Klaus Badelt

German film composer from Frankfurt who initially started writing music for TV commercials in his home country, Klaus Badelt rose to become an international star, writing the music for Hollywood blockbusters as well as other prestigious events like the Beijing Olympics closing ceremony. From the age of 12 he was not only writing music, he was also making short films and has said he regards himself more as a film-maker than a composer. His big break came in 1998 when he was on holiday in California, walked into the office of Academy Award-winning composer Hans Zimmer and asked for an internship. Zimmer listened to what he did, was impressed and offered him the chance to work with him at his studio in Santa Monica, an opportunity he grabbed with both hands, contributing to scores for movies like 'The Thin Red Line' and 'The Prince of Egypt' and going on to work with many top directors including Ridley Scott, Tony Scott, Terrence Malick, John Woo, Kathryn Bigelow and Steven Spielberg.

Attention really focused on him following his soundtrack to the 2002 movie 'The Time Machine' and he went on to work on 'Pirates of the Caribben', 'Ultraviolet' and 'Constantine'. He also co-wrote and co-produced music for 'Gladiator', 'Mission: Impossible 2' and 'X-Men' - the three most successful films of 2000 - and further enhanced his reputation collaborating with Hans Zimmer on 'The Pledge', 'Hannibal' and 'Pearl Harbor'. He went on to found his own film music company Theme Park Music in Santa Monica and subsequent movies included 'Poseidon', 'Rescue Dawn' and 'TMNT' and he received wide acclaim for his score to the Chinese fantasy film 'The Promise'.