Harry Gregson-Williams (born 13 December 1961)[1] is a British composer, conductor, orchestrator, and record producer. He has composed music for video games, television and films including the Metal Gear series, Spy Game, Phone Booth, Man on Fire, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian, Déjà Vu, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The Martian, Antz, The Tigger Movie, Chicken Run and its sequel, the Shrek franchise, Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas, Flushed Away, Arthur Christmas, Early Man, and Catch-22. He is also the older brother of fellow composer Rupert Gregson-Williams.
Harry Gregson-Williams | |
|---|---|
| Born | 13 December 1961 |
| Origin | Sussex, England |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | |
| Instruments | |
| Years active | 1990–present |
| Labels | Wavecrest |
Gregson-Williams worked with several film directors such as Ridley Scott, Tony Scott, Andrew Adamson, Ben Affleck, Joel Schumacher, Antoine Fuqua, Niki Caro, Nick Park, and Dan Ireland.
Education
Gregson-Williams won a musical scholarship to St John's College School in Cambridge at the age of seven. He was a child chorister at the school and later attended Stowe School, an independent boarding school in the civil parish of Stowe in Buckinghamshire, where he was a music scholar. He next went to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.[2]
He learned to play the piano as a child on a Broadwood piano which his father had bought with the winnings from a hundred-to-one bet during the Grand National.[3]
Discography
Film
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
| Year | Title | Director(s) | Studio(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Mulan | Niki Caro | Walt Disney Pictures | Themes by Jerry Goldsmith Additional music by Stephanie Economou and Tom Howe |
| 2021 | Infinite | Antoine Fuqua | Paramount+ | — |
| The Last Duel | Ridley Scott | 20th Century Studios | — | |
| House of Gucci | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Bron Creative United Artists Releasing | — | ||
| Al Kameen | Pierre Morel | AGC Studios Image Nation Abu Dhabi | — | |
| 2022 | Return to Space | Jimmy Chin Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi | Netflix | Co-composed with Mychael Danna |
| Polar Bear | Alastair Fothergill Jeff Wilson | Disneynature | — | |
| 2023 | Meg 2: The Trench | Ben Wheatley | Warner Bros. Pictures | — |
| Retribution | Nimród Antal | Lionsgate Roadside Attractions | — | |
| Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget | Sam Fell | Netflix Aardman Animations | — | |
| 2024 | Gladiator II | Ridley Scott | Paramount Pictures | — |
Television
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | G.B.H. | 2 episodes music coordinator |
| 1992 | Champion Children | |
| 1999 | The Hunger | Episode: "Sanctuary" |
| 2002 | AFP: American Fighter Pilot | |
| 2004 | Father of the Pride | 3 episodes |
| 2007–2008 | The Riches | |
| 2007 | Shrek the Halls | TV special |
| 2017–2018 | Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams | |
| 2019 | Whiskey Cavalier | Composed with Tom Howe |
| 2019 | Catch-22 | Composed with Rupert Gregson-Williams |
| 2020 | Manhunt | Composed season 2 with Stephanie Economou |
| 2020 | Amazing Stories | Episode: "Signs of Life" |
| 2022-2023 | The Gilded Age | Composed with Rupert Gregson-Williams [5] |
Video games
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty | With Norihiko Hibino |
| 2004 | Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater | With Norihiko Hibino |
| 2007 | Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare | Main theme only and music producer With Stephen Barton |
| 2008 | Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots | With Nobuko Toda, Shuichi Kobori and Kazuma Jinnouchi |
| 2014 | Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes | With Ludvig Forssell |
| 2014 | Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare | Main title and themes only With audiomachine (Paul Dinletir and Kevin Rix) |
| 2015 | Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain | Music producer Score composed by Ludvig Forsell, Justin Burnett and Daniel James |
Rides
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Shrek 4-D | At various theme parks around the world. Based on the Shrek film franchise. |
Awards and nominations
Primetime Emmy Awards
| Year | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Outstanding Music Composition for a Limited Series, Movie or Special (Original Dramatic Score) | Electric Dreams: The Commute | Nominated |
| 2022 | Outstanding Music Composition for a Documentary Series or Special | Return to Space | Nominated |
References
External links
- Harry Gregson-Williams at IMDb
- Artist profile at OverClocked ReMix
- Harry Gregson-Williams discography at MusicBrainz
- An interview with Harry Gregson-Williams
- Epicenter Games Interviews Harry Gregson-Williams, an interview with Harry Gregson-Williams regarding Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, from EpicenterGames
- Harry Gregson-Williams at Scorereviews.com