Alexandre Desplat facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Alexandre Desplat
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Desplat at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Alexandre Michel Gérard Desplat |
| Born | 23 August 1961 Paris, France |
| Genres | Film score, contemporary classical, jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, orchestrator, conductor |
| Instruments | Piano, trumpet, flute |
Alexandre Desplat (born August 23, 1961) is a famous French composer who creates music for movies. As a composer and conductor, he has written the scores for over 100 films. His music has earned him many major awards, including two Academy Awards, also known as Oscars.
You have probably heard his music in many popular movies. He wrote the scores for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2. He also composed the music for The Shape of Water, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Godzilla, and Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio.
Desplat is known for working with famous directors like Wes Anderson, Guillermo del Toro, and George Clooney. For his work, the French government has given him high honors, making him an Officer of the Ordre national du Mérite and a Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.
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Early Life and Musical Start
Alexandre Desplat was born in Paris, France. His father, Jacques, was French, and his mother, Katie, was a Greek poet. They met while studying at a university in California before moving to Paris. Alexandre is the youngest of three children.
His love for music started early. He began playing the piano when he was only five years old. He later learned the trumpet and then the flute. He loved listening to all kinds of music, from French composers like Maurice Ravel to jazz.
Desplat became fascinated with movie music after hearing John Williams's score for the first Star Wars movie in 1977. This inspired him to become a film composer. He studied music at famous schools like the Conservatoire de Paris. While recording music for his first film, he met a talented violinist named Dominique Lemmonier. She became his artistic director, and they later got married.
Career as a Film Composer
Desplat began his career in the 1990s, mostly working on French films. His big break in Hollywood came in 2003 with the movie Girl with a Pearl Earring. The beautiful music he wrote for the film got him noticed around the world.
Rising to Fame
After his success, Desplat began working on many big movies. In 2006, he was nominated for his first Academy Award for the music in The Queen. He also composed the score for The Golden Compass and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which earned him another Oscar nomination.
By the end of the 2000s, he was one of the most sought-after composers in Hollywood. He wrote the music for the animated movie Fantastic Mr. Fox and the popular film The Twilight Saga: New Moon.
Winning Oscars and Major Projects
The 2010s were a very successful decade for Desplat. He joined the wizarding world by composing the music for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1. The director, David Yates, loved his work so much that he asked him to return for the final film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2.
In 2014, Desplat had an amazing year. He was nominated for two Academy Awards at the same time! He was nominated for his work on The Imitation Game and The Grand Budapest Hotel. He won the Oscar for The Grand Budapest Hotel, his first Academy Award.
He won his second Oscar a few years later for the magical music in The Shape of Water (2017). During this time, he also wrote scores for other major films like Zero Dark Thirty, Argo, and Isle of Dogs.
More recently, he has continued to work on exciting projects. He created the music for Little Women, The French Dispatch, and the stop-motion animated movie Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio.
Famous Film Scores
Desplat has composed music for a huge variety of films. Here are some of his most well-known works:
- Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003)
- Syriana (2005)
- The Queen (2006)
- The Golden Compass (2007)
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
- Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
- The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (2010)
- The King's Speech (2010)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011)
- Argo (2012)
- Rise of the Guardians (2012)
- Zero Dark Thirty (2012)
- The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
- Godzilla (2014)
- The Imitation Game (2014)
- The Secret Life of Pets (2016)
- The Shape of Water (2017)
- Isle of Dogs (2018)
- Little Women (2019)
- The Midnight Sky (2020)
- Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (2022)
- The Boys in the Boat (2023)
- Jurassic World Rebirth (2025)
Personal Life
Alexandre Desplat is married to violinist Dominique "Solre" Lemmonier. She often works with him on his film scores. They have two daughters, Antonia and Ninon. Desplat lives in Paris but also has a studio in Los Angeles for his work on Hollywood films.
Awards and Honors
Alexandre Desplat has won many of the most important awards for film music. These include:
- 2 Academy Awards (Oscars)
- 3 BAFTA Awards (British Academy Film Awards)
- 2 Golden Globe Awards
- 2 Grammy Awards
He has also received special honors from his home country of France for his contributions to art and culture.
See also
In Spanish: Alexandre Desplat para niños
