Zimmer is recognized as one of Hollywood's most innovative musical talents. He featured in the music video for The Buggles' single "Video Killed the Radio Star", which became a worldwide hit and helped usher in a new era of global entertainment as the first music video to ...
3. Alan Silvestri
Composer | The Polar Express
In his ongoing, decades-long career as a composer, Alan Silvestri has blazed an innovative trail with his exciting and melodic scores, winning the applause of Hollywood and movie audiences the world over. With a credit list of over 100 films Silvestri has composed some of the most recognizable and ...
4. Andrew Keresztes
Soundtrack | Leprechaun
Andrew Keresztes is known for Leprechaun (1992), Excessive Force II: Force on Force (1995) and Class of 1999 II: The Substitute (1994).
5. Sylvester Levay
Music_department | Howard the Duck
Sylvester Levay is known for Howard the Duck (1986), Cobra (1986) and Carlito's Way (1993). He is married to Monika Levay.
6. Henry Jackman
Composer | Kingsman: The Secret Service
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 ...
7. Jerry Goldsmith
Composer | L.A. Confidential
Born on February 10, 1929, Jerry Goldsmith studied piano with Jakob Gimpel and composition, theory, and counterpoint with Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco. He also attended classes in film composition given by Miklós Rózsa at the Univeristy of Southern California. In 1950, he was employed as a clerk ...
8. Anthony Riparetti
Composer | Shark Hunter
Anthony Riparetti is known for Shark Hunter (2001), Interstellar Civil War: Shadows of the Empire (2017) and Adrenalin: Fear the Rush (1996).
9. James Newton Howard
Music_department | King Kong
James Newton Howard attended the University of Southern California's music school, but dropped out to tour with Elton John, and eventually compose music for film and television. He started with Head Office (1985) in 1985. He has been nominated for eight Academy Awards. He currently is a songwriter, ...
10. Mark Mancina
Music_department | Twister
Known for his wide-ranging talents, Mark Mancina's film scores traverse almost every genre: drama, action, comedy, suspense, and period epic. His dark, edgy music for the Oscar-winning Training Day (2001), is a benchmark score that expanded the boundaries of scoring street-wise drama, and is widely...
11. Atli Örvarsson
Composer | Defending Jacob
Atli Örvarsson (b. 1970) is an acclaimed Icelandic film and TV composer, conductor, and musician. His body of work spans over 40 major studio film productions, countless TV shows, collaborations with a range of artists including RZA, Khalid, Talos, and orchestral conducting, and ambitious solo work.
...
12. Harry Gregson-Williams
Composer | Shrek
Harry Gregson-Williams is one of Hollywood's most sought-after and prolific composers whose long list of film and television credits underscore the diverse range of his talents. He most recently wrote the music for "The Last Duel" and "House of Gucci" both directed by Ridley Scott. In addition, he ...
13. Randy Edelman
Music_department | The Last of the Mohicans
Randy Edelman was born on June 10, 1947 in Paterson, New Jersey, USA. He is a composer and actor, known for The Last of the Mohicans (1992), xXx (2002) and Anaconda (1997). He has been married to Jackie DeShannon since June 3, 1976. They have one child.
14. Paul Hertzog
Composer | Kickboxer
Paul Hertzog is known for Kickboxer (1989), Bloodsport (1988) and Breathing Fire (1991).
15. Philippe Mallier
Composer | Dobermann
Philippe Mallier is known for Dobermann (1997), Le harem de Mme Osmane (2000) and Un p'tit gars de Ménilmontant (2013).
17. Nick Glennie-Smith
Music_department | The Rock
Nick Glennie-Smith was born on October 3, 1951 in London, England, UK. He is a composer, known for The Rock (1996), We Were Soldiers (2002) and The Man in the Iron Mask (1998). He is married to Jan Glennie-Smith. They have four children.
18. Harold Faltermeyer
Soundtrack | Beverly Hills Cop
Harold Faltermeyer was born on October 5, 1952 in Munich, Bavaria, West Germany. He is a composer, known for Beverly Hills Cop (1984), Top Gun (1986) and Beverly Hills Cop II (1987). He was previously married to Karin Faltermeyer.
19. J. Peter Robinson
Composer | Cocktail
J. Peter Robinson was born on September 16, 1945 in Fulmer, Buckinghamshire, England, UK. He is a composer and actor, known for Cocktail (1988), Wayne's World (1992) and The World's Fastest Indian (2005). He has been married to Denise Hudson since 2000.
