Nicholas Britell | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Britell in 2025 | |
| Born | (1980-10-17)October 17, 1980 (age 45) New York City,New York, U.S. |
| Education | New Canaan Country School Hopkins School Juilliard School Harvard University |
| Occupation | Film composer |
| Spouse | Caitlin Sullivan |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
Musical artist | |
Nicholas Britell (born October 17, 1980) is an American film and television composer. He has received numerous accolades including anEmmy Award as well as nominations for threeAcademy Awards and aGrammy Award. He has receivedAcademy Award nominations forBest Original Score forMoonlight (2016),If Beale Street Could Talk (2018), andDon't Look Up (2021). He also scoredThe Big Short (2015) andVice (2018). He is also known for scoringBattle of the Sexes (2017),The King (2019),Cruella (2021), season 1 ofAndor (2022),She Said (2022), andJay Kelly (2025).
The soundtrack forHBO original seriesSuccession (2018–2023) marked Britell's entry into television. Britell scored all four seasons, earning theEmmy Award forOutstanding Original Main Title Theme Music in2019.[1] His scores for the second, third, and fourth seasons ofSuccession each earnedPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series nominations in2020,2022, and2023. His score forThe Underground Railroad was nominated for thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Limited or Anthology Series, Movie or Special in2021.
His works, as described bySoraya McDonald ofFilm Comment, "seem to organically straddle accessibility and sophistication in a way that goes beyond the typical programming of a big-city pops orchestra...That might have something to do with the fact that Britell has long had one foot in the world of hip-hop and another in the world of classical music."[2]
Britell was raised in aJewish family[3] inNew York City.[4] He attendedNew Canaan Country School in New Canaan, CT, and he graduated valedictorian from the college preparatory schoolHopkins School in 1999.[5] Britell is a graduate of theJuilliard School's Pre-College Division and aPhi Beta Kappa graduate ofHarvard College[6][7] in 2003.[8] At school, he was a member of theSignet Society, as well as the instrumental hip-hop group, The Witness Protection Program, in which he played keyboards and synthesizers.[4][9] He briefly worked atBear Stearns after graduating.[10]
Britell is part of an emerging generation of composers and artists who draw from an eclectic range of influences. His work is inspired byRachmaninoff,Gershwin,Philip Glass,Zbigniew Preisner,Quincy Jones andDr. Dre.[11]
In 2008, Britell gained wide notice performing his own work "Forgotten Waltz No. 2" inNatalie Portman's directorial debutEve.[11] He collaborated again with Portman, writing music for the filmNew York, I Love You.[12][13]
In 2011, Britell performed on piano with violin virtuosoTim Fain inPortals.[14] The multimedia project also featured performances by Craig Black, Julia Eichten and Haylee Nichele, and featured music by Philip Glass andNico Muhly, poetry byLeonard Cohen and choreography byBenjamin Millepied.[15][16] Regarding this collaboration,Vogue called Britell among "...the most talented young artists at work..."[17]
As a film composer, Britell created the music for the movieGimme the Loot, directed byAdam Leon.[18] The film would go on to compete in theUn Certain Regard section at the2012 Cannes Film Festival.[19][20] It won the Grand Jury Prize at theSXSW Film Festival in 2012.[21] The music for the film garnered special praise fromNew York Magazine[22] andVariety.[23]
Britell's film composing career continued in 2012 with the scoring ofMichele Mitchell'sPBS documentaryHaiti: Where Did the Money Go?[24] The film, which aired over 1,000 times in the United States on PBS stations and was screened at the Oakland Film Festival and the BolderLife Film Festival in 2012, is the winner of the 2013Edward R. Murrow Award for Best News Documentary[25] and winner of a 2012CINE Golden Eagle Award[26] and a CINE Special Jury Award for Best Investigative Documentary.[27]
Britell's music featured prominently in directorSteve McQueen'sOscar-winning film12 Years a Slave, for which he composed and arranged the on-camera music including the spiritual songs, work songs, featured violin performances, and dances.[28]Billboard called Britell "...the secret weapon in the music of12 Years a Slave".[28] "My Lord Sunshine", composed by Britell for12 Years a Slave, was eligible for the 2014 Oscars'Best Original Song list.[29] TheLos Angeles Times said of "My Lord Sunshine": "A work song, a spiritual, a blues lament, a communal statement – 'My Lord Sunshine (Sunrise)' is all of the above and more...[w]hat Britell accomplished is no easy feat, and it's a spiritual that feels and sounds of the era and deftly weaves in religious imagery with the daily horror of the slaves' lives."[30] Britell also notably reinterpreted "Roll Jordan Roll" for the film.[31][32] His work received wide critical acclaim and he was profiled inThe Wall Street Journal.[28]
