Person Details

Birthday:

Aliases: No known aliases

Gender: Male

Place of birth: Purbeck, Dorset, England, UK

Homepage: https://www.independenttalent.com/below-the-line/john-mathieson/

Movie Involvements: 45

TV Involvements: 0


Most Famous Work

Biography

John Mathieson, CAL, BSC (born 3 May 1961) is an English cinematographer and commercial director. He is one of a group of filmmakers who emerged from the music video industry of the late 1980s and 1990s. He is a frequent collaborator with director Ridley Scott, acting as director of photography on most of his films, beginning with Gladiator (2000), for which he won a BAFTA Award and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography. He has worked with directors like Joel Schumacher, Rowan Joffé, Matthew Vaughn, Guy Ritchie, James Mangold, and Rob Letterman. Mathieson was born on the Isle of Purbeck, Dorset, England. Beginning his career in the British film industry as camera assistant to Gabriel Beristain, Mathieson worked his way through the ranks. In 1988, he garnered recognition for the ground-breaking video "Peek-a-Boo," for Siouxsie and the Banshees, directed by Peter Scammell. He collaborated with John Maybury, director of the Sinéad O'Connor video "Nothing Compares 2 U," going on to photograph Maybury's award-winning film Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon. Mathieson honed his craft through the 1990s, shooting numerous television commercials and music videos for artists including Madonna, Prince, and Massive Attack.  In the mid-1990s, Mathieson photographed two feature films for director Karim Dridi, for which he was later bestowed the honour of Chevalier by the French government. He came to the attention of Tony Scott whilst shooting television commercials for the London-based company RSA Films. After working as a visual effects cinematographer on Enemy of the State for Tony Scott, Mathieson photographed the film Plunkett & Macleane for Jake Scott. Having seen Mathiesons work on Plunkett, Ridley Scott invited him to work on his next project. Mathieson has photographed five films for Ridley Scott, nominated for an Academy Award for Gladiator in 2000, and won the BAFTA award for best cinematography in the same year. His second Oscar nomination came for The Phantom of the Opera (2004), directed by Joel Schumacher. Despite a career now cemented in big-budget film production, Mathieson maintains links with independent British film, working on more modest-budget projects including Trauma, directed by Marc Evans, and Stoned, directed by Stephen Woolley. Mathieson acted as cinematographer on the DC Films production Batgirl. The film was cancelled in August 2022. Matthew lives in the United Kingdom and is married to Maria Tarmander. He has earned a Knighthood of the Order of Arts and Letters for his contributions to the entertainment industry. Description above from the Wikipedia article John Mathieson licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Most Famous Work

Gladiator II
Average
7

Gladiator II

(2024) Director of Photography
Gladiator
Average
8

Gladiator

(2000) Director of Photography
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Average
7

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

(2022) Director of Photography
Kingdom of Heaven
Average
7

Kingdom of Heaven

(2005) Director of Photography
Mary Queen of Scots
Average
7

Mary Queen of Scots

(2018) Director of Photography
Logan
Average
8

Logan

(2017) Director of Photography
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword
Average
7

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword

(2017) Director of Photography
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
Average
7

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

(2015) Director of Photography

Acting

Year Character Movie/Tv
2009 Himself
2006 Self
Year Character Movie/Tv

Camera

Year Role Movie/Tv
2025 Director of Photography
2024 Director of Photography
Director of Photography
2023 Director of Photography
2022 Director of Photography
2019 Director of Photography
2018 Director of Photography
Director of Photography
2017 Director of Photography
Director of Photography
2015 Director of Photography
Director of Photography
2013 Director of Photography
2012 Director of Photography
2011 Director of Photography
2010 Director of Photography
Director of Photography
Director of Photography
2009 Director of Photography
Director of Photography
2008 Director of Photography
2007 Director of Photography
2005 Director of Photography
Director of Photography
2004 Director of Photography
Director of Photography
2003 Director of Photography
2001 Director of Photography
Director of Photography
2000 Director of Photography
1999 Director of Photography
1998 Director of Photography
Director of Photography
1997 Director of Photography
1995 Director of Photography
1994 Director of Photography
1992 Director of Photography
Director of Photography
Year Role Movie/Tv

Crew

Year Role Movie/Tv
2013 Cinematography
1996 Cinematography
1994 Cinematography
1989 Cinematography
Year Role Movie/Tv

Directing

Year Role Movie/Tv
Director
Year Role Movie/Tv

Join the discussion

Please Log in to comment