Theodore Michael Shapiro (born September 29, 1971) is an American

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Def ...

best known for his

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to e ...

s. He is a frequent collaborator of directors

Ben Stiller Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller (born November 30, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is the son of the comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. Stiller was a member of a group of comedic actors colloquially known ...

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, and

Rawson Marshall Thurber Rawson Marshall Thurber (born February 9, 1975) is an American filmmaker and actor. Early life Thurber was born in San Francisco, California. He is the son of attorney Marshall Thurber. He is a 1997 graduate of Union College ( Schenectady, ...

, and won the 2022 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series for his work on Stiller’s series '' Severance''.

Life and career

Shapiro was born in Washington, D.C. and is of Italian descent. He earned a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

degree in music from

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

in 1993, followed by a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts ...

in music composition from the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely ...

in 1995. He is best known for his

s, particularly for the comedies ''

State and Main ''State and Main'' is a 2000 comedy film written and directed by David Mamet and starring William H. Macy, Sarah Jessica Parker, Alec Baldwin, Julia Stiles, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rebecca Pidgeon, David Paymer, Patti LuPone, Clark Gregg, and Cha ...

'', ''

13 Going on 30 ''13 Going on 30'' (released as ''Suddenly 30'' in some countries) is a 2004 American fantasy romantic comedy film written by Cathy Yuspa and Josh Goldsmith, directed by Gary Winick, and starring Jennifer Garner. It follows a 13-year-old girl in ...

'', ''

Along Came Polly ''Along Came Polly'' is a 2004 American romantic comedy film written and directed by John Hamburg and starring Ben Stiller and Jennifer Aniston. The story follows Reuben Feffer who finds his life taking a different turn when he reconnects and fal ...

'', '' The Devil Wears Prada'', '' Fun with Dick and Jane'', ''

Idiocracy ''Idiocracy'' is a 2006 American science fiction comedy film directed by Mike Judge and co-written by Judge and Etan Cohen. Starring Luke Wilson, Maya Rudolph, Dax Shepard, and Terry Crews, the film tells the story of Corporal Joe Bauers (W ...

'', ''

You, Me and Dupree ''You, Me and Dupree'' is a 2006 American comedy film directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo and written by Mike LeSieur. It stars Owen Wilson, Kate Hudson, Matt Dillon, Seth Rogen, Amanda Detmer, Todd Stashwick, and Michael Douglas. The film ...

'', ''

Wet Hot American Summer ''Wet Hot American Summer'' is a 2001 American teen comedy film directed by David Wain from a screenplay written by Wain and Michael Showalter. The film features an ensemble cast, including Janeane Garofalo, David Hyde Pierce, Molly Shannon, ...

'', ''

Marley & Me ''Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog'' is an autobiographical book by journalist John Grogan, published in 2005, about the 13 years he and his family spent with their yellow Labrador Retriever, Marley. The dog is poorly be ...

'', ''

Tropic Thunder ''Tropic Thunder'' is a 2008 satirical action comedy film directed by Ben Stiller, who wrote the screenplay with Justin Theroux and Etan Cohen. The film stars Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr., Jay Baruchel, and Brandon T. Jackson as a ...

'', the

film '' Dinner for Schmucks'' and was one of the composers for ''

Diary of a Wimpy Kid ''Diary of a Wimpy Kid'' is an American children’s book series and media franchise created by author and cartoonist Jeff Kinney. The series follows Greg Heffley, a middle-schooler who illustrates his daily life in a diary (although he const ...

''. In 2012, Shapiro composed his first animated film, ''

The Pirates! Band of Misfits ''The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!'' (released in North America, Australia and New Zealand as ''The Pirates! Band of Misfits'') is a 2012 3D film, 3D stop-motion Animation, animated swashbuckler film, swashbuckler comedy film prod ...

''. He has also written other orchestral works.

Filmography

Films

TV series

References

External links

Official website
* 1971 births American film score composers American male film score composers American television composers Animated film score composers DreamWorks Animation people Brown University alumni Juilliard School alumni Living people Male television composers Musicians from Washington, D.C. Varèse Sarabande Records artists American people of Italian descent Blue Sky Studios people Primetime Emmy Award winners {{US-composer-20thC-stub