Danny Elfman

Born: 1953-05-29 in Los Angeles, California, USA

Known For: Sound

Biography

Daniel Robert Elfman (born May 29, 1953) is an American film composer, singer, songwriter, and musician. He came to prominence as the lead vocalist and primary songwriter for the new wave band Oingo Boingo in the early 1980s. Since scoring his first studio film in 1985, Elfman has garnered international recognition for composing over 100 feature film scores, as well as compositions for television, stage productions, and the concert hall. Elfman has frequently worked with directors Tim Burton, Sam Raimi, and Gus Van Sant, contributing music to nearly 20 Burton projects, including Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, Beetlejuice, Batman, Edward Scissorhands, Batman Returns, Mars Attacks!, Sleepy Hollow, Big Fish, and Alice in Wonderland, as well as scoring Raimi's Darkman, A Simple Plan, Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, Oz the Great and Powerful, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Van Sant's Academy Award-winning films Good Will Hunting and Milk. He wrote music for all of the Men in Black and Fifty Shades of Grey franchise films, the songs and score for Henry Selick's animated musical The Nightmare Before Christmas, and the themes for the popular television series Desperate Housewives and The Simpsons. Among his honours are four Oscar nominations, three Emmy Awards, a Grammy, seven Saturn Awards for Best Music, the 2002 Richard Kirk Award, the 2015 Disney Legend Award, the Max Steiner Film Music Achievement Award in 2017, and the Society of Composers & Lyricists Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022. Description above from the Wikipedia article Danny Elfman, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Filmography

2026

Send Help ... (Original Music Composer)
Dead Man's Wire ... (Original Music Composer)

2025

Dracula ... (Original Music Composer)
Bullet Time ... (Music)
Remember To Enjoy The Light Before It’s Gone ... (Original Music Composer)
Wednesday: Fireplace ... (Main Title Theme Composer)
A Danny Elfman Christmas Story as Narrator

2024

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice ... (Original Music Composer)
May the 12th Be with You ... (Original Music Composer)
The Simpsons: O C'mon All Ye Faithful ... (Original Music Composer)
Tim Burton: Life in the Line as Self
Edward Scissorhands: Matthew Bourne’s Dance Version ... (Music)

2023

Bloody Bridget ... (Original Music Composer)

2022

Wednesday ... (Main Title Theme Composer)
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ... (Original Music Composer)
White Noise ... (Original Music Composer)

2021

The Woman in the Window ... (Original Music Composer)
Aliens, Clowns & Geeks ... (Music)

2020

Dolittle ... (Original Music Composer)
The Holiday Movies That Made Us as Self

2019

Dumbo ... (Original Music Composer)
Men in Black: International ... (Original Music Composer)

2018

The Grinch ... (Original Music Composer)
Fifty Shades Freed ... (Original Music Composer)
Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot ... (Original Music Composer)

2017

Justice League ... (Original Music Composer)
Fifty Shades Darker ... (Original Music Composer)
78/52 as Self
Hollywood in Vienna 2017 - Fairytales as Self
The Circle ... (Original Music Composer)
Tulip Fever ... (Original Music Composer)
Score: A Film Music Documentary as Self
When We Rise ... (Original Music Composer)
Urge ... (Music)

2016

Alice Through the Looking Glass ... (Original Music Composer)
The Girl on the Train ... (Original Music Composer)
Before I Wake ... (Original Music Composer)
Vengadores Chiflados: La Era de Pultrón ... (Music)

2015

Fifty Shades of Grey ... (Original Music Composer)
Avengers: Age of Ultron ... (Original Music Composer)
Goosebumps ... (Original Music Composer)
The End of the Tour ... (Original Music Composer)
Live From Lincoln Center: Danny Elfman's Music from the Films of Tim Burton

2014

Big Eyes ... (Original Music Composer)
Mr. Peabody & Sherman ... (Original Music Composer)

2013

Epic ... (Original Music Composer)
Oz the Great and Powerful ... (Original Music Composer)
American Hustle ... (Original Music Composer)
Captain Sparky vs. The Flying Saucers ... (Original Music Composer)
Cirque du Soleil: IRIS ... (Music)
The Unknown Known ... (Music)

2012

Men in Black 3 ... (Original Music Composer)
Dark Shadows ... (Original Music Composer)
Hitchcock ... (Original Music Composer)
Silver Linings Playbook ... (Original Music Composer)
Frankenweenie ... (Original Music Composer)
Promised Land ... (Original Music Composer)

2011

Real Steel ... (Original Music Composer)
A Conversation with Danny Elfman & Tim Burton
Oingo Boingo: 1983 US Festival
Restless ... (Original Music Composer)
Hollywood in Vienna as Self

2010

Alice in Wonderland ... (Original Music Composer)
The Next Three Days ... (Original Music Composer)
The Wolfman ... (Original Music Composer)
Do Not Disturb ... (Music)
DemiUrge Emesis as Narrator (voice)

