Carter Benedict Burwell (born November 18, 1954) is an American film composer. He received Academy Award nominations for Best Original Score for Todd Haynes's Carol (2015) and Martin McDonagh's films Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) and The Banshees Of Inisherin (2022). He has frequently collaborated with the Coen brothers, having scored most of their films. He has also scored films by other directors such as Bill Condon, Spike Jonze, James Foley, Brian Helgeland, and John Lee Hancock.
Early life and education Burwell was born in New York City, the son of Natalie (née Benedict), a math teacher, and Charles Burwell, who founded Thaibok Fabrics, Ltd. He graduated from King School in Stamford, Connecticut with George Hofecker and other notables and Harvard College, where he was a cartoonist for The Harvard Lampoon.
Career As a film composer, Burwell has had a long-working relationship with the Coen brothers, providing music for every film they have made (except for Inside Llewyn Davis and O Brother, Where Art Thou?). Among his best known film scores are Miller's Crossing (1990), And the Band Played On (1993), Conspiracy Theory (1997), Hamlet (2000), The Spanish Prisoner (1997), Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007), In Bruges (2008), Twilight (2008), Where the Wild Things Are (2009), The Blind Side (2009), and Breaking Dawn - Part 1 (2011) and Part 2 (2012). Burwell wrote and recorded the original score for the film The Bourne Identity, but director Doug Liman wanted something else and replaced it with a score by John Powell.
The ethos of the punk rock movement gave Burwell the impetus to start performing. He performed in New York with several bands, notably The Same, Thick Pigeon, and Radiante. Burwell played in Thick Pigeon with Stanton Miranda; the group released two albums, Too Crazy Cowboys (Factory) and tracks on Miranda Dali (Crepuscule), originally released as a Miranda solo project but later reissued as a Thick Pigeon release. On Burwell's soundtrack for Psycho III, Miranda was a featured singer.
By 1986 he had composed the music for a dance piece, RAB, which premiered at the Avignon Festival. At the same time, he was touring worldwide with The Harmonic Choir, David Hykes' experimental vocal group, which specialized in overtone singing.
Burwell used the country music genre as the basis for his score for the Coens' Raising Arizona in 1987. From 1982 to 1987 he worked at the New York Institute of Technology.
His work has alternated between live performance, dance and theater commissions, and film scoring. His chamber opera, The Celestial Alphabet Event, was presented in New York in 1991, and other theater pieces include Mother (1994) and Lucia's Chapters (2007), both with the experimental theater group Mabou Mines.
In April 2005, Burwell composed and conducted music performed by The Parabola Ensemble for the plays Sawbones, written and directed by the Coen brothers, Hope Leaves the Theater, written and directed by Charlie Kaufman, and Anomalisa, written and directed by Kaufman as Francis Fregoli. This was a segment of the sound-only production "Theater of the New Ear", which debuted at St. Ann's Warehouse in Brooklyn, New York, with support from Sirius Satellite Radio. It was also performed at the Royal Festival Hall in London, England, in May 2005, and at Royce Hall in Los Angeles, California, in September 2005, as part of the UCLA Live Festival.
In 2009, Burwell was the recipient of the ASCAP Henry Mancini Award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. In 2010, he was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score for Where the Wild Things Are.
In 2015, he received the Distinguished Film Composer award from the Middleburg Film Festival, and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association award for Best Music Score for Anomalisa and Carol. He was nominated for the Annie Award for Music in an Animated Feature Production for Anomalisa and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score for Carol. In 2016, he received the Satellite Award for Best Original Score and the Best Score award by the International Cinephile Society for Carol. Burwell was awarded Film Composer of the Year by the World Soundtrack Awards, and the score for Carol received the Public Choice Award for the Best Score of the Year.
Burwell received his first Academy Award for Best Original Score nomination for Carol, his second for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, and his third for The Banshees Of Inisherin.
Personal life Burwell married Christine Sciulli in 1999.
Since 2009, Burwell has lived in Napeague, New York.
