When it comes to film composers, few have been more prolific and more famous in the past few decades than German composer Hans Zimmer.
Since the 1980s, Zimmer has composed music for over 150 films and has twice won the Oscar for his work on Disney’s original “The Lion King” back in 1994 and was the most recent recipient of the same award for his work on “Dune”.
In between that, his blend of electronic music sounds with traditional orchestral music and occasional experimental techniques can be heard on countless films and franchises including “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “Transformers,” “Gladiator,” “Man of Steel,” “Sherlock Holmes,” “12 Years a Slave,” “Frost/Nixon,” “Pearl Harbor,” “King Arthur,” “Hannibal,” “The Thin Red Line,” “The Prince of Egypt,” “Crimson Tide” and most of Christopher Nolan’s filmography.
With so many to his name to date, he has generally played coy about picking a favorite over time. That’s changed in a TikTok posting today where Zimmer himself has revealed his choice for his favorite work – Nolan’s “Interstellar”. Though he also gives himself an out:
“People always ask me what’s my favorite score and I keep avoiding answering the question. And how about I don’t avoid it this time? I’m going to tell you that the first, the favorite score that I’ve ever written, I think, is ‘Interstellar.’ Or, I haven’t written my favorite score yet. So, maybe that’s the better answer.”
Arguably Zimmer’s work on Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” trilogy and “Inception” boast music that’s actually more familiar to a wide audience than “Interstellar,” but it still contains plenty of that signature Zimmer sound.
Zimmer tackled his first James Bond score last year with “No Time to Die,” and earlier this year composed the music for the year’s biggest hit “Top Gun: Maverick” along with the BBC documentary series “Frozen Planet II”.
His work will be heard next year on Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part Two” and then in 2024 on Barry Jenkins’ live-action prequel “Mufasa: The Lion King”.