As a film producer, Britell produced the short filmWhiplash, directed byDamien Chazelle, which won the Short Film Jury Award: US Fiction at the2013 Sundance Film Festival.[33] He subsequently helped produce the feature-filmWhiplash, also directed by Chazelle and starringMiles Teller andJ. K. Simmons.[34][35] TheWhiplash feature won the Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic and Audience Award: Dramatic at the2014 Sundance Film Festival, went on to receive 5 Oscar nominations (includingBest Picture), and won 3 Oscar awards.[36][37] Britell also wrote and produced the track "Reaction," produced the track "When I Wake," and performed and produced "No Two Words" for the film's soundtrack.[38]
In 2015, Britell scoredThe Seventh Fire, a documentary directed by Jack Pettibone Riccobono and presented byTerrence Malick, which debuted to critical acclaim at theBerlin International Film Festival.[39]
Britell scoredNatalie Portman's directorial debut feature filmA Tale of Love and Darkness, which screened at the2015 Cannes Film Festival.[40]Deadline called Britell's score for the film "riveting".[41]
Britell also scored the Oscar-winningThe Big Short, directed byAdam McKay, starringBrad Pitt,Christian Bale,Ryan Gosling, andSteve Carell, based on the bookThe Big Short byMichael Lewis, and released byParamount in December 2015.[42] In addition, Britell produced the soundtrack album for the film.[43]
In 2016, Britell scored directorGary Ross'sCivil-War era historical dramaFree State of Jones, starringMatthew McConaughey,Gugu Mbatha-Raw,Mahershala Ali, andKeri Russell.[44] The soundtrack album, produced by Britell, was released June 24, 2016 onSony Masterworks.[45]
Also in 2016, Britell wrote the original score for the critically acclaimed,Best Picture-winning filmMoonlight, directed byBarry Jenkins.[46][47] Britell's score received a 2017Academy Award for Best Original Score nomination and it was nominated for a 2017Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score in the Motion Picture category.[48]A. O. Scott ofThe New York Times praised Britell's score as "...both surprising and perfect."[49] Britell's original score was described as "... an enthralling collection of music that will linger in your mind and in your heart in much the same way as the film",[50] and named one of the Ten Best Music Moments of 2016 byBrooklyn Magazine.[51] The film's soundtrack album, named one of the top 25 Soundtrack Albums of 2016 oniTunes,[52] was produced by Britell and released byLakeshore Records, including a special vinyl collectors' edition.[53] Britell's "Middle of the World", from the soundtrack album, was named one of the top 25 Soundtrack Songs of 2016 on iTunes.[52]
Britell scored directorAdam Leon's filmTramps in 2016,[54] withNetflix acquiring worldwide distribution rights to the film at the2016 Toronto International Film Festival.[55]
Britell scoredFox Searchlight's tennis biopicBattle of the Sexes, directed byJonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, and released in 2017.[56]
He composed the title song fromChristina Aguilera's eighth studio albumLiberation (2018).[57][58]
In 2018, Britell once again collaborated with Barry Jenkins, scoring his filmIf Beale Street Could Talk. The film received wide critical acclaim and Britell was nominated for awards including theAcademy Award for Best Original Score,[59]BAFTA Award for Best Original Music,[60] andCritics' Choice Movie Award for Best Score.[61]
Britell composed thesoundtrack of the critically-acclaimedHBOblack comedy-drama seriesSuccession (2018–2023), his first time composing for a television series. ForSuccession'smain title theme, Britell won aPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music in 2019. He also receivedPrimetime Emmy nominations forOutstanding Music Composition for a Series in 2020,[62] 2022,[63] and 2023, and aGrammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media nomination in 2023.[64]
In 2019, Britell worked with American rapper,Pusha T, to create a remix of the main title theme forSuccession. The song features Pusha T adding rap vocals over the theme song.[65] Britell described the collaboration by saying "If I was going to collaborate with anyone on this track, Pusha T was the dream choice."[66]
On February 6, 2019, Britell confirmed he was composing the score for Barry Jenkins'sThe Underground Railroad, an original series on Amazon based onColson Whitehead'sPulitzer Prize winningnovel of the same name.[67] The show premiered onAmazon Video on May 14, 2021 to critical acclaim for both Jenkins and Britell. For his score, Britell received aPrimetime Emmy Award nomination forOutstanding Music Composition for a Limited or Anthology Series, Movie or Special at the73rd Primetime Emmy Awards.
