# John Seale

John Clement Seale AM ACS ASC (born 5 October 1942) is an Australian cinematographer.
He has received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and an American Society of Cinematographers Award.

## Early life

Seale was born in Warwick, Queensland, Australia, to Marjorie Lyndon (née Pool) and Eric Clement Seale.

## Career

Seale started his career collaborating with director Peter Weir, both as a camera operator and director of photography, gaining a reputation as one of Australia's leading cinematographers. He then earned international prominence working with directors such as Anthony Minghella, Wolfgang Petersen, Ron Howard, Sydney Pollack, and George Miller.
He received Oscar nominations for his work on Witness, Rain Man, and Cold Mountain, and won for The English Patient. Seale directed one film, Till There Was You, in 1990. He is a four-time Oscar nominee, five-time BAFTA nominee, and four-time ASC Award nominee.
His greatest commercial successes have been Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, which grossed US$974 million; Rain Man, which grossed US$354 million; Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, which grossed US$335 million; The Perfect Storm, which grossed US$328 million; and The Tourist, which grossed US$278 million.
He came out of retirement in 2012 to shoot Mad Max: Fury Road, for which he received another Academy Award nomination.
Seale was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in the 2002 Australia Day Honours in recognition of his "service to the arts as an Australian and internationally acclaimed cinematographer".

## Filmography
### Film

Director
* Till There Was You (1991)
Cinematographer
| Year | Title | Director |
| 1976 | Deathcheaters | Brian Trenchard-Smith |
| 1980 | Fatty Finn | Maurice Murphy |
| 1981 | Doctors and Nurses | Maurice Murphy |
| 1981 | The Survivor | David Hemmings |
| 1982 | Ginger Meggs | Jonathan Dawson |
| 1982 | Fighting Back | Michael Caulfield |
| 1983 | Goodbye Paradise | Carl Schultz |
| 1983 | BMX Bandits | Brian Trenchard-Smith |
| 1983 | Careful, He Might Hear You | Carl Schultz |
| 1984 | Silver City | Sophia Turkiewicz |
| 1985 | Witness | Peter Weir |
| 1986 | The Hitcher | Robert Harmon |
| 1986 | Children of a Lesser God | Randa Haines |
| 1986 | The Mosquito Coast | Peter Weir |
| 1987 | Stakeout | John Badham |
| 1988 | Gorillas in the Mist | Michael Apted |
| 1988 | Rain Man | Barry Levinson |
| 1989 | Dead Poets Society | Peter Weir |
| 1991 | The Doctor | Randa Haines |
| 1992 | Lorenzo's Oil | George Miller |
| 1993 | The Firm | Sydney Pollack |
| 1994 | The Paper | Ron Howard |
| 1995 | Beyond Rangoon | John Boorman |
| 1995 | The American President | Rob Reiner |
| 1996 | The English Patient | Anthony Minghella |
| 1996 | Ghosts of Mississippi | Rob Reiner |
| 1998 | City of Angels | Brad Silberling |
| 1999 | At First Sight | Irwin Winkler |
| 1999 | The Talented Mr. Ripley | Anthony Minghella |
| 2000 | The Perfect Storm | Wolfgang Petersen |
| 2001 | Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone | Chris Columbus |
| 2003 | Dreamcatcher | Lawrence Kasdan |
| 2003 | Cold Mountain | Anthony Minghella |
| 2004 | Spanglish | James L. Brooks |
| 2006 | Poseidon | Wolfgang Petersen |
| 2010 | Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time | Mike Newell |
| 2010 | The Tourist | Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck |
| 2015 | Mad Max: Fury Road | George Miller |
| 2022 | Three Thousand Years of Longing | George Miller |

### Television

| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
| 1979 | New South Wales Images | Russell Boyd | Documentary film |
| 1985 | Winners | Carl Schultz | Episode "Top Kid" |

## Awards and nominations
### Major awards

Academy Awards
| Year | Category | Title | Result |
| 1985 | Best Cinematography | Witness | Nominated |
| 1988 | Best Cinematography | Rain Man | Nominated |
| 1996 | Best Cinematography | The English Patient | Won |
| 2003 | Best Cinematography | Cold Mountain | Nominated |
| 2015 | Best Cinematography | Mad Max: Fury Road | Nominated |
BAFTA Awards
| Year | Category | Title | Result |
| 1985 | Best Cinematography | Witness | Nominated |
| 1988 | Best Cinematography | Gorillas in the Mist | Nominated |
| 1996 | Best Cinematography | The English Patient | Won |
| 1999 | Best Cinematography | The Talented Mr. Ripley | Nominated |
| 2003 | Best Cinematography | Cold Mountain | Nominated |
| 2015 | Best Cinematography | Mad Max: Fury Road | Nominated |
American Society of Cinematographers
| Year | Category | Title | Result |
| 1988 | Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography | Rain Man | Nominated |
| 1996 | Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography | The English Patient | Won |
| 2000 | Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography | The Perfect Storm | Nominated |
| 2000 | Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography | Cold Mountain | Nominated |
| 2011 | International Award | International Award | Won |
| 2015 | Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography | Mad Max: Fury Road | Nominated |

