Henry Jackman

Henry Jackman is a British film composer and producer whose scores regularly combine orchestra, electronics, and rock-inflected energy. His work on Matthew Vaughn’s Kick-Ass (2010), composed with John Murphy, matched the film’s deliberately abrasive collision of superhero fantasy, violence, and pop culture. Jackman then co-composed X-Men: First Class (2011) with Matthew Margeson for Vaughn’s prequel, which places young Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr against the Cuban Missile Crisis. These credits brought him from collaborative work into high-profile franchise scoring. Before that rise, he had contributed additional music to Hans Zimmer’s The Da Vinci Code (2006) and The Dark Knight (2008). Jackman composed Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), directed by Anthony and Joe Russo. Instead of presenting the Marvel sequel as a continuation of Alan Silvestri’s 2011 Captain America sound, he used processed percussion, synthesizers, and an electronic motif for the Winter Soldier. He reunited with the Russos for Captain America: Civil War (2016), scoring the clash between Steve Rogers and Tony Stark that divides the Avengers. He also scored Ant-Man (2015), directed by Peyton Reed. For Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017), he supplied the music for Jake Kasdan’s adventure sequel, whose game premise becomes real for four teenagers. Jackman earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score for Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph (2012), directed by Rich Moore. The animated film follows arcade villain Ralph as he leaves his assigned game and seeks a medal in Hero’s Duty, Sugar Rush. Jackman scored Big Hero 6 (2014), Disney’s adaptation of the Marvel property set in San Fransokyo. Its story centers on Hiro Hamada, Baymax, and a team of heroes confronting the Yokai. In live-action cinema, Jackman composed Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014) and Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017), both directed by Vaughn and based on Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons’ comic-book. His later work includes Brad Bird’s Tomorrowland (2015), which follows Casey Newton and former inventor Frank Walker as they search for the futuristic place named Tomorrowland. Jackman scored Kong: Skull Island (2017), Jordan Vogt-Roberts’s film set in 1973, where a scientific expedition reaches an uncharted island inhabited by giant creatures. He composed the score for The Gray Man (2022), the Russo brothers’ adaptation of Mark Greaney’s novel, co-written with Alex Belcher. Beyond screen scoring, Jackman has released music under the name Jack Jack, a project associated with electronic production. His career spans superhero films, animation, spy thrillers and electronic releases.