20. Graeme Revell
Composer | The Crow
Graeme Revell was born in New Zealand in 1955. He was graduated from The University of Auckland with degrees in economics and politics. He is a classically trained pianist and French horn player. Revell worked for as a regional planner in Australia and Indonesia and as an orderly in an Australian ...
21. John Powell
Composer | How to Train Your Dragon 2
John Powell was born on September 18, 1963 in London, England, UK. He is a composer, known for How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014), Happy Feet (2006) and Shrek (2001). He was previously married to Melinda Lerner.
22. Jim Goodwin
Soundtrack | The Lost Boys
Jim Goodwin attended school in Portland, Oregon in the 60s and 70s. His bands rocked high-school dances in that post-vietnam and pre-disco golden age of rock.
In the 80s, he recorded with the alternative rock band "The Call". It was during that time he worked with stars Bono, Peter Gabriel, and ...
23. Jeff Rona
Composer | Devil May Cry 5
Jeff Rona is an accomplished and award-winning contemporary composer for film, TV, and video games, as well as a recording artist and producer. He studied music, art, and photography, but left school to pursue music as his life's work.
Rona became an in-demand studio musician, arranger, sound ...
24. James Horner
Music_department | Titanic
James Horner began studying piano at the age of five, and trained at the Royal College of Music in London, England, before moving to California in the 1970s. After receiving a bachelor's degree in music at USC, he would go on to earn his master's degree at UCLA and teach music theory there. He ...
25. Klaus Badelt
Composer | Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Composer Klaus Badelt started his musical career writing and producing music for dozens of highly successful movies and commercials in his native Germany. In 1998, Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer invited him to move his musical home to Media Ventures in Santa Monica, CA. Since then, Klaus has ...
26. George S. Clinton
Composer | Mortal Kombat
George S. Clinton began his professional musical career as a songwriter, arranger, and session musician in Nashville, while earning degrees in music and drama at Middle Tennessee State University. The summer after graduation, George attended the Atlanta Pop Festival and, upon hearing Joe Cocker ...
27. Brian Tyler
Music_department | Avengers: Age of Ultron
Brian Theodore Tyler is an American composer, conductor, arranger and producer known for his film, television and video game scores. In his 24-year career, he has scored Transformers: Prime, Eagle Eye, The Expendables trilogy, Iron Man 3, Avengers: Age of Ultron with Danny Elfman, Now You See Me, ...
28. Éric Serra
Music_department | GoldenEye
Eric Serra was born on September 9th, 1959 near Paris in France. His mother died when he was only 7 years old. His father, Claude Serra was a well-know songwriter in France in late 50s and 60s. Serra began to learn play the guitar at 11 years old and became a professional musician for Mory Kante;, ...
29. BT
Soundtrack | The Fast and the Furious
Brian Wayne Transeau (born October 4, 1971), better known by his stage name BT, is an American music producer, composer, technologist, audio technician, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. An artist in the electronica music genre, he is credited as a pioneer of the trance and intelligent...
30. Elliot Goldenthal
Music_department | Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
Elliot Goldenthal is an Academy Award-winning composer best known for his original music scores for such films as Frida (2002) and Across the Universe (2007), among his other works.
He was born on May 2, 1954, in Brooklyn, New York. His father was a house-painter, and his mother was a seamstress. ...
31. Danny Elfman
Music_department | The Nightmare Before Christmas
As Danny Elfman was growing up in the Los Angeles area, he was largely unaware of his talent for composing. It wasn't until the early 1970s that Danny and his older brother Richard Elfman started a musical troupe while in Paris; the group "Mystic Knights of Oingo-Boingo" was created for Richard's ...
32. Don Davis
Composer | The Matrix Reloaded
Donald Davis is an American film composer and conductor who is known for composing the music of The Matrix trilogy, Enter the Matrix, The Animatrix, SeaQuest 2032, the Beauty and the Beast television series and Jurassic Park III. He did orchestration for films composed by James Horner, Randy Newman...
33. David Michael Frank
Composer | Out for Justice
David Michael Frank was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland where he studied classical piano and composition at the Peabody Conservatory of Music. After graduating from Nothwestern University, David moved to New York, where he became Broadway's youngest conductor. His credits include The Me ...