### Miscellaneous awards

British Society of Cinematographers
| Year | Category | Title | Result |
| 1985 | Best Cinematography | Witness | Nominated |
| 1988 | Best Cinematography | Dead Poets Society | Nominated |
| 1996 | Best Cinematography | The English Patient | Nominated |
| 2003 | Best Cinematography | Cold Mountain | Nominated |
| 2015 | Best Cinematography | Mad Max: Fury Road | Nominated |
Satellite Awards
| Year | Category | Title | Result |
| 1996 | Best Cinematography | The English Patient | Won |
| 1999 | Best Cinematography | The Talented Mr. Ripley | Nominated |
| 2015 | Best Cinematography | Mad Max: Fury Road | Won |
Chicago Film Critics Association
| Year | Category | Title | Result |
| 1996 | Best Cinematography | The English Patient | Won |
| 1999 | Best Cinematography | The Talented Mr. Ripley | Won |
| 2003 | Best Cinematography | Cold Mountain | Nominated |
| 2015 | Best Cinematography | Mad Max: Fury Road | Won |
Boston Society of Film Critics
| Year | Category | Title | Result |
| 1996 | Best Cinematography | The English Patient | Won |
| 1999 | Best Cinematography | The Talented Mr. Ripley | Won |
| 2003 | Best Cinematography | Cold Mountain | Nominated |
Australian Film Institute
| Year | Category | Title | Result |
| 1981 | Best Achievement in Cinematography | The Survivor | Nominated |
| 1983 | Best Achievement in Cinematography | Careful, He Might Hear You | Won |
| 1984 | Best Achievement in Cinematography | Silver City | Nominated |
Australian Cinematographers Society
| Year | Category | Title | Result |
| 1983 | Cinematography of the Year | Goodbye Paradise | Won |
| 1985 | Cinematography of the Year | Witness | Won |
National Society of Film Critics
| Year | Category | Title | Result |
| 1996 | Best Cinematography | The English Patient | Won |
| 2015 | Best Cinematography | Mad Max: Fury Road | Won |
Los Angeles Film Critics Association
| Year | Category | Title | Result |
| 1996 | Best Cinematography | The English Patient | Won |
| 2015 | Best Cinematography | Mad Max: Fury Road | Won |
Florida Film Critics Circle
| Year | Category | Title | Result |
| 1996 | Best Cinematography | The English Patient | Won |
| 2015 | Best Cinematography | Mad Max: Fury Road | Won |

### Other awards

| Year | Association | Category | Title | Result |
| 1996 | Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association | Best Cinematography | The English Patient | Won |
| 1996 | European Film Award | Best Cinematography | The English Patient | Won |
| 1997 | Brisbane International Film Festival | Chauvel Award | Chauvel Award | Won |
| 2015 | AACTA Awards | Best Cinematography | Mad Max: Fury Road | Won |
| 2015 | Australian Film Critics Association | Best Cinematography | Mad Max: Fury Road | Won |
| 2015 | Santa Barbara International Film Festival | Artisan Award | Mad Max: Fury Road | Won |
| 2015 | New York Film Critics Circle | Best Cinematographer | Mad Max: Fury Road | Won |
| 2015 | Film Critics Circle of Australia | Best Cinematography | Mad Max: Fury Road | Won |
| 2015 | Online Film Critics Society | Best Cinematography | Mad Max: Fury Road | Won |
| 2015 | African-American Film Critics Association | Best Cinematography | Mad Max: Fury Road | Won |
| 2015 | Austin Film Critics Association | Best Cinematography | Mad Max: Fury Road | Nominated |
| 2015 | Broadcast Film Critics Association | Best Cinematography | Mad Max: Fury Road | Nominated |
| 2015 | Houston Film Critics Society | Best Cinematography | Mad Max: Fury Road | Nominated |
| 2015 | London Film Critics' Circle | Technical Achievement of the Year | Mad Max: Fury Road | Nominated |
| 2015 | Camerimage International Film Festival | Golden Frog Award | Mad Max: Fury Road | Nominated |
| 2015 | Santa Barbara International Film Festival | Artisan Award in Cinematography | Mad Max: Fury Road | Won |