Photo: Dgoldwas / CC BY-SA 4.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Every time I see Michael Giacchino's name scroll by in an end credits, I get this little involuntary smile — like spotting a friend. The guy grew up in New Jersey in the late '60s and early '70s, basically marinating in the golden age of orchestral film music, and it shows in every bar he writes. He scored his Academy Award in 2010 for Up, and honestly that opening montage sequence might be the single most emotionally devastating piece of music in mainstream cinema history — four minutes of no dialogue, just his strings and piano doing the impossible. His fingerprints are all over two decades of blockbusters: Lost, the Pixar universe, the Abrams-era Star Trek and Mission: Impossible films, Spider-Man, Doctor Strange — he's essentially the house composer of modern Hollywood. And yet he carries it all lightly, with a genuine warmth and nerdy enthusiasm that comes through even in his public persona. Three Grammys, an Oscar, a BAFTA, a Golden Globe — not bad for a kid who just really loved movies.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Michael Giacchino
- Name (Japanese)
- マイケル・ジアッキーノ
- Reading
- まいける・じあっきーの
- Born
- October 10, 1967 (age 58)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Libra / Goat
- Origin
- Riverside, New Jersey, United States
- Occupation
- composer / film score composer / music executive / film director / television director
2. Background
- High school
- Holy Cross High School
- University
- University of California, Los Angeles
Awards & achievements
- 2010 Academy Award for Best Original Score
- 2024 Goya Award for Best Original Score
- Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media
4. Personality
Motto
Private
5. Works & records
| Category | Title | Role | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notable work | Space Mountain | — |
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Michael Giacchino born?
Born October 10, 1967 (age 58).
Where is Michael Giacchino from?
Michael Giacchino is from Riverside, New Jersey, United States.
What does Michael Giacchino do?
Michael Giacchino works as composer, film score composer, music executive, film director, television director.
What is Michael Giacchino known for?
Notable works include Space Mountain.
Composer — see all → · Film score composer — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.