Kevin O'Connell is a sound re-recording mixer. He held the record for most

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

nominations without a win at 20, until he finally won his first Academy Award for ''

Hacksaw Ridge ''Hacksaw Ridge'' is a 2016 epic biographical war film directed by Mel Gibson and written by Andrew Knight and Robert Schenkkan, based on the 2004 documentary '' The Conscientious Objector'' directed by Terry Benedict. Set in World War II, A ...

'' (2016) at the

89th Academy Awards The 89th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best 2016 in film, films of 2016, and took place on February 26, 2017, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Californ ...

in 2017.

Early life and career

O'Connell was born in

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and raised in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. At 18, he became a projectionist at

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

Studios, where his mother was a secretary for the head of the sound department. Additional on February 27, 2016. Subsequently, failing the

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

examination for the job, he became a Los Angeles County firefighter for a year. At the behest of his concerned mother, alarmed at his gaunt and charred appearance following a

brush fire A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a bushfire ( in Australia), desert ...

Sylmar, Los Angeles Sylmar is a suburban neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley and the northernmost neighborhood within the city of Los Angeles, California, United States. Historically known for its profusion of sylvan olive orchards, Sylmar can trace its past t ...

, he obtained a job as a machine-room operator at Warner Hollywood Studios, also known as

Samuel Goldwyn Studio Samuel Goldwyn Studio was the name that Samuel Goldwyn used to refer to the lot located on the corner of Formosa Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood, California, as well as the offices and stages that his company, Samuel Goldw ...

s in 1978,Additional on February 27, 2016. where he worked on films including '' Grease'' (1978). Becoming a recording technician, he earned his first screen credit on ''

The Empire Strikes Back ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back'') is a 1980 American epic film, epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner from a screenplay by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, based o ...

'' (1980). His first credit as a sound mixer was on '' Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid'' (1982).

Later career

In 1993, O'Connell joined

Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acquires, and distributes filmed entertainment (theatrical motion pictures, television programs, and rec ...

as a supervising sound mixer, working on films include ''

Armageddon Armageddon ( ; ; ; from ) is the prophesied gathering of armies for a battle during the end times, according to the Book of Revelation in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. Armageddon is variously interpreted as either a literal or a ...

'' (1998), ''

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...

'' (2002), and ''

Transformers ''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Tomy, Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the heroic Autobots and the villainous Decepticons, two Extraterrestrials in fiction, alien robot fac ...

'' (2007). Additional on February 27, 2017. In October 2013, he was hired to provide mixing services and take a creative leadership role at

Todd Soundelux Todd Soundelux is an American creative entertainment services company. The company's main activity is to provide creative and technical post production sound and music services for motion picture studios, independent producers, broadcast networks ...

, working in that company's

Todd-AO Todd-AO is an American post-production company founded in 1953 by Mike Todd and Robert Naify, providing sound-related services to the motion picture and television industries. The company retains one facility, in the Los Angeles area. Todd-AO ...

division in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

. O'Connell returned to Sony Pictures Post Production Services in 2015. He served a term as the representative of the Sound Branch in the Board of Governors of the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., with the stated goal of adva ...

Academy Award victory

O'Connell held the record for most

nominations without a win at 20, having originally set the record in 2006 with his 18th nomination and loss, making him the "unluckiest nominee in the history of the Academy Awards". In 2017, he won his first Academy Award at the

for ''

'' (2016). In his acceptance speech at the ceremony, held on February 26, 2017, O'Connell thanked his mother, Skippy, who had urged him into his profession.

Personal life

In 2001, Kevin and Heather O'Connell were married.

Accolades

Academy Awards

Primetime Emmy Award

In 1989, O'Connell, along with James L. Aicholtz, Michael Herbick and Don Johnson, won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Miniseries or Movie for the television miniseries ''

Lonesome Dove ''Lonesome Dove'' is a 1985 Western novel by American writer Larry McMurtry. It is the first published book of the ''Lonesome Dove'' series and the third installment in the series chronologically. It was a bestseller and won the 1986 Pulit ...

'' (1989).

Cinema Audio Society Award

;Nominations # Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Motion Pictures – Live Action – ''

'' (2016) (shared with seven colleagues)

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Oconnell, Kevin 1957 births Living people American audio engineers Primetime Emmy Award winners Best Sound Mixing Academy Award winners