Zimmer spent the early part of his career in the United Kingdom before moving to the United States. He is the head of the film music division atDreamWorks Pictures andDreamWorks Animation studios and works with other composers through the company that he founded,Remote Control Productions,[5] formerly known as Media Ventures. His studio inSanta Monica, California, has an extensive range of computer equipment and keyboards, allowing demo versions of film scores to be created quickly.[6]
Zimmer was born inFrankfurt,West Germany. As a young child, he lived inKönigstein-Falkenstein, where he played the piano at home but had piano lessons only briefly, as he disliked the discipline of formal lessons.[7] In one of hisReddit AMAs, he said: "My formal training was two weeks of piano lessons. I was thrown out of eight schools. But I joined a band. I am self-taught. But I've always heard music in my head. And I'm a child of the 20th century; computers came in very handy."[8] Zimmer attended theEcole d'Humanité, an international boarding school in theCanton of Bern, Switzerland.[9]
He moved to London as a teenager and attendedHurtwood House school.[10] During his childhood, he was strongly influenced by the film scores ofEnnio Morricone and has citedOnce Upon a Time in the West as the score that inspired him to become a film composer.[11]
In a speech at the1999 Berlin Film Festival, Zimmer stated that he is Jewish, and talked about his mother survivingWorld War II thanks to her escape from Germany to the UK in 1939. In an interview in May 2014, Zimmer revealed that it was difficult growing up inpost-War Germany being Jewish and said, "I think my parents were always wary of me telling the neighbors" that they were Jewish.[12]
In an interview withMashable in February 2013, he said of his parents: "My mother was very musical, basically a musician and my father was an engineer and an inventor. So I grew up modifying the piano, shall we say, which made my mother gasp in horror, and my father would think it was fantastic when I would attach chainsaws and stuff like that to the piano because he thought it was an evolution in technology."[13] In an interview with the German television stationZDF in 2006, he said: "My father died when I was just a child, and I escaped somehow into the music and music has been my best friend."[14]
Zimmer began his career playing keyboards and synthesizers in the 1970s, with the band Krakatoa.[15] He worked withthe Buggles, anew wave band formed in London in 1977 withTrevor Horn,Geoff Downes andBruce Woolley. Zimmer can be seen briefly in the Buggles' music video for the 1979 song "Video Killed the Radio Star".[16] After working with the Buggles, he started to work for the Italian groupKrisma, anew wave band formed in 1976 withMaurizio Arcieri and Christina Moser. He was a featured synthesist for Krisma's third album,Cathode Mamma. He has also worked with the bandHelden (withWarren Cann fromUltravox).[17]
In 1984, both Zimmer (on keyboards) and Cann (on drums), were invited to be part of the Spanish groupMecano for a live performance in Segovia (Spain). Two songs from this concert were included in theMecano: En Concierto album released in 1985 only in Spain. In 1985, he contributed to theShriekback albumOil and Gold.[18] In 1980, Zimmer co-produced a single, "History of the World, Part 1", with, and for, UK punk bandThe Damned, which was also included on their 1980 LP release,The Black Album, and carried the description of his efforts as "Over-Produced by Hans Zimmer."
