Two time Oscar nominee and Golden Globe winner for his work on “The Theory Of Everything,” acclaimed composer Jóhann Jóhannsson passed away on Friday at the age of 48. The cause of death is currently unknown.
Born and raised in Iceland, Jóhannsson’s early musical path found him playing in indie rock bands, later turning to a more experimental approach that saw him dive into collaborations with artists from across genres. In 2000, Jóhannsson earned his first composer’s credit on a film with “The Icelandic Dream.” He would continue to contribute to a variety of projects — documentaries, short films, features — while also releasing solo albums under his own name.
In 2013, Jóhannsson scored Denis Villeneuve‘s “Prisoners,” sparking a three film run with the director that would include “Sicario” (nominated for an Oscar) and “Arrival” (nominated for a Golden Globe). James Marsh‘s “The Theory Of Everything” notched Jóhannsson’s first Oscar and Golden Globe nominations, and won him the trophy for the latter. Those films made the composer one of the most sought over in the industry. Jóhannsson’s distinctive work was often avant and percussive, utilizing tones and overlapping drones to profound effect. However, the multi-faceted artist and musician could also create lush and romantic work, as he did for ‘Theory.’
The past year saw Jóhannsson’s work on two high profile films go unreleased. The composer had initially been hired to score Villeneuve’s “Blade Runner 2049,” but was replaced by Hans Zimmer and Benjamin Wallfisch, when it was determined his contributions weren’t working out. He had also written a score for Darren Aronofsky‘s divisive “mother!,” but both the director and Jóhannsson ultimately decided the film worked best without it.
“ ‘mother!’ is a film where half measures have no place and after Darren and I had explored many different approaches, my instinct was to eliminate the score entirely. Erasure is a big part of the creative process and in this case, we knew we had to take this approach to its logical extreme,” he explained in a statement provided in the press notes to the film.
Recently, Jóhannsson reteamed with Marsh and scored “The Mercy” which just opened this weekend in the U.K. He has also scored Garth Davis‘ upcoming “Mary Magdalene” starring Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara, which opens abroad in the spring. Both films are awaiting U.S. release dates. In addition, he scored the Hungarian film “The Butcher, the Whore and the One-Eyed Man,” as well as “Mandy” starring Nicolas Cage, which recently received a rapturous reception at the Sundance Film Festival.
Jóhannsson’s passing is a tragic loss. He was a singular, gifted artist who had much more give, but body of work he has left behind will continue to resonate deeply.