2009

9 ... (Songs)
Terminator Salvation ... (Original Music Composer)
Notorious ... (Original Music Composer)
Taking Woodstock ... (Original Music Composer)

2008

Wanted ... (Original Music Composer)
Hellboy II: The Golden Army ... (Original Music Composer)
Milk ... (Original Music Composer)
Standard Operating Procedure ... (Original Music Composer)
Shadows of the Bat: The Cinematic Saga of the Dark Knight as Self
Proud Iza as Narrator

2007

Meet the Robinsons ... (Original Music Composer)
Paranoid Park ... (Thanks)
Sicko ... (Thanks)
The Kingdom ... (Original Music Composer)

2006

Nacho Libre ... (Original Music Composer)
Charlotte's Web ... (Original Music Composer)
Deep Sea 3D ... (Original Music Composer)

2005

Corpse Bride as Bonejangles (voice)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as Oompa Loompa (voice) (uncredited)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: Sweet Sounds as Himself

2004

Spider-Man 2 ... (Original Music Composer)
Behind the Scenes of 'Spider-Man' as Self

2003

Big Fish ... (Original Music Composer)
Hulk ... (Original Music Composer)

2002

Spider-Man ... (Original Music Composer)
Men in Black II ... (Original Music Composer)
Chicago ... (Original Music Composer)
Cosmic Symphonies: Elfman in Space as Self
Red Dragon ... (Original Music Composer)

2001

Novocaine ... (Original Music Composer)
Planet of the Apes ... (Original Music Composer)
Spy Kids ... (Songs)
Heartbreakers ... (Original Music Composer)

2000

The Gift as Tommy Lee Ballard
The Family Man ... (Original Music Composer)
Proof of Life ... (Original Music Composer)
Sleepy Hollow: Behind the Legend as Self
The World of Stainboy ... (Music)
The World of Stainboy ... (Music)
Fantasporto – Carnaval no Porto
Psycho Path as Self - Arranger

1999

Sleepy Hollow ... (Original Music Composer)
Instinct ... (Original Music Composer)
Anywhere but Here ... (Original Music Composer)

1998

Psycho ... (Music Producer)
A Civil Action ... (Original Music Composer)
Modern Vampires ... (Original Music Composer)
The Making of 'The Frighteners' as Himself
A Simple Plan ... (Original Music Composer)

1997

Good Will Hunting ... (Original Music Composer)
Men in Black ... (Original Music Composer)
Flubber ... (Original Music Composer)
Perversions of Science ... (Theme Song Performance)

1996

Mission: Impossible ... (Original Music Composer)
The Frighteners ... (Original Music Composer)
Mars Attacks! ... (Original Music Composer)
Freeway ... (Original Music Composer)
Extreme Measures ... (Original Music Composer)
Bordello of Blood ... (Main Title Theme Composer)
Darkman III: Die Darkman Die ... (Music)
Oingo Boingo: Farewell (Live from the Universal Amphitheatre) as Self

1995

Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight ... (Main Title Theme Composer)
Darkman II: The Return of Durant ... (Music)
To Die For ... (Original Music Composer)
Dead Presidents ... (Original Music Composer)
Dolores Claiborne ... (Original Music Composer)

1994

Shrunken Heads ... (Music)
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Special Edition as Self
Black Beauty ... (Original Music Composer)

1993

The Nightmare Before Christmas as Jack Skellington (singing) / Barrel / Clown with the Tear away Face (voice)
Sommersby ... (Original Music Composer)
The Making of Tim Burton's 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' as Self - Composer

1992

Batman: The Animated Series ... (Main Title Theme Composer)
Batman Returns ... (Original Music Composer)
Article 99 ... (Music)
The Flash III: Deadly Nightshade ... (Music)
The Magical World of Chuck Jones as Self

1990

Edward Scissorhands ... (Original Music Composer)
Nightbreed ... (Original Music Composer)
Darkman ... (Original Music Composer)
Dick Tracy ... (Original Music Composer)
The Flash ... (Original Music Composer)

1989

The Simpsons ... (Main Title Theme Composer)
Tales from the Crypt ... (Theme Song Performance)
Batman ... (Original Music Composer)
Prisoners of Gravity as Self
Oh No, Not Them ... (Music)
Oingo Boingo: Skeletons in the Closet as Himself, Waiter
Plymptoons: The Complete Early Works of Bill Plympton ... (Music)

1988

Scrooged ... (Original Music Composer)
Beetlejuice ... (Original Music Composer)
Midnight Run ... (Original Music Composer)
Hot to Trot ... (Original Music Composer)
Family Dog ... (Music)
Big Top Pee-wee ... (Original Music Composer)
Face Like a Frog ... (Music)

1987

Summer School ... (Original Music Composer)
Oingo Boingo: Halloween '87 as Himself

1986

Amazing Stories ... (Original Music Composer)
Wisdom ... (Original Music Composer)
Back to School as Oingo Boingo Band Member