Britell composed the music for Adam McKay's 2021 filmDon't Look Up, including the song "Just Look Up" performed byAriana Grande andKid Cudi. Britell received a nomination forBest Original Score at the94th Academy Awards for the score ofDon't Look Up. That same year, Britell scoredDisney'sOne Hundred and One Dalmatians live-action spin-offCruella.[68][69] At theWorld Soundtrack Awards, Britell was awardedFilm Composer of the Year in 2019 for his scores forVice andIf Beale Street Could Talk andTelevision Composer of the Year[70] in 2020 forSuccession. Britell also won Best Original Song at the 2021 ceremony alongsideFlorence Welch for "Call Me Cruella", written forCruella.
On February 16, 2022, it was reported that Britell would be composing thescore for theStar Wars streaming seriesAndor onDisney+.[71]
Britell is aSteinway Artist[72] and a Creative Associate of theJuilliard School.[73] In December 2018, it was announced that Britell would be a part ofEsa-Pekka Salonen's newly formed creative collective "brain trust" as Salonen takes the reins as music director of theSan Francisco Symphony.[74]
He is married to cellist Caitlin Sullivan.[75]
| Year | Title | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Eve | Natalie Portman |
| Year | Title | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | New York, I Love You | Natalie Portman |
| 2012 | Haiti: Where Did the Money Go | Michele Mitchell |
| Gimme the Loot | Adam Leon | |
| 2013 | 12 Years a Slave (additional music) | Steve McQueen |
| 2015 | The Seventh Fire | Jack Pettibone Riccobono |
| A Tale of Love and Darkness | Natalie Portman | |
| The Big Short | Adam McKay | |
| 2016 | Free State of Jones | Gary Ross |
| Moonlight | Barry Jenkins | |
| Tramps | Adam Leon | |
| 2017 | Battle of the Sexes | Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris |
| 2018 | If Beale Street Could Talk | Barry Jenkins |
| Vice | Adam McKay | |
| 2019 | The King | David Michôd |
| 2021 | Cruella | Craig Gillespie |
| Italian Studies | Adam Leon | |
| Don't Look Up | Adam McKay | |
| 2022 | Carmen | Benjamin Millepied |
| She Said | Maria Schrader | |
| 2024 | Blitz (additional music) | Steve McQueen |
| Mufasa: The Lion King (additional music) | Barry Jenkins | |
| 2025 | Mountainhead | Jesse Armstrong |
| Jay Kelly | Noah Baumbach |
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2018–2023 | Succession | 39 episodes |
| 2021 | The Underground Railroad | 10 episodes |
| 2021–2022 | Ziwe | Theme music by |
| 2022 | Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty | 10 episodes |
| 2022–2025 | Andor | 14 episodes |
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Whiplash | Damien Chazelle | Short film |
| 2014 | Whiplash | Damien Chazelle | Co-producer |