34. David Joseph Wesley
Music_department | Family Guy
Grammy Award nominated composer David Joseph Wesley is one of the most prolific composers working in film, TV, and video games today. He has just released an album, "Music To Smuggle By" that was written for Fox's "Firefly Online" video game, based on the groundbreaking TV series. Last August, in ...
35. Craig Armstrong
Soundtrack | Moulin Rouge!
Craig Armstrong, born in Glasgow, 1959. Studied composition and piano at the Royal Academy of Music, London from 1977 to 1981.
From his base in Glasgow he has written for film, classical commissions and solo recordings. He has composed for Baz Lurhmann's Romeo and Juliet and Moulin Rouge!, The Quiet...
36. Trevor Morris
Composer | Hunter Killer
2 Time EMMY Award winning composer Trevor Morris is a dual Citizen of Canada and Great Britain, living and working in Los Angeles. Trevor composes music for Feature Film, Television and Video Games. He is most recognized for his Television work on "The Tudors", "The Borgias" and "Vikings". As well ...
37. Clint Mansell
Composer | Black Swan
Clinton Darryl Mansell is an English singer, musician and film composer known for his collaborations with Darren Aronofsky. He composed Pi, Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain, Black Swan, The Wrestler, Noah, Ghost in the Shell, Peacemaker, Doom Patrol, Loving Vincent, Mass Effect 3, Titans, World ...
38. Christopher Young
Composer | Sinister
Composer Christopher Young was born in Red Bank, New Jersey. After graduating from Hampshire College in Massachusetts with a Bachelor of Arts degree in music, Young went on to pursue his post-graduate studies at North Texas State University. After college Christopher moved to Los Angeles, ...
39. Christopher Gordon
Music_department | Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Christopher Gordon was born in London, England, UK. He is known for Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003), Daybreakers (2009) and Mao's Last Dancer (2009).
40. Ry Cooder
Soundtrack | Primary Colors
Born in Santa Monica, Ca., Ry Cooder, at the age of four had an accident which left him blind in one eye. He became a bit secluded and began playing the guitar. His biggest influences include Blind Willie Johnson, Arthur "Blind" Blake, Joseph Spence and Curtis Mayfield. Cooder has played on several...
41. Charlie Clouser
Music_department | Saw
Charlie Clouser is a recording artist and composer for film and television who lives in Los Angeles.
The recipient of sixteen BMI Film & TV Music awards, Charlie has also received ten platinum and gold record awards for his work as a member of the band Nine Inch Nails, and as a producer, programmer,...
42. Gavin Greenaway
Music_department | The Hunger Games
Gavin Greenaway is a British Emmy ® award-winning pianist, composer and conductor with an extensive catalog of achievements: conducting over 100 feature film and television soundtracks, composing for major entertainment and cultural events, and producing and songwriting with chart-topping artists.
...
43. Gordon Goodwin
Soundtrack | Star Trek: Nemesis
A well rewarded Composer, arranger, keyboardist and woodwind player, Goodwin has built a larger-than-life reputation throughout the music industry for his composing, arranging and playing skills. Ray Charles, Christina Aguilera, Johnny Mathis, Alejandro Fernandez, Patti Austin, Toni Braxton, John ...
44. Ron Mael
Soundtrack | The Sparks Brothers
Ron Mael was born on August 12, 1945 in Culver City, California, USA. He is a composer and actor, known for The Sparks Brothers (2021), Annette (2021) and Black Rain (1989).
45. Russell Mael
Soundtrack | Annette
Born and raised in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, and a UCLA Theater Arts and Filmmaking graduate, Russell Mael is one half of the influential American rock and pop duo Sparks with brother Ron Mael. Originally known as Halfnelson the band changed their name to Sparks (a play on The Marx Brothers) ...
46. Varouje
Music_department | Knock Off
Varouje is known for Knock Off (1998), Mysterious Island (1995) and The Circuit (2001).
47. Vangelis
Composer | Blade Runner
Vangelis was a composer and performer who worked almost exclusively with electronic instruments. With Jean-Michel Jarre and Mike Oldfield in the 1970s, Vangelis was a pioneer in the instrumental music and a main influence in the creation of the musical genre "new age," a style related to spiritual,...
48. Michael Kamen
Soundtrack | Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
Michael Kamen was born on April 15, 1948 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a composer and actor, known for Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), Don Juan DeMarco (1994) and X-Men (2000). He was married to Sandra Keenan. He died on November 18, 2003 in London, England, UK.