While living in London, Zimmer wrote advertising jingles for Air-Edel Associates.[17] In the 1980s, Zimmer partnered withStanley Myers, a prolific film composer who wrote the scores for over sixty films. Zimmer and Myers co–founded the London–based Lillie Yard recording studio. Together, Myers and Zimmer worked on fusing the traditional orchestral sound with electronic instruments.[19] Some of the films on which Zimmer and Myers worked areMoonlighting (1982),Success Is the Best Revenge (1984),Insignificance (1985), andMy Beautiful Laundrette (1985). Zimmer's first solo score wasTerminal Exposure for directorNico Mastorakis in 1987, for which he also wrote the songs. Zimmer acted as score producer for the 1987 filmThe Last Emperor, which won theAcademy Award for Best Original Score.[17]
One of Zimmer's most durable works from his time in the United Kingdom was the theme song for the television game showGoing for Gold, which he composed with Sandy McClelland in 1987. In an interview with theBBC, Zimmer said: "Going for Gold was a lot of fun. It's the sort of stuff you do when you don't have a career yet. God, I just felt so lucky because this thing paid my rent for the longest time."[20]
A turning point in Zimmer's career occurred with the 1988 filmRain Man.[19]Hollywood directorBarry Levinson was looking for someone to scoreRain Man, and his wife heard the soundtrack CD of theanti-apartheid dramaA World Apart, for which Zimmer had composed the music. Levinson was impressed by Zimmer's work and hired him to scoreRain Man.[21] In the score, Zimmer uses synthesizers, mostly aFairlight CMI, mixed withsteel drums. Zimmer explained that "It was aroad movie, and road movies usually have jangly guitars or a bunch of strings. I kept thinking don't be bigger than the characters. Try to keep it contained. The Raymond character doesn't actually know where he is. The world is so different to him. He might as well be on Mars. So, why don't we just invent our own world music for a world that doesn't really exist?"[22] Zimmer's score forRain Man was nominated for anAcademy Award in 1989, and the film won four Academy Awards includingBest Picture.[23]
A year afterRain Man, Zimmer was asked to compose the score forBruce Beresford'sDriving Miss Daisy which, likeRain Man, won an Academy Award for Best Picture.Driving Miss Daisy's instrumentation consisted entirely of synthesizers andsamplers, played by Zimmer. According to an interview withSound on Sound magazine in 2002, the piano sounds heard within the score come from theRoland MKS–20, a rackmount synthesizer. Zimmer joked: "It didn't sound anything like a piano, but it behaved like a piano."[24]
"I listen to [Zimmer's] music and I don't even have to shut my eyes. I can see the pictures. And that's why, in many respects, I know I can talk pictures with Hans. He responds to pictures."
—Ridley Scott, director and producer and frequent collaborator with Zimmer.[25]
The soundtrack toRidley Scott's 1991 filmThelma & Louise by Zimmer featured the trademarkslide guitar performance byPete Haycock on the "Thunderbird" theme in the film. As a teenager, Zimmer was a fan of Haycock, and their collaboration on film scores includesK2 andDrop Zone.[26]Zimmer wrote the theme forTony Scott's 1993 filmTrue Romance, which he based onCarl Orff'sGassenhauer.Gassenhauer had previously been used in the 1973 filmBadlands, which had a similar story of a young man and a girl on the run following a violent crime.[27] The catchy theme, played on ninemarimbas, contrasts starkly with the violence of the film.[28]
For the 1992 filmThe Power of One, Zimmer travelled to Africa in order to use African choirs and drums in the recording of the score. On the strength of this work,Walt Disney Feature Animation approached Zimmer to compose the score for the 1994 filmThe Lion King. This was to be his first score for an animated film. Zimmer said that he had wanted to go to South Africa to record parts of the soundtrack, but was unable to visit the country as he had a police record there "for doing 'subversive' movies" after his work onThe Power of One. Disney studio bosses expressed fears that Zimmer would be killed if he went to South Africa, so the recording of the choirs was organised during a visit byLebo M.[29] Zimmer won numerous awards for his work onThe Lion King, including anAcademy Award forBest Original Score, aGolden Globe, and twoGrammys. In 1997, the score was adapted into aBroadway musical version which won theTony Award for Best Musical in 1998.[30][31]As of April 2012[update], the musical version ofThe Lion King is the highest grossing Broadway show of all time, having grossed $853.8 million.[32]
