Composer Series,  Interviews,  Movies/Entertainment

Interview…David Buckley on ‘The Sandman’ and ‘The Nice Guys’

Emmy nominated composer David Buckley is known for his versatility and prolific output. Having worked with some of the very best in the business, Buckley has been able to score a multitude of genres and projects including Universal’s Nobody starring Bob Odenkirk, Greenland starring Gerard Butler, Jason Bourne directed by Paul Greengrass and The Nice Guys for Shane Black and Joel Silver. Previous scores include the Joel Schumacher-directed thriller Blood Creek, Taylor Hackford’s action feature Parker and Rob Minkoff’s fantasy adventure The Forbidden Kingdom.

For television, the hit Scott Free/CBS drama series The Good Wife and continues to score the spin-off, now in its sixth season, The Good Fight (for which he received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Title Music). He also composed the scores for Mercy Street (PBS), BrainDead (CBS), The Gifted (Marvel/FOX), The Stranger (Netflix), Stay Close (Netflix) and The Lincoln Lawyer (Netflix). He is currently scoring the third season of Evil (CBS).

Born in England, David’s first involvement with film music was as a cathedral choirboy performing on Peter Gabriel’s score for Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ. He continued his musical education at Cambridge University. In 2006, David moved to Los Angeles where he began collaborating with Harry Gregson-Williams on film scores, including Shrek The Third and Gone Baby Gone. He has written music for films including Wonder Woman, all the Fifty Shades movies, Big Eyes and American Hustle, and his music was featured in David O’Russell’s Joy. David was honored as a ‘Brit to Watch’ by BAFTA.

Of that impressive resume, perhaps his toughest project to date has been Netflix’s Neil Gaiman DC Comic adaptation of The Sandman. His enthralling score to the show has so many asymmetrical elements – from fantasy to grittiness to the antithesis of lyricism – but his music adds so much to the framework of the show, including a very catchy 9-note tune for the eponymous protagonist. So, get comfy and drift off with us as we talk sands, sounds and symphonies with David Buckley!

Download Podcast Audio
Listen to an exclusive track from Buckley’s fantastical score below…