John Mathieson (born 3 May 1961) is an English cinematographer and commercial director. He is one of a group of filmmakers who emerged from the music video industry of the late 1980s and 1990s. He is a frequent collaborator with director Ridley Scott, acting as director of photography on most of his films beginning with '' Gladiator'' (2000), for which he won a

BAFTA Award The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cer ...

and was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for Best Cinematography. He has worked with directors like

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, and

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Life and career

Mathieson was born on Isle of Purbeck, Dorset, England. Beginning his career in the British film industry as camera assistant to Gabriel Beristain, Mathieson worked his way through the ranks. In 1988 he garnered recognition for the ground breaking video " Peek-a-Boo" for Siouxsie and the Banshees, directed by Peter Scammell. He collaborated with John Maybury, director of the Sinéad O'Connor video "

Nothing Compares 2 U "Nothing Compares 2 U" is a song written and composed by Prince for his side project, The Family; the song featured on their eponymous 1985 debut album. The song features lyrics exploring feelings of longing from the point of view of an abando ...

", going on to photograph Maybury's award-winning film '' Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon''. Mathieson honed his craft through the 1990s shooting numerous television commercials and music videos for artists including Madonna,

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...

and

Massive Attack Massive Attack are an English trip hop collective formed in 1988 in Bristol by Robert "3D" Del Naja, Adrian "Tricky" Thaws, Andrew "Mushroom" Vowles and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall. The debut Massive Attack album '' Blue Lines'' was releas ...

. In the mid 1990s Mathieson photographed two feature films for director Karim Dridi, for which he was later bestowed the honour of

Chevalier Chevalier may refer to: Honours Belgium * a rank in the Belgian Order of the Crown * a rank in the Belgian Order of Leopold * a rank in the Belgian Order of Leopold II * a title in the Belgian nobility France * a rank in the French Legion d'h ...

by the French government. He came to the attention of

Tony Scott Anthony David Leighton Scott (21 June 1944 – 19 August 2012) was an English film director and producer. He was known for directing highly successful action and thriller films such as '' Top Gun'' (1986), '' Beverly Hills Cop II'' (1987), ''D ...

whilst shooting television commercials for the London-based company RSA Films. After working as visual effects cinematographer on ''

Enemy of the State An enemy of the state is a person accused of certain crimes against the state such as treason, among other things. Describing individuals in this way is sometimes a manifestation of political repression. For example, a government may purport to m ...

'' for

, Mathieson photographed the film ''

Plunkett & Macleane ''Plunkett & Macleane'' is a 1999 British historical action comedy film directed by Jake Scott, and starring Robert Carlyle, Jonny Lee Miller and Liv Tyler. Gary Oldman was executive producer. The story was co-written by Neal Purvis and Rob ...

'' for Jake Scott. Having seen Mathiesons work on Plunkett, Ridley Scott invited him to work on his next project. Mathieson has photographed five films for Ridley Scott, nominated for an

for '' Gladiator'' in 2000 and won the BAFTA award for best Cinematography in the same year. His second

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

nomination came for ''

The Phantom of the Opera ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) is a novel by French author Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serial in from 23 September 1909 to 8 January 1910, and was released in volume form in late March 1910 by Pier ...

'' (2004) directed by

. Despite a career now cemented in big budget film production, Mathieson maintains links with independent British film, working on more modest budget projects including ''

Trauma Trauma most often refers to: * Major trauma, in physical medicine, severe physical injury caused by an external source * Psychological trauma, a type of damage to the psyche that occurs as a result of a severely distressing event *Traumatic i ...

'' directed by

Marc Evans Marc Evans (born 1963) is a Welsh director of film and television, whose credits include the films '' House of America'', '' Resurrection Man'' and '' My Little Eye''. Biography Evans was born in 1963 in Cardiff, Wales. He studied for a histor ...

and '' Stoned'' directed by Stephen Woolley. Mathieson acted as cinematographer on the DC Films production '' Batgirl''. The film was cancelled in August 2022.

Personal life

Mathieson lives in the United Kingdom, and is married to Maria Tarmander. He has earned a Knighthood of the Order of Arts and Letters for his contributions to the entertainment industry.

Filmography

Film

Television

TV movies

Music video

References

External links

New Cinematographers
by Alex Ballinger

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mathieson, John 1961 births Best Cinematography BAFTA Award winners English cinematographers Living people People from Dorset