Michael Giacchino

Michael Giacchino (born 1967) is an Oscar-winning American composer and director celebrated for creating some of the most memorable film, television, and video game scores of the 21st century. Born in Riverside Township, New Jersey, he began creating stop-motion films and matching them with homemade soundtracks at just ten years old. He studied filmmaking at the School of Visual Arts and later took music composition classes at Juilliard and UCLA. Giacchino's professional breakthrough came in video games, where his live orchestral score for The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) caught the eye of filmmaker J.J. Abrams. This sparked a fruitful partnership, leading Giacchino to compose iconic music for hit television series like Alias and Lost—which won him an Emmy. He transitioned smoothly into mainstream cinema, building strong ties with Pixar and Disney to score blockbusters like The Incredibles (2004), Ratatouille (2007), and Up (2009), the latter earning him an Academy Award for Best Original Score. Known for his vibrant themes and clever, pun-filled track titles, his sprawling filmography also includes the Star Trek reboot trilogy, Jurassic World (2015), Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), and Matt Reeves' The Batman (2022).