Career Timeline of Hans Zimmer: Major Achievements and Milestones
How Hans Zimmer built a successful career. Explore key moments that defined the journey.
Hans Zimmer is a highly acclaimed German film score composer and music producer recognized for his significant contributions to the film industry. He has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, and five Grammy Awards. His innovative and impactful musical scores have solidified his reputation as one of the most influential composers of his generation. He was also named on The Daily Telegraph's list of Top 100 Living Geniuses in 2007, acknowledging his creative brilliance and enduring legacy.
1973: Badlands
In 1973, Gassenhauer was used in the film Badlands, which inspired Zimmer's work on True Romance.
1976: Formation of Krisma
In 1976, Krisma, a new wave band formed in London with Maurizio Arcieri and Christina Moser. Hans Zimmer worked with the band.
1977: Formation of The Buggles
In 1977, The Buggles, a new wave band formed in London with Trevor Horn, Geoff Downes and Bruce Woolley. Hans Zimmer worked with the band.
1979: "Video Killed the Radio Star"
In 1979, Hans Zimmer appeared briefly in the music video for the Buggles' song "Video Killed the Radio Star".
1980: Co-Production of "History of the World, Part 1"
In 1980, Hans Zimmer co-produced a single, "History of the World, Part 1", with, and for, UK punk band The Damned.
1982: Moonlighting
In 1982, Hans Zimmer and Stanley Myers worked on 'Moonlighting'.
1984: Live Performance with Mecano
In 1984, Hans Zimmer (on keyboards) and Warren Cann (on drums), were invited to be part of the Spanish group Mecano for a live performance in Segovia (Spain).
1984: Success Is the Best Revenge
In 1984, Hans Zimmer and Stanley Myers worked on 'Success Is the Best Revenge'.
1985: Insignificance
In 1985, Hans Zimmer and Stanley Myers worked on 'Insignificance'.
1985: Contribution to Shriekback's Album
In 1985, Hans Zimmer contributed to the Shriekback album Oil and Gold.
1987: Going for Gold Theme Song
In 1987, Hans Zimmer composed the theme song for the television game show Going for Gold with Sandy McClelland.
1987: First Solo Score
In 1987, Hans Zimmer's first solo score was Terminal Exposure for director Nico Mastorakis.
1988: Composing Rain Man
In 1988, Barry Levinson hired Hans Zimmer to score Rain Man, being impressed by his work on A World Apart.
1991: Thelma & Louise
In 1991, Zimmer's soundtrack to 'Thelma & Louise' featured Pete Haycock on slide guitar on the "Thunderbird" theme.
1992: Composing The Power of One
In 1992, Zimmer travelled to Africa in order to use African choirs and drums in the recording of the score for The Power of One.
1993: True Romance
In 1993, Zimmer wrote the theme for Tony Scott's 'True Romance', basing it on Carl Orff's Gassenhauer.
1994: Academy Award for The Lion King
In 1994, Hans Zimmer won an Academy Award for Best Original Score for his work on 'The Lion King'.
1994: Composing The Lion King
In 1994, Walt Disney Feature Animation approached Zimmer to compose the score for The Lion King.
1995: Grammy Award for Crimson Tide
In 1995, Hans Zimmer's score for Tony Scott's film Crimson Tide won a Grammy Award for the main theme.
1997: Adaptation of The Lion King
In 1997, the score of the Lion King was adapted into a Broadway musical version.
1998: The Thin Red Line
In 1998, Hans Zimmer composed The Thin Red Line, which is considered one of his most important works.
1998: The Thin Red Line and The Prince of Egypt
In 1998, Hans Zimmer worked on both The Thin Red Line and The Prince of Egypt, and Director Terrence Malick asked Zimmer for music before filming.
October 2000: First Live Concert
In October 2000, Hans Zimmer performed live in concert for the first time with an orchestra and choir at the 27th Annual Flanders International Film Festival in Ghent.
2001: Black Hawk Down and Hannibal
In 2001, Zimmer composed the score for Black Hawk Down and Hannibal.
2003: Approach by Jerry Bruckheimer
During the scoring of The Last Samurai in early 2003, Zimmer was approached by Jerry Bruckheimer to work on Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.
2003: The Last Samurai
In 2003, Hans Zimmer composed the music for 'The Last Samurai'.
2005: The Dark Knight trilogy
Hans Zimmer has composed music for 'The Dark Knight' trilogy between 2005-2012.
2005: Batman Begins
In 2005, Hans Zimmer collaborated with Christopher Nolan on 'Batman Begins', marking the start of their work together on six films.
2006: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
In 2006, Hans Zimmer composed the music for 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest'.
