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. He is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards, including two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, and five Grammy Awards. His recognition extends beyond accolades, as he was also listed among the Top 100 Living Geniuses by The Daily Telegraph in 2007, highlighting his significant impact on the world of music.
1970: Began career playing keyboards and synthesizers
In the 1970s, Hans Zimmer began his career playing keyboards and synthesizers with the band Krakatoa.
1976: Worked with Krisma
In 1976, Hans Zimmer started working with the Italian group Krisma as a featured synthesist for their third album Cathode Mamma.
1977: Worked with The Buggles
In 1977, Hans Zimmer worked with The Buggles, a new wave band formed in London.
1980: Co-produced single with The Damned
In 1980, Hans Zimmer co-produced a single, "History of the World, Part 1", with the UK punk band The Damned, featured on their album "The Black Album".
1982: Worked on Moonlighting with Stanley Myers
In 1982, Hans Zimmer worked on the film "Moonlighting" in collaboration with Stanley Myers.
1984: Worked on Success Is the Best Revenge with Stanley Myers
In 1984, Hans Zimmer collaborated with Stanley Myers on the film "Success Is the Best Revenge".
1984: Live performance with Mecano
In 1984, Hans Zimmer played keyboards for a live performance with the Spanish group Mecano in Segovia, Spain. Two songs from this concert were included in the album Mecano: En Concierto released in 1985 only in Spain.
1985: Contributed to Shriekback album
In 1985, Hans Zimmer contributed to the Shriekback album "Oil and Gold".
1985: Worked on Insignificance and My Beautiful Laundrette
In 1985, Hans Zimmer worked on the films "Insignificance" and "My Beautiful Laundrette" with Stanley Myers.
1987: First solo score: Terminal Exposure
In 1987, Hans Zimmer composed his first solo score for the film "Terminal Exposure", for which he also wrote the songs. He also acted as score producer for The Last Emperor.
1987: Composed Theme Song for Going for Gold
In 1987, Hans Zimmer, along with Sandy McClelland, composed the theme song for the television game show "Going for Gold".
1988: Scored Rain Man
In 1988, Hans Zimmer was hired by Barry Levinson to score the film "Rain Man". Zimmer's score utilized synthesizers like the Fairlight CMI mixed with steel drums.
1989: Nominated for Academy Award for Rain Man
In 1989, Hans Zimmer's score for "Rain Man" was nominated for an Academy Award. The film won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
1991: Thelma & Louise Soundtrack
In 1991, Zimmer's soundtrack for Ridley Scott's film "Thelma & Louise" featured Pete Haycock's slide guitar performance on the "Thunderbird" theme.
1992: Travelled to Africa for The Power of One
In 1992, Hans Zimmer traveled to Africa to incorporate African choirs and drums in the score for the film "The Power of One".
1993: True Romance Theme
In 1993, Zimmer wrote the theme for Tony Scott's film "True Romance", based on Carl Orff's Gassenhauer.
1994: Composed The Lion King
In 1994, Disney approached Hans Zimmer to compose the score for "The Lion King". He won numerous awards, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, and two Grammys.
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".
1995: Grammy for Crimson Tide
In 1995, Hans Zimmer's score for Tony Scott's film "Crimson Tide" won a Grammy Award for the main theme, notable for its use of synthesizers.
1997: The Lion King Adapted to Broadway
In 1997, Zimmer's score for "The Lion King" was adapted into a Broadway musical version.
1998: The Thin Red Line Composition
In 1998, Hans Zimmer composed the score for "The Thin Red Line", regarded as one of his most important works. The cue "The Journey to the Line" became known as "the forbidden cue".
1998: The Thin Red Line and The Prince of Egypt
In 1998, Hans Zimmer worked on "The Thin Red Line", where he created six and a half hours of music before filming. He also worked on "The Prince of Egypt", where he introduced Ofra Haza to the directors.
1998: Tony Award for The Lion King Musical
In 1998, the Broadway musical version of "The Lion King" won the Tony Award for Best Musical.
October 2000: First Live Concert Performance
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.
2000: Composed Gladiator
In 2000, Hans Zimmer composed the score for "Gladiator".
2001: Composed Black Hawk Down and Hannibal
In 2001, Hans Zimmer composed the scores for "Black Hawk Down" and "Hannibal".
2003: Approached for Pirates of the Caribbean
During the scoring of "The Last Samurai" in 2003, Jerry Bruckheimer approached Hans Zimmer to work on "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl".
2003: Composed The Last Samurai
In 2003, Hans Zimmer composed the score for "The Last Samurai".
2005: Collaboration with Christopher Nolan on Batman Begins
In 2005, Hans Zimmer began his collaboration with Christopher Nolan on the film "Batman Begins", marking the start of six film collaborations.
2005: Composed Madagascar
In 2005, Hans Zimmer composed the score for "Madagascar".
2005: Batman Begins Score
In 2005, Hans Zimmer is noted for his work on the score of Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins.
2005: The Dark Knight trilogy
In 2005, Hans Zimmer started working on "The Dark Knight" trilogy (2005-2012).
2006: Composed The Da Vinci Code
In 2006, Hans Zimmer composed the score for "The Da Vinci Code".
