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, winning a BAFTA Award and a nomination for the Academy Award for his work on Gladiator (2000).
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", 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 and Massive Attack.
In the mid 1990s Mathieson photographed two feature films for director Karim Dridi, for which he was later bestowed the honour of Chevalier by the French government. He came to the attention of Tony Scott whilst shooting television commercials for the London-based company RSA Films. After working as visual effects cinematographer on Enemy of the State for Tony Scott, Mathieson photographed the film Plunkett & Macleane 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 Academy Award for Gladiator in 2000 and won the BAFTA award for best Cinematography in the same year. His second Oscar nomination came for The Phantom of the Opera (2004) directed by Joel Schumacher.
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 directed by Marc Evans and Stoned directed by Stephen Woolley.
Mathieson acted as cinematographer on the DC Films production Batgirl. The film was cancelled in August 2022.
Filmography
Feature film Year Title Director Notes1994 3 Chains o' Gold Parris PattonRandee St. NicholasPrince Direct-to-video Remembrance of Things Fast: True Stories Visual Lies John Maybury PigalleKarim Dridi 1995 Bye-Bye 1997 Twin Town Kevin Allen1998 Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon John Maybury Vigo Julien Temple 1999 Plunkett & Macleane Jake Scott 2000 GladiatorRidley Scott 1st collaboration with Scott2001 Hannibal K-PAX Iain Softley 2003 Matchstick Men Ridley Scott2004 Trauma Marc Evans The Phantom of the Opera Joel Schumacher2005 Kingdom of Heaven Ridley Scott Stoned Stephen Woolley 2007 August Rush Kirsten Sheridan2009 Boogie Woogie Duncan Ward Cracks Jordan Scott2010 Brighton Rock Rowan Joffé Burke & Hare John Landis Robin Hood Ridley Scott 2011 X-Men: First Class Matthew Vaughn 2012 Great Expectations Mike Newell 2013 47 Ronin Carl Rinsch2015 Pan Joe Wright With Seamus McGarvey The Man from U.N.C.L.E.Guy Ritchie2017 King Arthur: Legend of the Sword Logan James Mangold2018 American Woman Jake Scott Mary Queen of Scots Josie Rourke 2019 Detective Pikachu Rob Letterman 2022 Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness Sam Raimi2024 Gladiator II Ridley Scott Bonhoeffer Todd Komarnicki 2025 Jurassic World Rebirth Gareth EdwardsTBA Elizabeth Chomko Filming Duke Johnson In production
Television Year Title Director Notes 1997 The Hunger Tony ScottJake Scott Episodes "The Swords" and "Ménage à Trois" 2012 Playhouse Presents Iain Softley Episode "The Man" 2013 The Vatican Ridley Scott TV movie TBA The Good Shepherd Roland Joffé Miniseries
Music video Year Title Artist Director 1990 "All My Trials" Paul McCartney Nigel Dick 1991 "Mysterious Ways" U2 Stéphane Sednaoui 1993 "Heart-Shaped Box" Nirvana Anton Corbijn1998 "Drowned World/Substitute for Love" Madonna Walter Stern "Special" Garbage Dawn Shadforth "Rabbit in Your Headlights" UNKLE ft. Thom Yorke Jonathan Glazer 1999 "The World Is Not Enough" Garbage Philipp Stölzl2000 "Ex-Girlfriend" No Doubt Hype Williams "American Pie" Madonna Philipp Stölzl 2008 KylieX2008 Kylie Minogue William Baker 2012 "Black Chandelier" Biffy Clyro Big TV!
Awards and nominations Year Title Award/Nomination1993Heart-Shaped BoxNominated–MTV Video Music Award for Best Cinematography2000American PieNominated–MTV Video Music Award for Best CinematographyGladiatorBAFTA Award for Best CinematographyCritics' Choice Movie Award for Best CinematographySatellite Award for Best CinematographyNominated–Academy Award for Best CinematographyNominated–ASC Award for Outstanding Achievement in CinematographyNominated–Chicago Film Critics Award for Best CinematographyNominated–Online Film Critics Society Award for Best CinematographyNominated–San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Cinematography2004The Phantom of the OperaNominated–Academy Award for Best CinematographyNominated–BSC Award for Best Cinematography in a Feature FilmNominated–San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best CinematographyNominated–Satellite Award for Best Cinematography2009CracksNominated–Camerimage Golden Frog2012Great ExpectationsNominated–BSC Award for Best Cinematography in a Feature Film2015PanNominated–Camerimage Jury Award for Best 3D Film
References
External links New Cinematographers by Alex Ballinger The Phantom of the Opera Oscar nomination Internet Encyclopedia of Cinematographers