2006: The Da Vinci Code
In 2006, Zimmer composed the score for The Da Vinci Code.
2006: Scoring with other musicians
In 2006, Zimmer explained his approach to scoring with other musicians in an interview with Soundtrack.net.
2007: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
In 2007, Hans Zimmer composed the music for 'Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End'.
2007: The Simpsons Movie
In 2007, Zimmer composed the score for The Simpsons Movie.
December 2008: Reversing Disqualification of The Dark Knight
In December 2008, Zimmer successfully reversed the decision not to nominate The Dark Knight for Best Original Score, advocating for collaborative film scoring.
2008: Kung Fu Panda
In 2008, Zimmer co-composed the score for Kung Fu Panda with John Powell.
2009: Angels & Demons and Sherlock Holmes
In 2009, Zimmer composed the scores for Angels & Demons and Sherlock Holmes.
2009: Scoring Sherlock Holmes with an out-of-tune piano
In 2009, for the film Sherlock Holmes, Zimmer purchased an out-of-tune piano for 200 dollars and used it throughout the scoring process because of its "quirkiness".
2010: Use of "Non, je ne regrette rien" in Inception
In 2010, Zimmer used electronic manipulation of the song "Non, je ne regrette rien" for the film Inception. The horn sound in the score became a popular feature in film trailers.
2011: Pirates of the Caribbean series
Hans Zimmer has composed music for the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' series between 2003-2011.
2012: The Dark Knight trilogy
Hans Zimmer has composed music for 'The Dark Knight' trilogy between 2005-2012.
March 2013: Co-composing The Bible television series
In March 2013, Zimmer co-composed the music for the television series The Bible with Lorne Balfe and Lisa Gerrard.
2013: Man of Steel
In 2013, Hans Zimmer composed the music for 'Man of Steel'.
March 2014: Academy Award for Best Picture for 12 Years a Slave
In March 2014, the film 12 Years a Slave, for which Zimmer composed the score, won the Academy Award for Best Picture.
July 2014: Composing Tomorrowland Hymn for the festival's tenth anniversary
In July 2014, Zimmer composed the Tomorrowland Hymn for the Tomorrowland festival to celebrate its tenth anniversary.
2014: Interstellar
In 2014, Hans Zimmer composed the music for 'Interstellar'.
2014: Composing The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Interstellar
In 2014, Zimmer composed music for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 with "The Magnificent Six" and for Christopher Nolan's Interstellar, earning an Academy Award nomination.
2016: Composing The Crown theme and releasing online course
In 2016, Zimmer composed the main theme for the Netflix series The Crown and released an online course on film scoring.
2017: Composing Dunkirk score
In 2017, Zimmer composed the score for Christopher Nolan's film Dunkirk, using a recording of a ticking watch as inspiration.
August 2018: Announced as composer for Wonder Woman 1984
In August 2018, Zimmer was announced as the composer for Wonder Woman 1984.
2018: Composing the FIFA Anthem and remixing UEFA Champions League Anthem
In 2018, Zimmer composed the new FIFA Anthem "Living Football" and remixed the UEFA Champions League Anthem.
March 2019: Announced to score Dune
In March 2019, it was announced that Zimmer would be scoring Denis Villeneuve's Dune.
June 2019: Creating sounds for BMW's concept vehicle
In June 2019, Zimmer was hired to create sounds for BMW's Vision M Next concept vehicle, including warning sounds for electric cars.
2019: Scoring The Lion King remake
In 2019, Zimmer scored the photorealistic animated remake of Disney's The Lion King.
January 2020: Taking over as composer for No Time to Die
On January 6, 2020, Zimmer became the composer for the James Bond film No Time to Die after Dan Romer's departure.
February 2020: Composing the MLS anthem
On February 26, 2020, Major League Soccer released an anthem for its 25th season, composed by Zimmer.
March 2020: Composing Hillbilly Elegy score
In March 2020, Zimmer composed the score for Hillbilly Elegy.
2021: Academy Award for Dune
In 2021, Hans Zimmer won an Academy Award for Best Original Score for his work on 'Dune'.
2022: Collaborating with Camila Cabello and working on Top Gun: Maverick
In 2022, Zimmer collaborated with Camila Cabello on "Take Me Back Home" for Frozen Planet II and contributed to the main title credits for Top Gun: Maverick.
2024: Working on third Dune film and scoring F1 film
As of 2024, Zimmer has begun writing music for a potential third Dune film. Also in 2024, he announced he will be scoring F1, a film starring Brad Pitt and directed by Joseph Kosinski.
2049: Working on Blade Runner 2049
Zimmer worked on the score for Denis Villeneuve's Blade Runner 2049.