49. David Arnold
Soundtrack | Casino Royale
David Arnold was born on January 23, 1962 in Luton, England, UK. He is a composer and actor, known for Casino Royale (2006), Independence Day (1996) and Godzilla (1998). He has been married to Ellie Pole since June 8, 1996. They have three children.
50. Howard Shore
Music_department | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Howard Shore is a Canadian composer, born in Toronto. He was born in a Jewish family. He started studying music when 8-years-old, and played as a member of bands by the time he was 13-years-old. He was interested in a professional career in music as a teenager. He studied music at the Berklee ...
51. Ilan Eshkeri
Composer | Layer Cake
Ilan Eshkeri is one of the most diverse and innovative composers in Britain today. His music transcends genres and mediums, with a focus on emotional narrative that deeply connects with his audience, leaving an indelible mark on the world of music.
Eshkeri is Known for films such as Layer Cake, ...
52. John Murphy
Composer | The Suicide Squad
John Murphy is a British film composer from Liverpool. He began composing music scores for films in the early 1990s, working on several successful British movies, enjoying particular success with the soundtracks to Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) and Snatch (2000).
Since 2000, Murphy has ...
53. Lorne Balfe
Composer | The Lego Batman Movie
Lorne Balfe was born on February 23, 1976 in Inverness, Scotland, UK. He is a composer, known for The Lego Batman Movie (2017), Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011) and The Dark Knight (2008).
54. David Buckley
Composer | The Sandman
David Buckley is known for The Sandman (2022), Jason Bourne (2016) and Papillon (2017).
55. Ramin Djawadi
Composer | Game of Thrones
Ramin Djawadi is an Iranian-German film score composer known for composing the hit HBO series Game of Thrones and the Marvel films Blade: Trinity, Iron Man and Eternals. He also composed Clash of the Titans, A Wrinkle in Time, Pacific Rim, Westworld, Gears of War 4 and 5, Medal of Honor, Open ...
56. Clay Duncan
Music_department | Snow White and the Huntsman
Clay Duncan was born in Pascagoula, Mississippi, USA. Clay is known for Snow White and the Huntsman (2012), Deja Vu (2006) and Iron Man (2008).
57. Don Harper
Music_department | Shooter
Don Harper is known for Shooter (2007), I Am Number Four (2011) and Armageddon (1998).
58. Blake Neely
Composer | Greyhound
Blake Neely was born on April 28, 1969 in Paris, Texas, USA. He is a composer and actor, known for Greyhound (2020), All American (2018) and You (2018).
59. Geoff Zanelli
Composer | Leo
Emmy Award-winning composer Geoff Zanelli is a standout in the film and television scoring industry, garnering accolades and recognition for his diverse musical voice. Zanelli has composed for directors such as Gore Verbinski and Ridley Scott; writer/directors David Koepp, Peter Hedges and David ...
60. Gary Chang
Composer | Under Siege
Gary Chang was born on February 22, 1953 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. He is a composer, known for Under Siege (1992), The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996) and Double Team (1997).
61. Robert Folk
Composer | Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls
Robert Folk is a graduate and former faculty member of the famed Juilliard School in New York City. Since completing his Doctorate, Mr. Folk has composed and conducted the musical scores for over 95 feature films. His extensive credits include Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995), Nothing To Lose ...
62. Christopher Franke
Composer | Universal Soldier
Born in Berlin, Germany in April, 1953, Christopher Franke studied classical music and composition at the Berlin Conservatory. At that time he was influenced by such composers as Krzysztof Penderecki, John Cage and Karlheinz Stockhausen and was actively involved in rock and jazz music.
Together with...
63. Lucas Vidal
Composer | The Raven
After 10 years in Hollywood, multifaceted Spanish soundtrack composer Lucas Vidal, has undertaken more than twenty US and Spanish movies, including titles such as 'Fast and Furious 6', "The Raven", "Palmeras en la Nieve" or "Nobody Wants The Night".
Aside from soundtracks, Lucas has landed his music...
65. Joseph Trapanese
Composer | Oblivion
Joseph Trapanese is a composer and music producer known for integrating his extensive classical training with his skill producing electronic music. He has crafted uniquely hybrid and inventive scores for a number of film and television projects, including Tron: Legacy (with Daft Punk), Oblivion (...
66. Anthony Gonzalez
Soundtrack | Oblivion
Anthony Gonzalez was born in 1980 in Antibes, Alpes-Maritimes, France. He is a composer and producer, known for Oblivion (2013), Divergent (2014) and Chronicle (2012).