Zimmer's score forTony Scott's 1995 filmCrimson Tide won a Grammy Award for the main theme, which makes heavy use of synthesizers in place of traditional orchestral instruments. ForThe Thin Red Line (1998), Zimmer said that the directorTerrence Malick wanted the music before he started filming, so he recorded six and a half hours of music.[22] Zimmer's next project wasThe Prince of Egypt (1998), which was produced byDreamWorks Animation. He introducedOfra Haza, an Israeli Yemenite singer, to the directors, and they thought she was so beautiful that they designed one of the characters in the film to look like her.[22]
Zimmer'sscore for the 1998 filmThe Thin Red Line is regarded as one of his most important works. The nine-minute cue at the climax of the film, "The Journey to the Line", uses a recurring theme based on four chords, combined with a "ticking clock"motif that has been featured in a range of subsequent scores composed by Zimmer.[33] The piece has been used in numerous trailers and video games, and has earned the nickname "the forbidden cue" due to the tendency of film makers to use it as atemp track for dramatic scenes.[34]
In October 2000, Zimmer performed live in concert for the first time with an orchestra and choir at the 27th Annual Flanders International Film Festival inGhent.[38] While writing the score forThe Last Samurai, Zimmer felt that his knowledge ofJapanese music was extremely limited. He began doing extensive research, but the more he studied, the less he felt he knew. Zimmer took what he had written to Japan for feedback and was shocked when he was asked how he knew so much about Japanese music.[22]
Zimmer is noted for his work on the scores ofChristopher Nolan'sBatman Begins (2005) andThe Dark Knight (2008), which he co-composed withJames Newton Howard.[20] For thesoundtrack ofThe Dark Knight, Zimmer decided to represent the villain ofthe Joker by a single note played on the cello by his long-time colleagueMartin Tillman. Zimmer said: "I wanted to write something people would truly hate."[43] The scores for these films were disqualified from receivingAcademy Award nominations for Best Original Score due to too many composers being listed on the cue sheet.[44] Zimmer succeeded in reversing the decision not to nominateThe Dark Knight in December 2008, arguing that the process of creating a modern film score was collaborative and that it was important to credit a range of people who had played a part in its production.[45] Zimmer explained his approach to scoring with other musicians in an interview withSoundtrack.net in 2006:
Originally I had this idea that it should be possible to create some kind of community around this kind of work, and I think by muddying the titles – not having "you are the composer, you are the arranger, you are the orchestrator" – it just sort of helped us to work more collaboratively. It wasn't that important to me that I had "score by Hans Zimmer" and took sole credit on these things. It's likeGladiator: I gaveLisa Gerrard the co-credit because, even though she didn't write the main theme, her presence and contributions were very influential. She was more than just a soloist, and this is why I have such a problem with specific credits.[46]
For the 2009 filmSherlock Holmes,Daily Variety reported that Zimmer purchased an out-of-tune piano for 200 dollars and used it throughout the scoring process because of its "quirkiness".[47] For the 2011 sequel,Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, Zimmer and directorGuy Ritchie incorporated authenticRomani music, which they researched by visiting Slovakia, Italy, and France. The music in the film is played by Romani musicians.[48][49]
For the 2010 filmInception, Zimmer used electronic manipulation of the song "Non, je ne regrette rien". The horn sound in the score, described by Zimmer as "like huge foghorns over a city" became a popular feature infilm trailers. "It's funny how that sort of thing becomes part of thezeitgeist", he said. "But I suppose that's exactly what trailers are looking for: something iconic, lasts less than a second, and shakes the seats in the theater."[50][51]
Zimmer co-composed the music for the television seriesThe Bible, which was broadcast in March 2013, withLorne Balfe andLisa Gerrard, and the score for12 Years a Slave, which won theAcademy Award for Best Picture in March 2014. Zimmer composed theTomorrowland Hymn for theTomorrowland festival to celebrate its tenth anniversary in July 2014.[56]
