Roger Deakins facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sir Roger Deakins CBE
Deakins in 2021
Born	Roger Alexander Deakins (1949-05-24) 24 May 1949 (age 76) Torquay, Devon, England
Occupation	Cinematographer
Years active	1974–present
Organization	British Society of Cinematographers American Society of Cinematographers
Spouse(s)	Isabella James Purefoy Ellis ​ (m. 1991)​
Awards	Full list

Sir Roger Alexander Deakins (born May 24, 1949) is a famous English cinematographer. A cinematographer is the person in charge of the camera and lighting on a film set. They decide how a movie looks.

Roger Deakins has won many important awards for his work. He has received five BAFTA Awards and two Academy Awards for Best Cinematography. He has worked many times with well-known directors like the Coen brothers, Sam Mendes, and Denis Villeneuve.

Some of his most famous movies include The Shawshank Redemption (1994), Fargo (1996), Skyfall (2012), and Blade Runner 2049 (2017). He won his Academy Awards for Blade Runner 2049 and 1917 (2019). Many people think he is one of the best cinematographers ever.

Deakins studied at the National Film and Television School. He is an Honorary Fellow there because of his great contributions to British film. He is also a member of the British Society of Cinematographers and the American Society of Cinematographers. In 2011, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society of Cinematographers. In 2013, he was given a CBE by the Palace for his work in film. He was made a Knight Bachelor in 2021.

Early Life and Education

Roger Deakins was born in Torquay, England. His dad ran a building company. His mom was an actress and liked to paint. Roger went to Torquay Boys' Grammar School.

He started painting when he was young. Later, he studied graphic design at the Bath School of Art and Design. While studying, he found a love for photography. A photographer named Roger Mayne inspired him a lot.

After college, Deakins wanted to join the new National Film and Television School. He was not accepted at first because his photos were not "filmic" enough. He spent a year taking pictures of country life. Then, he was finally accepted into the film school in 1972.

Career in Film

Starting Out

After finishing film school, Deakins worked as a cameraman for about seven years. One of his first jobs was filming a nine-month yacht trip around the world. This was for a project called Around the World with Ridgeway.

He also filmed two documentaries in Africa. One was about the Rhodesian Bush War called Zimbabwe. The other was about the Eritrean War of Independence called Eritrea – Behind Enemy Lines. He also shot documentaries in India and Sudan.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Deakins worked on music projects. These included a documentary about British rockabilly music, Blue Suede Shoes. He also filmed a concert for Van Morrison and a musical film for Ray Davies. He even made short music videos for artists like Eric Clapton and Marvin Gaye.

Working on Feature Films

Deakins at the 83rd Academy Awards in February 2011

Deakins' first big drama project was a TV miniseries called Wolcott. It was about a detective in London. His work on this show impressed his old school friend, Michael Radford. Radford then asked Deakins to work on their first movie together, Another Time, Another Place (1983).

This movie was shown at the Cannes Film Festival and was well-liked. Deakins and Radford then worked together on Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984). This film was based on George Orwell's famous book. Deakins made the movie look very unique. He used a special process called bleach bypass. This made the film look washed-out, which fit the dark mood of the story. Deakins was one of the first Western cinematographers to use this technique. It has since influenced many other films.

In 1991, Deakins began working with the Coen brothers. Their first movie together was Barton Fink. The Coens were very impressed with his work. This film won many awards, and Deakins also won awards for his cinematography.

In 1994, Deakins worked on The Shawshank Redemption. This movie earned him his first Academy Award nomination. He also received two more Oscar nominations in that decade for Fargo (1996) and Kundun (1997).

For the Coen brothers' film O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), Deakins spent two months making the movie look just right. He changed the green landscapes of Mississippi into a burnt, autumn yellow. This movie was the first feature film to be fully color-corrected digitally. This earned Deakins his fourth Academy Award nomination. The next year, he won his first BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography for The Man Who Wasn't There (2001).

In 2008, Deakins got two Oscar nominations at the same time. These were for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) and No Country for Old Men (2007). He was the first cinematographer to do this in many years.

Deakins at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival for the premiere of The Goldfinch

Deakins worked with the Coen brothers again on the western film True Grit (2010). This was their eleventh movie together. He received his ninth Oscar nomination for this film. Deakins also worked on Skyfall (2012), a James Bond movie. He had worked with director Sam Mendes before on other films. For Skyfall, Deakins got another Academy Award nomination.

Besides live-action movies, Deakins also helped with animated films. He was a visual consultant for movies like WALL-E (2008), Rango (2011), and the How to Train Your Dragon trilogy.

Starting with Prisoners (2013), Deakins began working with director Denis Villeneuve. They also worked on Sicario (2015) and Blade Runner 2049 (2017). Deakins received Oscar nominations for all three films. For Blade Runner 2049, he finally won his first Academy Award for Best Cinematography after 14 nominations!

Deakins worked with Sam Mendes again on the war film 1917. This movie was filmed to look like one continuous shot. For this amazing work, he won his second Academy Award.

Personal Life

Roger Deakins married Isabella James Purefoy Ellis in 1991. She is known professionally as James Ellis Deakins. They met in Los Angeles while working on a movie called Homicide. She was the script supervisor. They started dating and got married about six months later.

Since then, James Ellis has helped with the digital side of his films. They have worked together on many projects, like The Goldfinch and 1917. They live in Kingswear, Devon, England, and Santa Monica, California.

Deakins has always loved boats. He has had one since he was a child, starting with his father. He still keeps a boat in his hometown of Torquay. He often goes fishing there when he is in Britain.

When he is in Devon, he enjoys running. He also still loves still photography. In 2021, Deakins released a book of his black-and-white photos called Byways.

Since 2005, Deakins has had a website. He often talks with fans and other filmmakers there. He answers questions and gives tips about cinematography. Since 2020, he and his wife have hosted a podcast called Team Deakins. They have had guests like Sam Mendes and Denis Villeneuve.

Filmography

Feature Films

Awards and Honors

Roger Deakins has been nominated for 16 Academy Awards. He won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography twice. These wins were for Blade Runner 2049 (2017) and 1917 (2019).

He is an Honorary Fellow of his old school, the National Film and Television School. This honor is for his amazing work in British film and TV.

Deakins has won five BAFTA Awards for Best Cinematography. These were for The Man Who Wasn't There (2001), No Country for Old Men (2007), True Grit (2010), Blade Runner 2049 (2017), and 1917 (2019).

He also received the Lumière Award from the Royal Photographic Society in 2009. This award is for major achievements in cinematography. In 2007, the National Board of Review gave him an award for his Career Achievement in Cinematography.

Deakins received Lifetime Achievement Awards from the American Society of Cinematographers in 2011 and the British Society of Cinematographers in 2015.

In 2013, he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). This was for his services to film. In 2021, he was made a Knight Bachelor, also for his contributions to film.

See also

In Spanish: Roger Deakins para niños