Seamus McGarvey, ASC, BSC (born 29 June 1967) is a cinematographer from Armagh, Northern Ireland. He lives in Tuscany, Italy. He has received two

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

nominations for his cinematography, on Joe Wright's 2007 drama '' Atonement'' and his 2012 adaptation of

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's novel '' Anna Karenina''. In addition to the Oscar nominations, McGarvey won the British Society of Cinematographers (B.S.C.) award for '' Anna Karenina'' and for '' Nocturnal Animals'', as well as a nomination for ''Atonement'', and earned BAFTA noms for Atonement, Anna Karenina and Nocturnal Animals. He received

A.S.C. The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC), founded in Hollywood in 1919, is a cultural, educational, and professional organization that is neither a labor union nor a guild. The society was organized to advance the science and art of ci ...

nods for Atonement and Anna Karenina. ''Atonement'' earned him nominations for the British Independent Film Award, the

Chicago Film Critics Association The Chicago Film Critics Association (CFCA) is an association of professional film critics, who work in print, broadcast and online media, based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The organization was founded in 1990 by film critics Sharon LeM ...

and the Online Film Critics Society, and he received the top honor from the Phoenix Film Critics Society. McGarvey has won three Evening Standard British Film Awards for '' Atonement'', '' Anna Karenina'' and Stephen Daldry's '' The Hours'' and six

Irish Film & Television Awards The IFTA Film & Drama Awards are awards given by the Irish Film & Television Academy for Irish television and film, the awards began in 1999. The ceremonies recognise Irish creative talent working in film, drama, and television, and winners receiv ...

for ''Atonement'', ''Anna Karenina'', ''

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'' and '' We Need to Talk About Kevin'', '' Nocturnal Animals'' and '' The Greatest Showman''. In 2004, he was awarded the

Royal Photographic Society The Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain, commonly known as the Royal Photographic Society (RPS), is one of the world's oldest photographic societies. It was founded in London, England, in 1853 as the Photographic Society of London with ...

's prestigious Lumiere Medal, with

Jack Cardiff Jack Cardiff, (18 September 1914 – 22 April 2009) was a British cinematographer, film and television director, and photographer. His career spanned the development of cinema, from silent film, through early experiments in Technicolor, to f ...

, Freddie Francis, Roger Deakins and

Ridley Scott Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is a British film director and producer. Directing, among others, science fiction films, his work is known for its atmospheric and highly concentrated visual style. Scott has received many accolades th ...

, for contributions to the art of cinematography.

Life and career

McGarvey was born in

Armagh Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the ...

, Northern Ireland. He began his career as a still photographer, before attending film school at the University of Westminster in London. Upon graduating in 1988, he began shooting short films and documentaries, including ''Skin'', which was nominated for a

Royal Television Society The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...

Cinematography Award, and ''Atlantic'', directed by Sam Taylor-Wood. The latter project, an experimental, three-screen projected film created in 1997, earned Taylor-Wood a nomination for the 1998

Turner Prize The Turner Prize, named after the English painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist. Between 1991 and 2016, only artists under the age of 50 were eligible (this restriction was removed for the 2017 award). ...

and led to an ongoing collaboration between McGarvey and the director. His four dozen credits as director of photography include

Joss Whedon Joseph Hill Whedon (; born June 23, 1964) is an American filmmaker, composer, and comic book writer. He is the founder of Mutant Enemy Productions, co-founder of Bellwether Pictures, and is best known as the creator of several television serie ...

's superhero film '' The Avengers''; Lynne Ramsay's '' We Need to Talk About Kevin'';

Oliver Stone William Oliver Stone (born September 15, 1946) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Stone won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay as writer of '' Midnight Express'' (1978), and wrote the gangster film remake '' Sc ...

's '' World Trade Center''; Gary Winick's ''

Charlotte's Web ''Charlotte's Web'' is a book of children's literature by American author E. B. White and illustrated by Garth Williams; it was published on October 15, 1952, by Harper & Brothers. The novel tells the story of a livestock pig named Wilbur and hi ...

''; John Hamburg's ''

Along Came Polly ''Along Came Polly'' is a 2004 American romantic comedy film written and directed by John Hamburg and starring Ben Stiller and Jennifer Aniston. The story follows Reuben Feffer who finds his life taking a different turn when he reconnects and fall ...

''; Stephen Frears' '' High Fidelity'';

Mike Nichols Mike Nichols (born Michael Igor Peschkowsky; November 6, 1931 – November 19, 2014) was an American film and theater director, producer, actor, and comedian. He was noted for his ability to work across a range of genres and for his aptitude fo ...

' ''

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''; Michael Apted's '' Enigma''; Michael Winterbottom's '' Butterfly Kiss''; and two projects marking actors' directorial debuts: Tim Roth's '' The War Zone'' and

Alan Rickman Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman (21 February 1946 – 14 January 2016) was an English actor and director. Known for his deep, languid voice, he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and became a member of the Royal Shakesp ...

's ''

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''. He served as cinematographer on the pilot for the TV series ''

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'', directed by Anthony Minghella. He reunited with director Wright for his 2009 drama ''

The Soloist ''The Soloist'' is a 2009 drama film directed by Joe Wright, and starring Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr. The plot is based on the true story of Nathaniel Ayers, a musician who developed schizophrenia and became homeless. The film was released ...

'', and filmmaker Sam Taylor-Wood (now Sam Taylor-Johnson) on her acclaimed 2008 drama '' Nowhere Boy'', her 2011 short, ''James Bond Supports International Women's Day''and the ''

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'' segment of the 2006 erotic drama ''

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''. Following his work on ''

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'', he teamed with Taylor-Johnson on her big screen adaptation, and Hollywood directorial debut, of the bestselling novel '' Fifty Shades of Grey''. He has photographed '' Pan'', '' The Accountant'', '' Nocturnal Animals'', ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energy ...

'', '' The Greatest Showman'', '' Greta'', and '' Bad Times at the El Royale'', and '' The Nevers''. His documentary work includes ''Lost Angels: Skid Row Is My Home'', which followed his work on Wright's ''The Soloist'', and filmed in the same locales; ''Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction''; ''Rolling Stones: Tip of the Tongue''; and ''The Name of This Film Is Dogme95''. Supplementing his work on features and telefilms, McGarvey has photographed and directed over 100 music videos for various artists, including Coldplay,

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

, Dusty Springfield,

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically dr ...

, U2, and

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stud ...

. In 2015, he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws from

Dundee University , mottoeng = "My soul doth magnify the Lord" , established = 1967 – gained independent university status by Royal Charter1897 – Constituent college of the University of St Andrews1881 – University College , ...

and an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from the

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. He is an Honorary Fellow of Edinburgh College of Art. He is featured in the book ''In Conversation with Cinematographers'' by David A. Ellis and in the book Ballinger, Alexander; ''New Cinematographers'' (2004) . McGarvey was meant to serve as cinematographer on '' Spider-Man: No Way Home'', but exited after contracting

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...

and was replaced with Mauro Fiore.

Filmography

Film

Television

Short film

*1997 - Flying Saucer Rock'n'Roll *2016 - '' Kitty''

References

External links

*
American Cinematographer Article

Moving Image Arts website: Detailed interview with Seamus McGarvey
{{DEFAULTSORT:McGarvey, Seamus 1967 births Cinematographers from Northern Ireland Film directors from Northern Ireland Living people People educated at St Patrick's Grammar School, Armagh People from Armagh (city)