Ramin Djawadi (born 19 July 1974) is a German[1][2][3] film score composer, conductor, and record producer. He is known for his scores for the HBO series Game of Thrones, for which he was nominated for Grammy Awards in 2018 and 2020.[4] He is also the composer for the HBO Game of Thrones prequel series, House of the Dragon (2022–present).[5] He has scored films such as Clash of the Titans, Pacific Rim, Warcraft, A Wrinkle in Time, Iron Man and Eternals, television series including 3 Body Problem, Prison Break, Person of Interest, Jack Ryan, and Westworld, and video games such as Medal of Honor, Gears of War 4, Gears 5, and System Shock 2. He won two consecutive Emmy Awards for Game of Thrones, in 2018 for the episode "The Dragon and the Wolf" and in 2019 for "The Long Night".[6]
Ramin Djawadi | |
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![]() Djawadi in 2008 | |
Background information | |
Born | Duisburg, North Rhine-Westphalia, West Germany | 19 July 1974
Occupation(s) | |
Years active | 1998–present |
Labels | |
Website | www |
Early life
editDjawadi was born in Duisburg, Germany to an Iranian father and a German mother.[2] He went to Krupp Gymnasium in Duisburg, West Germany and studied at Berklee College of Music.[7][8]
Career
editAfter graduating from Berklee College of Music in 1998,[9] Djawadi garnered the attention of Hans Zimmer, who recruited him to Remote Control Productions.[10] Djawadi moved to Los Angeles and worked as an assistant to Klaus Badelt. From there on he made additional music and arrangements for Badelt and Zimmer movies, such as Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, The Time Machine, and the Academy Award-nominated film Something's Gotta Give. He co-composed the music for System Shock 2 (1999). In 2003, he and Badelt composed the score of Beat the Drum.[11]
In 2004, Djawadi went out on his own with Blade: Trinity, collaborating with RZA for director David S. Goyer. This was the beginning of his relationship with Goyer for both film and television. The following year, Djawadi continued making additional music for Zimmer in films such as Batman Begins and The Island, which was his last time working in the background of another composer. The same year, he composed the Emmy-nominated main title themes and scores for Prison Break and the related show Breakout Kings.[12]
In 2006, Djawadi scored the first Sony Pictures Animation project, Open Season, followed by the sequel Open Season 2 (2008). Djawadi's ethereal score for the film Mr. Brooks (2007) earned him a World Soundtrack Award for Discovery of the Year nomination. His other scores include Deception, Robert Towne's Ask the Dust, and Iron Man. Djawadi was nominated for Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media[13] for his work on Iron Man.
Djawadi wrote the score for Goyer's horror thriller The Unborn (2009), produced by Michael Bay. Djawadi collaborated with Goyer on the television show FlashForward that year, earning him his second Emmy nomination.
In 2010, Djawadi completed Warner Brothers' Clash of the Titans. The same year, he scored the soundtrack for the video game Medal of Honor.
In 2011, he was selected to score HBO's fantasy drama Game of Thrones.[14] His work on Game of Thrones has garnered him several industry awards and recognition including a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series in September 2018 for the score "The Dragon and the Wolf".[15] For his work on season 7, he was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media.[16] This was his second nomination in this category after being nominated before for Iron Man in 2009. In 2011, he worked on the CBS crime drama Person of Interest.[17]
In 2012, he wrote the score for American action thriller film Safe House.
In 2013, Djawadi composed for the science fiction film Pacific Rim. He scored FX's vampire drama The Strain, created by Pacific Rim director Guillermo del Toro.[18]
In 2014, Djawadi wrote the score for an American action horror film Dracula Untold.
In 2016, Djawadi composed for the fantasy film Warcraft and the HBO science fiction show Westworld.[19][20] The same year, Djawadi composed the score for the fantasy action monster film The Great Wall.[21]
In 2017, Djawadi composed the music for American survival drama film The Mountain Between Us.
In 2018, Djawadi scored American science fantasy adventure film A Wrinkle in Time and American supernatural horror film Slender Man.
He wrote the music for Amazon Prime Video’s political action thriller television series Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan (also known simply as Jack Ryan).
Djawadi scored The Queen's Corgi, an animation film directed by frequent collaborator Ben Stassen.[22][better source needed] He co-wrote "Hollow Crown " alongside Ellie Goulding in For the Throne: Music Inspired by the HBO Series Game of Thrones.[23] In 2019, he won his second Emmy Award in a row for the Game of Thrones episode "The Long Night".[6]
In 2019, Djawadi returned to the Gears of War series to compose the music for Gears 5.
He received a third Grammy Award nomination for his work in season 8 of Game of Thrones, in the Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media category.[24]
Djawadi composed the score for the 2021 Marvel Studios film Eternals, which marked his return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) since 2008's Iron Man. Djawadi composed music for the trailer of Magic: The Gathering: Theros Beyond Death, a card game. Djawadi co-composed music with Brandon Campbell for the second episode of Apple TV+'s series Amazing Stories titled "The Heat". He composed music for the Disney+'s nature documentary film Elephant. Djawadi composed the score for Lisa Joy's feature film debut Reminiscence. He also co-composed the music for the Amazon Game's New World with Brandon Campbell.
