# John Mathieson (cinematographer)

John Mathieson (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.

## Life and career

Mathieson was born on 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 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.

## Personal life

Mathieson 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.

## Filmography
### Feature film

| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
| 1994 | 3 Chains o' Gold | Parris Patton Randee St. Nicholas Prince | Direct-to-video |
| 1994 | Pigalle | Karim Dridi | |
| 1995 | Bye-Bye | Karim Dridi | |
| 1997 | Twin Town | Kevin Allen | |
| 1998 | Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon | John Maybury | |
| 1999 | Plunkett & Macleane | Jake Scott | |
| 2000 | Gladiator | Ridley Scott | 1st collaboration with Scott |
| 2001 | Hannibal | Ridley Scott | |
| 2001 | K-PAX | Iain Softley | |
| 2003 | Matchstick Men | Ridley Scott | |
| 2004 | Trauma | Marc Evans | |
| 2004 | The Phantom of the Opera | Joel Schumacher | |
| 2005 | Kingdom of Heaven | Ridley Scott | |
| 2005 | Stoned | Stephen Woolley | |
| 2007 | August Rush | Kirsten Sheridan | |
| 2009 | Boogie Woogie | Duncan Ward | |
| 2009 | Cracks | Jordan Scott | |
| 2010 | Brighton Rock | Rowan Joffé | |
| 2010 | Burke & Hare | John Landis | |
| 2010 | Robin Hood | Ridley Scott | |
| 2011 | X-Men: First Class | Matthew Vaughn | |
| 2012 | Great Expectations | Mike Newell | |
| 2013 | 47 Ronin | Carl Rinsch | |
| 2015 | Pan | Joe Wright | With Seamus McGarvey |
| 2015 | The Man from U.N.C.L.E. | Guy Ritchie | |
| 2017 | King Arthur: Legend of the Sword | Guy Ritchie | |
| 2017 | Logan | James Mangold | |
| 2018 | American Woman | Jake Scott | |
| 2018 | Mary Queen of Scots | Josie Rourke | |
| 2019 | Detective Pikachu | Rob Letterman | |
| 2022 | Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness | Sam Raimi | |
| 2023 | The Shepherd | Iain Softley | Short film |
| 2024 | Gladiator II | Ridley Scott | |
| 2024 | Bonhoeffer | Todd Komarnicki | |
| 2025 | Jurassic World Rebirth † | Gareth Edwards | Post-production |

### Television

| Year | Title | Notes |
| 1997 | The Hunger | Episodes "The Swords" and "Ménage à Trois" |
| 1998 | Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon | Television film |
| 1998 | Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon | Television film |
| 2012 | Playhouse Presents | Episode "The Man" |

### Music video

| Year | Title | Artist | Director |
| 1990 | "All My Trials" | Paul McCartney | Nigel Dick |
| 1991 | "Mysterious Ways" | U2 | Stéphane Sednaoui |
| 1993 | "Heart-Shaped Box" | Nirvana | Anton Corbijn |
| 1998 | "Drowned World/Substitute for Love" | Madonna | Walter Stern |
| 1998 | "Special" | Garbage | Dawn Shadforth |
| 1998 | "Rabbit in Your Headlights" | UNKLE featuring Thom Yorke | Jonathan Glazer |
| 1999 | "The World Is Not Enough" | Garbage | Philipp Stölzl |
| 2000 | "Ex-Girlfriend" | No Doubt | Hype Williams |
| 2000 | "American Pie" | Madonna | Philipp Stölzl |
| 2008 | KylieX2008 | Kylie Minogue | William Baker |
| 2012 | "Black Chandelier" | Biffy Clyro | Big TV! |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Title | Award/Nomination |
| 1993 | Heart-Shaped Box | Nominated–MTV Video Music Award for Best Cinematography |
| 2000 | American Pie | Nominated–MTV Video Music Award for Best Cinematography |
| 2000 | Gladiator | BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Cinematography Satellite Award for Best Cinematography Nominated–Academy Award for Best Cinematography Nominated–ASC Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography Nominated–Chicago Film Critics Award for Best Cinematography Nominated–Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Cinematography Nominated–San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Cinematography |
| 2004 | The Phantom of the Opera | Nominated–Academy Award for Best Cinematography Nominated–BSC Award for Best Cinematography in a Feature Film Nominated–San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Cinematography Nominated–Satellite Award for Best Cinematography |
| 2009 | Cracks | Nominated–Camerimage Golden Frog |
| 2012 | Great Expectations | Nominated–BSC Award for Best Cinematography in a Feature Film |
| 2015 | Pan | Nominated–Camerimage Jury Award for Best 3D Film |