Zimmer composed the music for the 2014 filmThe Amazing Spider-Man 2 alongside "The Magnificent Six", which consisted ofPharrell Williams,Johnny Marr,Michael Einziger,Junkie XL, Andrew Kawczynski, and Steve Mazzaro.[57][58]Zimmer composed the music for Christopher Nolan's 2014 filmInterstellar, which earned him another Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score.[59] He partnered with Junkie XL to compose the music for the 2016 filmBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. In an interview with BBC News in March 2016, Zimmer said that he was retiring from composing the music forsuperhero films, saying ofBatman v Superman: "This one was very hard for me to do, to try to find new language".[60]
Zimmer composed the main theme for the 2016 BBC nature documentaryPlanet Earth II, presented byDavid Attenborough. He later composed the score for the 2017 BBC nature documentaryBlue Planet II alongside Jacob Shea and David Fleming, also presented by David Attenborough.[61][62] In an interview withKirsty Wark on BBC Radio, Zimmer said in October 2022: "I think the only work that I've done that's worth anything is working for Sir David Attenborough on those programmes, because it's the only thing that actually means something to this world and ultimately might have an impact on how we approach this world."[63]
Zimmer composed the main theme for the 2016Netflix productionThe Crown.[64] Also in 2016 Zimmer released an online course teaching the basics of film scoring.[65] He next composed the score for Christopher Nolan's 2017 filmDunkirk, basing part of the score on a recording of a ticking watch that he had been given by Nolan.[66] Zimmer also worked on the score forDenis Villeneuve'sBlade Runner 2049. Hans Zimmer and co-composerBenjamin Wallfisch took over scoring duties afterJóhann Jóhannsson left the project.[67]
In 2018, Zimmer composed the score for the newFIFA Anthem, called "Living Football" in reference to the new motto of FIFA,[68] "Living Football" was also used as television intro theme for the2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.[69] Also in 2018, Zimmer remixed theUEFA Champions League Anthem with rapperVince Staples for EA Sports'FIFA video gameFIFA 19, with it also featuring in the game's reveal trailer.[70] Zimmer composed the score forDark Phoenix, directed bySimon Kinberg, contrary to his 2016 statements of not scoring another superhero film following his experience working onBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.[71] In 2019, he scored thephotorealistic animated remake of Disney'sThe Lion King, directed byJon Favreau.[72]
In June 2019, Zimmer was hired to create sounds forBMW's concept vehicle, theVision M Next.[75] He produced and composedwarning sounds for the electric car line. These sounds are both for those on the interior and on the exterior, and could help warn pedestrians that an electric car is approaching.[76][77]
On 6 January 2020, took over as composer for theJames Bond filmNo Time to Die after previous composerDan Romer left the project.[78] Speaking on scoring forNo Time to Die, Zimmer toldThe Hindu, "Having done the threeBatman movies—which are three movies to you but are 12 years of my life to me—I really understand whereDaniel [Craig] was with this; he dedicated 16 years of his life to Bond... I wanted to not only do a good score but dig a little deeper and honour the man, the work and all the people who've been working on this for so long".[79]
In 2022, he collaborated withCamila Cabello on the song "Take Me Back Home" for the documentary seriesFrozen Planet II.[82] Zimmer worked on the 2022 filmTop Gun: Maverick, contributing to the main title credits and other tracks.[83][84]
Zimmer's first wife was model Vicki Carolin, with whom he has a daughter.[88] The couple divorced in 1992.[89] On 3 April 2020, Zimmer filed for divorce from his second wife, Suzanne Zimmer, whom he married in 1995 and had three children.[90][89] On 15 June 2023, Zimmer proposed to his partner Dina De Luca on stage at London'sO2 Arena during one of his shows.[91][92]
In December 2010, Zimmer received a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame. He dedicated the award to his publicist and long-term friendRonni Chasen, who had been shot and killed inBeverly Hills the previous month.[96]
^Binkley, Christina (25 February 2011)."The Maestro in the 'Batcave'".The Wall Street Journal.Archived from the original on 26 December 2014. Retrieved27 February 2011.
^"Hans Zimmer Biographie".Universal Music France (in French). 28 November 2023. Archived fromthe original on 28 November 2023. Retrieved23 February 2024.