67. Paul Linford
Music_department | Deep Blue Sea
Paul Linford is known for Deep Blue Sea (1999), I Am Number Four (2011) and Armageddon (1998).
68. John Williams
Composer | Jurassic Park
As one of the best known, awarded, and financially successful composers in US history, John Williams is as easy to recall as John Philip Sousa, Aaron Copland or Leonard Bernstein, illustrating why he is "America's composer" time and again. With a massive list of awards that includes over 52 Oscar ...
69. Elmer Bernstein
Composer | Far from Heaven
Elmer Bernstein was educated at the Walden School and New York University. He served in the US Army Air Corps in World War II, writing scores for the service radio unit. He also wrote and arranged musical numbers for Glenn Miller's Army Air Force Band. A prolific and respected film music composer, ...
70. Penka Kouneva
Composer | Pandora
Recognized in Hollywood as an extraordinary talent, Penka Kouneva has composed on iconic video games (League of Legends, Prince of Persia, The Mummy), the Netflix animated series Dragon Age: Absolution, a NASA theme park at the Kennedy Space Center, and numerous feature films (the Oscar contender ...
71. Clinton Shorter
Composer | District 9
Clinton Shorter was born on March 18, 1971 in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He is a composer, known for District 9 (2009), 2 Guns (2013) and Contraband (2012).
72. Stanley Clarke
Composer | Boyz n the Hood
Four-time Grammy Award Winner Stanley Clarke has attained "living legend" status during his over 40-year career as a bass virtuoso. He is the first bassist in history who doubles on acoustic and electric bass with equal ferocity and the first jazz-fusion bassist ever to headline tours, selling out ...
73. John Frizzell
Composer | Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe
John Frizzell has composed music for Film and Television across a wide range of genres in his career. Recently his dark mysterious score for two seasons of Kevin Williamson's CBS All Access series Tell Me A Story, is a sharp contrast to his comedic score for FOX television's Duncanville starring ...
74. John Ottman
Editor | Bohemian Rhapsody
John Ottman holds dual distinctions as a leading film composer and an award winning film editor. Ottman has often completed both monumental tasks on the same films. Such remarkable double duties have included The Usual Suspects, X-Men 2, Superman Returns, Valkyrie, and Jack the Giant Killer. He has...
75. Basil Poledouris
Composer | RoboCop
Basil Poledouris was born on August 21, 1945 in Kansas City. He started taking piano lessons when he was 7 years old. Eventually, he went on to become a student at USC, where he studied the arts of directing, cinematography, editing, sound and, of course, music. It was also at USC he met John Milius...
76. Bear McCreary
Composer | The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
Bear McCreary is a degreed graduate of the prestigious USC Thornton School of Music (in 'Composition and Recording Arts'). Bear McCreary was one of a small and select group of proteges of the late, many-honored film composer Elmer Bernstein. Although he is now firmly in the mainstream of film ...
77. Joel McNeely
Music_department | Air Force One
Joel McNeely was born on March 28, 1959 in Madison, Wisconsin, USA. He is a composer, known for Air Force One (1997), The Avengers (1998) and Soldier (1998).
78. Trevor Jones
Composer | Cliffhanger
As a child in Cape Town, Trevor Jones lived opposite the Gem Cinema. The theater was so old and worn out that there was often a loss of the soundtrack, which caused him to realize its power. The fact that everyone in his family worked in film or the theater made it easy to get support in his career...
79. Mark Isham
Composer | Crash
From his days as one of the pioneering icons of electronic music to his current status as a world-renowned legendary film composer, Mark Isham continues to be one of the most prolific and provocative artists on the scene. His gift for creating unforgettable melodies and his love of fresh, ...
80. Steven Price
Composer | Gravity
Steven Price is an Academy Award and Emmy Award-winning composer. In 2014 his groundbreaking score for Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity won him not only the Academy Award but also the BAFTA, the Critics' Choice Award, the Satellite Award, and ASCAP's first-ever Film Composer of The Year Award. He has since...
81. Trevor Rabin
Composer | Deep Blue Sea
Trevor Rabin was born in South Africa in 1954. He began playing guitar at the age of 12 after having had piano lessons since he was a toddler. In 1972 he formed the band Rabbit becoming the most successful rock act ever to emerge from South Africa. Rabin left Rabbit to pursue a solo career in ...
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