He scored the music for Ruben Fleischer's Uncharted based on the videogame franchise of same name. He reunited with Game Of Thrones creator D.B Weiss and Tom Morello, scoring the Netflix film, Metal Lords, directed by Peter Solliet. He scored Sony's The Man from Toronto, directed by Patrick Hughes and the Game of Thrones prequel series, House of the Dragon.
In 2023, he composed the music for the first season of American series 3 Body Problem, which premiered on Netflix on 21 March 2024. The accompanying soundtrack, titled 3 Body Problem (Soundtrack from the Netflix Series), was released on Apple Music on 15 March 2024, and subsequently on YouTube Music under the same name in March 2024.
Personal life
editDjawadi is married to Jennifer Hawks, a music executive in the film industry.[25] They are parents of twins.[26] According to Djawadi, he experiences the perceptual phenomenon known as synesthesia whereby he may "associate colours with music, or music with colours", and it allows him to visualize music.[27]
Works and awards
editTours
edit- Game of Thrones Live Concert Experience (2017–2019)
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Rachel Brodsky (14 April 2019). "Music Is Coming: Composer Ramin Djawadi Looks Back On Eight Epic Seasons Of 'Game Of Thrones'". Grammy Awards. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
- ^ a b Kalus, Ruben (17 May 2018). "No flutes allowed: Composer Ramin Djawadi on the music of Game of Thrones". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
- ^ Monger, James Christopher. "Ramin Djawadi Biography". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 22 April 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
- ^ "Search Results for Ramin djawadi". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
- ^ Hall, Sophia Alexandra (30 August 2022). "House of the Dragon brings back the original Game of Thrones theme music, but fans are divided". Classic fm. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
- ^ a b "Ramin Djawadi". Television Academy. Archived from the original on 31 August 2019. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
- ^ Ali, Lorraine (21 March 2017). "When music and dragons meet: 'Game of Thrones' comes to the Forum". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 6 December 2017. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
- ^ Stangland, Sean (17 February 2017). "'Game of Thrones' composer brings immersive tour to United Center". Daily Herald. Archived from the original on 5 December 2017. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
- ^ "Ramin Djawadi | Berklee College of Music". www.berklee.edu. Archived from the original on 25 January 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
- ^ Keegan, Rebecca (6 October 2017). "From *Game of Thrones* to Idris Elba's Love Scenes, Composer Ramin Djawadi Is Responsible for the Music That Makes Your Heart Thud". HWD. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
- ^ Schweiger, Daniel (2 July 2013). "Audio: On the Score with Ramin Djawadi :: Film Music Magazine". Film Music Magazine. Archived from the original on 6 December 2017. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
- ^ Debnath, Neela (24 July 2015). "Prison Break season 5: Ramin Djawadi says he would 'absolutely' return to the show". Daily Express. Archived from the original on 19 April 2017. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
- ^ "Ramin Djawadi". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. 26 November 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
- ^ Victoria Ellison (15 April 2013). "Game of Thrones Composer Ramin Djawadi: 'I'm Just Trying to Create Something Magical' (Q&A)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 25 December 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
- ^ "Outstanding Music Composition For A Series (Original Dramatic Score) - 2018". Emmys. Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
- ^ Romano, Nick (28 November 2017). "Grammy nominations: Game of Thrones earns first nod". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 7 January 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
- ^ "Game of Thrones Soundtrack Details". Film Music Reporter. 31 May 2011. Archived from the original on 25 July 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
- ^ "Ramin Djawadi to Score Guillermo Del Toro's The Strain". Film Music Reporter. 27 September 2013. Archived from the original on 12 November 2017. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
- ^ "Ramin Djawadi to Score Duncan Jones' 'Warcraft' Movie". filmmusicreporter.com. 17 October 2014. Archived from the original on 11 May 2015. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
- ^ "Ramin Djawadi to Score HBO's 'Westworld'". Film Music Reporter. 30 December 2014. Archived from the original on 30 December 2014. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
- ^ "Ramin Djawadi to Score 'The Great Wall'". Film Music Reporter. 18 August 2015. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
- ^ The Queen's Corgi (2019) - IMDb, archived from the original on 8 September 2019, retrieved 29 June 2019
- ^ "Hollow Crown Piano Sheet Music from Game of Thrones by Ellie Goulding - OKTAV". www.oktav.com. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
- ^ "2020 GRAMMY Awards: Complete Nominees List". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. 18 November 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
- ^ David, Mark (22 August 2013). "Late Thursday Afternoon This And Thats". Variety. Archived from the original on 5 December 2017. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
- ^ "From Game of Thrones to Idris Elba's Love Scenes, Composer Ramin Djawadi Is Responsible for the Music That Makes Your Heart Thud". Vanity Fair. 6 October 2017.
- ^ Renfro, Kim (7 July 2016). "Meet the musical genius behind the 'Game of Thrones' soundtrack who watches each season before anyone else". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 31 January 2017. Retrieved 22 December 2016.