Patrick Doyle

Biography:

Patrick Doyle (born March 11, 1953, in Uddingston, South Lanarkshire, Scotland) is a classically trained composer, widely recognized for his extensive contributions to film music and his long-standing collaborations with director Kenneth Branagh. A graduate of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music in 1975—where he was later made a Fellow in 2001—Doyle originally began his career as an actor in the 1970s, appearing in both television and film, including Chariots of Fire (1981) and the BBC drama Maggie. He later returned to acting in Branagh’s Shakespeare adaptations, such as Much Ado About Nothing (1993) and As You Like It (2006).

Doyle joined Branagh’s Renaissance Theatre Company in 1987 as a composer and musical director, a partnership that launched his career in film scoring with Henry V (1989). His song “Non Nobis, Domine” from the film earned the Ivor Novello Award for Best Film Theme. Since then, he has scored more than a dozen Branagh-directed films, including Hamlet (1996), Thor (2011), Murder on the Orient Express (2017), and Death on the Nile (2022). His work extends across genres, from gangster dramas like Carlito’s Way (1993) and Donnie Brasco (1997), to family films such as Nanny McPhee (2005), Brave (2012), and A Little Princess (1995), as well as blockbusters like Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005).

In 1997, Doyle was diagnosed with leukemia shortly after scoring Great Expectations, but he continued composing while undergoing treatment, completing the score for Quest for Camelot (1998) from his hospital bed. He made a full recovery and went on to expand his repertoire with acclaimed scores for British films including Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001), Gosford Park (2001), and Calendar Girls (2003). His collaborations have included working with artists such as Plácido Domingo, Jane Eaglen, Jarvis Cocker, Pulp, Tori Amos, and Michelle Pfeiffer.

Beyond film, Doyle has written concert works like The Thistle and the Rose (commissioned for the Queen Mother’s 90th birthday), Tam O Shanter, and Impressions of America. His music has been celebrated in major performances, including a 2007 Royal Albert Hall concert for leukemia research and a 2019 double concert at Celtic Connections in Glasgow. In 2023, he composed the King Charles III Coronation March, performed at the coronation of Charles III and Camilla.

Doyle has been honored with numerous awards, including the ASCAP Henry Mancini Award (2013) and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the World Soundtrack Academy (2015). In 2018, he received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of the West of Scotland. He lives with his wife, Lesley, and they have four children.