2006: Scoring approach
In 2006, Hans Zimmer explained his collaborative approach to scoring with other musicians in an interview with Soundtrack.net.
2007: Composed The Simpsons Movie
In 2007, Hans Zimmer composed the score for "The Simpsons Movie".
2007: Composed At World's End
In 2007, Hans Zimmer was the composer for "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End".
December 2008: The Dark Knight Nomination Reversal
In December 2008, Hans Zimmer reversed the Academy's decision not to nominate The Dark Knight, arguing for the collaborative nature of film scoring and the importance of crediting all contributors.
2008: Co-composed Kung Fu Panda
In 2008, Hans Zimmer co-composed the score for "Kung Fu Panda" with John Powell.
2009: Composed Angels & Demons and Sherlock Holmes
In 2009, Hans Zimmer composed the scores for "Angels & Demons" and "Sherlock Holmes".
2009: Sherlock Holmes Scoring
In 2009, Hans Zimmer purchased an out-of-tune piano for $200 and used it in the scoring process for the film Sherlock Holmes due to its "quirkiness".
2010: Composed Inception
In 2010, Hans Zimmer composed the score for the film "Inception".
2010: Inception Score
In 2010, Hans Zimmer used electronic manipulation of the song "Non, je ne regrette rien" for the film Inception, with a horn sound becoming popular in film trailers.
2011: Composed On Stranger Tides
In 2011, Hans Zimmer was the composer for "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides", collaborating with Rodrigo y Gabriela.
2011: Pirates of the Caribbean series
In 2011, Hans Zimmer worked on the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series (2003-2011).
2012: The Dark Knight trilogy
In 2012, Hans Zimmer finished working on "The Dark Knight" trilogy (2005-2012).
March 2013: The Bible Score
In March 2013, Hans Zimmer co-composed the music for the television series The Bible with Lorne Balfe and Lisa Gerrard.
2013: Composed Man of Steel
In 2013, Hans Zimmer composed the score for the film "Man of Steel".
March 2014: 12 Years a Slave Wins Best Picture
In March 2014, the film 12 Years a Slave, for which Hans Zimmer composed the score, won the Academy Award for Best Picture.
July 2014: Tomorrowland Hymn Composition
In July 2014, Hans Zimmer composed the Tomorrowland Hymn for the Tomorrowland festival's tenth anniversary.
2014: Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Interstellar Scores
In 2014, Hans Zimmer composed the music for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 with "The Magnificent Six" and also composed the score for Christopher Nolan's Interstellar, earning an Academy Award nomination.
2014: Composed Interstellar
In 2014, Hans Zimmer composed the score for the film "Interstellar".
2016: Planet Earth II Theme
In 2016, Hans Zimmer composed the main theme for the BBC nature documentary Planet Earth II, presented by David Attenborough.
2016: The Crown Theme and Online Course
In 2016, Hans Zimmer composed the main theme for the Netflix production The Crown and released an online course teaching the basics of film scoring.
2017: Dunkirk Score
In 2017, Hans Zimmer composed the score for Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk, basing part of it on a recording of a ticking watch given to him by Nolan.
2017: Composed Dunkirk
In 2017, Hans Zimmer composed the score for the film "Dunkirk".
August 2018: Wonder Woman 1984 Composer Announcement
In August 2018, Hans Zimmer was announced as the composer for Wonder Woman 1984.
2018: FIFA Anthem and UEFA Champions League Anthem Remix
In 2018, Hans Zimmer composed the new FIFA Anthem, "Living Football", and remixed the UEFA Champions League Anthem with rapper Vince Staples for EA Sports' FIFA 19.
March 2019: Dune Scoring Announcement
In March 2019, it was announced that Hans Zimmer would be scoring Denis Villeneuve's Dune.
June 2019: BMW Vision M Next Sound Design
In June 2019, Hans Zimmer was hired to create sounds for BMW's concept vehicle, the Vision M Next, producing warning sounds for the electric car line.
2019: The Lion King Remake Score
In 2019, Hans Zimmer scored the photorealistic animated remake of Disney's The Lion King, directed by Jon Favreau.
January 2020: No Time to Die Composer
On January 2020, Hans Zimmer took over as composer for the James Bond film No Time to Die after Dan Romer left the project.
February 2020: Major League Soccer Anthem
In February 2020, Major League Soccer released an anthem for its 25th season, composed by Hans Zimmer.
March 2020: Hillbilly Elegy Score
In March 2020, Hans Zimmer composed the score for Hillbilly Elegy.
2021: Academy Award for Dune
In 2021, Hans Zimmer earned his second Academy Award for Best Original Score for the film Dune.
2022: Frozen Planet II and Top Gun: Maverick
In 2022, Hans Zimmer collaborated with Camila Cabello on the song "Take Me Back Home" for the documentary series Frozen Planet II and worked on Top Gun: Maverick.
2024: Dune Sequel and F1 Film
As of 2024, Hans Zimmer composed the score for the sequel to the film Dune and will be scoring F1, a film starring Brad Pitt and directed by Joseph Kosinski.
2049: Blade Runner 2049 Scoring
In 2049, Hans Zimmer and Benjamin Wallfisch took over scoring duties on Denis Villeneuve's Blade Runner 2049 after Jóhann Jóhannsson left the project.
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