Filmography Films Year Title Director Notes 1984 Blood Simple Joel and Ethan Coen 1985 A Hero of Our Time Michael Almereyda Short film R.A.B.L. Patrice M. Regnier 1986 Psycho III Anthony Perkins1987Raising ArizonaJoel and Ethan Coen Pass the Ammo David Beaird The Beat Paul Mones 1988 It Takes Two David Beaird Checking Out David Leland 1990 Miller's CrossingJoel and Ethan Coen 1991 Barton Fink Doc Hollywood Michael Caton-Jones Scorchers David Beaird 1992 Buffy the Vampire Slayer Fran Rubel Kuzui Waterland Stephen Gyllenhaal Storyville Mark Frost 1993 This Boy's Life Michael Caton-Jones Kalifornia Dominic Sena A Dangerous Woman Stephen Gyllenhaal Wayne's World 2 Stephen Surjik 1994The Hudsucker ProxyJoel and Ethan Coen It Could Happen to You Andrew BergmanAirheadsMichael LehmannReplaced David Newman 1995 Bad Company Damian Harris A Goofy Movie Kevin LimaFirst score for an animated film Rob Roy Michael Caton-Jones The Celluloid Closet Rob Epstein Jeffrey Friedman Documentary film Two Bits James Foley 1996 FargoJoel and Ethan Coen Fear James Foley Joe's Apartment John Payson The Chamber James Foley 1997 Picture Perfect Glenn Gordon Caron Assassin(s) Mathieu Kassovitz Conspiracy Theory Richard Donner The Locusts John Patrick Kelley The Spanish Prisoner David Mamet Girls Night Out Myra Paci Short film The Jackal Michael Caton-Jones 1998Gods and MonstersBill Condon Mercury Rising Harold Becker Composed with John BarryThe Big LebowskiJoel and Ethan Coen Velvet Goldmine Todd Haynes The Hi-Lo Country Stephen Frears 1999 The Corruptor James Foley The General's Daughter Simon West Being John Malkovich Spike Jonze Three Kings David O. Russell Mystery, Alaska Jay Roach 2000 Hamlet Michael Almereyda What Planet Are You From? Mike Nichols O Brother, Where Art Thou? Joel and Ethan Coen Additional music only Before Night Falls Julian Schnabel Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 Joe Berlinger 2001 A Knight's Tale Brian Helgeland The Man Who Wasn't ThereJoel and Ethan Coen 2002 The Rookie John Lee Hancock Searching for Paradise Myra Paci Simone Andrew Niccol Adaptation Spike Jonze 2003Intolerable CrueltyJoel and Ethan Coen2004The Ladykillers The Alamo John Lee Hancock KinseyBill Condon 2006 Fur Steven Shainberg The Hoax Lasse Hallström 2007No Country for Old MenJoel and Ethan Coen Before the Devil Knows You're Dead Sidney Lumet 2008 In Bruges Martin McDonagh Burn After ReadingJoel and Ethan Coen Twilight Catherine Hardwicke 2009A Serious ManJoel and Ethan Coen Where the Wild Things Are Spike Jonze Co-composed with Karen O The Blind Side John Lee Hancock 2010 Howl Rob Epstein Jeffrey Friedman The Kids Are All Right Lisa Cholodenko True GritJoel and Ethan Coen 2011 Midnight Run Neil Shelley Short filmThe Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1Bill Condon 2012 Seven Psychopaths Martin McDonagh The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2Bill Condon2013The Fifth Estate 2015 Mr. Holmes Carol Todd Haynes The Family Fang Jason Bateman Legend Brian Helgeland Anomalisa Charlie Kaufman Duke Johnson 2016 The Finest Hours Craig Gillespie Hail, Caesar!Joel and Ethan Coen The Founder John Lee Hancock 2017 Wonderstruck Todd Haynes Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri Martin McDonagh Goodbye Christopher Robin Simon Curtis 2018 The Ballad of Buster Scruggs Joel and Ethan Coen2019 Missing Link Chris Butler The Good Liar Bill Condon 2021 The Tragedy of Macbeth Joel Coen 2022 Catherine Called Birdy Lena Dunham The Banshees of Inisherin Martin McDonagh 2023 To Catch a Killer Damián Szifron 2024 Drive-Away Dolls Ethan Coen 2025 Honey Don't! Good Fortune Aziz Ansari also producer, conductor and orchestrator 2026 Wild Horse Nine Martin McDonagh 2027 Jack of Spades Joel Coen
Television Year Title Network Notes 1990–1991 Clash! Ha! / Comedy Central Main title theme 1993 And the Band Played On HBO Television film 2011 Mildred Pierce Miniseries; 5 episodes 2011 Enlightened Episode: “Pilot” 2014 Olive Kitteridge Miniseries; 4 episodes 2019–present The Morning Show Apple TV+ Series 2020 Space Force Netflix Season 1 only
Accolades Organizations Year Category Work Result Academy Awards 2015 Best Original Score Carol 2017 Best Original Score Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri 2022 Best Original Score The Banshees of Inisherin BAFTA Award 2001 Best Original Music The Man Who Wasn't There 2022 Best Original Music The Banshees of Inisherin Golden Globe Award 2009 Best Original Score Where the Wild Things Are 2015 Best Original Score Carol 2017 Best Original Score Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri 2022 Best Original Score The Banshees of Inisherin Primetime Emmy Awards 2011 Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries or Movie Mildred Pierce (episode: "Part 5") Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music Mildred Pierce
References
External links
Thick Pigeon bio at LTM