Henry Jackman

Biography:

Henry Pryce Jackman (born 1 June 1974) is an English composer, conductor, and music arranger, known for his work on both film and television. Born in Hillingdon, London, he studied classical music at St. Paul’s Cathedral Choir School, Eton College, Framlingham College, and New College, Oxford.

Jackman has collaborated on programming and production with artists such as Mike Oldfield (Voyager), Sally Oldfield (Flaming Star), Trevor Horn/Art of Noise (The Seduction of Claude Debussy), Elton John, and Gary Barlow. He co-produced Seal’s unreleased 2001 album Togetherland, co-writing “This Could Be Heaven,” which was featured in the film The Family Man and included on the deluxe edition of Seal’s compilation Hits. He has released three albums of his own: Utopia (2003), Transfiguration (2005), and Acoustica (2007, with Augustus Isadore).

Since 2006, Jackman has contributed to film scores, often working under mentor Hans Zimmer. His roles included music programmer for The Da Vinci Code, music arranger for The Dark Knight, and providing additional music for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, The Simpsons Movie, Kung Fu Panda, and Hancock. In 2009, he, Zimmer, and John Powell won the 2008 Annie Award for Music in an Animated Television Production or Short Form for Secrets of the Furious Five (a Kung Fu Panda spin-off). Jackman has since composed full scores for films such as Monsters vs. Aliens, Henri 4, Gulliver’s Travels, X-Men: First Class, Winnie the Pooh, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Wreck-It Ralph, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, and Ron’s Gone Wrong. His notable video game scores include Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, and Just Cause 3. In March 2022, Reservoir Media acquired the rights to his catalog.

Jackman comes from a musical family. His father, Andrew Pryce Jackman, was a keyboardist and arranger with The Syn and longtime collaborator with Chris Squire of Yes. His uncle, Gregg Jackman, is a sound engineer and producer who has worked with the King’s Singers and Barclay James Harvest; both Henry and Gregg contributed to Moa’s 1999 album Universal. His grandfather, Bill Jackman, played clarinet on The Beatles’ “When I’m Sixty-Four” from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Jackman has collaborated with directors including Fergal Reilly, Don Hall, Chris Miller, Rob Letterman, Matthew Vaughn, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Raman Hui, Edward Zwick, the Russo brothers, Jake Kasdan, Sam Hargrave, and Rich Moore. His filmography spans Kong: Skull Island, X-Men: First Class, Puss in Boots, Monsters vs. Aliens, Captain Phillips, Kick-Ass and Kick-Ass 2, Wreck-It Ralph, Turbo, Big Hero 6, Pixels, Ralph Breaks the Internet, Ron’s Gone Wrong, Smurfs, The Interview, Pokémon: Detective Pikachu, and five Walt Disney Animation Studios films.