Danny Elfman
Sound • Born 1953-05-29
Biography
Daniel Robert Elfman (born May 29, 1953) is an American film composer, singer, songwriter, and musician. He came to prominence as the lead vocalist and primary songwriter for the new wave band Oingo Boingo in the early 1980s. Since scoring his first studio film in 1985, Elfman has garnered international recognition for composing over 100 feature film scores, as well as compositions for television, stage productions, and the concert hall. Elfman has frequently worked with directors Tim Burton, Sam Raimi, and Gus Van Sant, contributing music to nearly 20 Burton projects, including Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, Beetlejuice, Batman, Edward Scissorhands, Batman Returns, Mars Attacks!, Sleepy Hollow, Big Fish, and Alice in Wonderland, as well as scoring Raimi's Darkman, A Simple Plan, Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, Oz the Great and Powerful, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Van Sant's Academy Award-winning films Good Will Hunting and Milk. He wrote music for all of the Men in Black and Fifty Shades of Grey franchise films, the songs and score for Henry Selick's animated musical The Nightmare Before Christmas, and the themes for the popular television series Desperate Housewives and The Simpsons. Among his honours are four Oscar nominations, three Emmy Awards, a Grammy, seven Saturn Awards for Best Music, the 2002 Richard Kirk Award, the 2015 Disney Legend Award, the Max Steiner Film Music Achievement Award in 2017, and the Society of Composers & Lyricists Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022. Description above from the Wikipedia article Danny Elfman, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Filmography
42 credits
Corpse Bride
Movie • 2005
Bonejangles (voice)
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Movie • 1993
Jack Skellington (singing) / Barrel / Clown with the Tear away Face (voice)
Forbidden Zone
Movie • 1980
Satan
Oingo Boingo: Farewell (Live from the Universal Amphitheatre)
Movie • 1996
Self
Hot Tomorrows
Movie • 1977
Singer
Oingo Boingo: October 25th, 1990
Movie • 1990
The Magical World of Chuck Jones
Movie • 1992
Self
Back to School
Movie • 1986
Oingo Boingo Band Member
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Special Edition
Movie • 1994
Self
Oingo Boingo: 1983 US Festival
Movie • 2011
Oingo Boingo: Skeletons in the Closet
Movie • 1989
Himself, Waiter
The Making of 'The Frighteners'
Movie • 1998
Self
Hollywood in Vienna 2017 - Fairytales
Movie • 2017
Self
Live From Lincoln Center: Danny Elfman's Music from the Films of Tim Burton
Movie • 2015
A Look Into 'The Forbidden Zone'
Movie
Himself
Good Morning, Mr. Orwell
Movie • 1984
Self
Score: A Film Music Documentary
Movie • 2017
Self
78/52
Movie • 2017
Self
Proud Iza
Movie • 2008
Narrator
DemiUrge Emesis
Movie • 2010
Narrator (voice)
Urgh! A Music War
Movie • 1981
Self
Psycho Path
Movie • 2000
Self - Arranger
Sleepy Hollow: Behind the Legend
Movie • 2000
Self
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Movie • 2005
Oompa Loompa (voice) (uncredited)
Oingo Boingo: Live at the Ritz
Movie • 1985
Self - Lead Vocals, Guitar
Oingo Boingo: Halloween '87
Movie • 1987
Himself
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: Sweet Sounds
Movie • 2005
Himself
Cosmic Symphonies: Elfman in Space
Movie • 2002
Self
Fantasporto – Carnaval no Porto
Movie • 2000
The Gift
Movie • 2000
Tommy Lee Ballard
A Conversation with Danny Elfman & Tim Burton
Movie • 2011
Shadows of the Bat: The Cinematic Saga of the Dark Knight
Movie • 2008
Self
Behind the Scenes of 'Spider-Man'
Movie • 2004
Self
The Making of Tim Burton's 'The Nightmare Before Christmas'
Movie • 1993
Self - Composer
Tim Burton: Life in the Line
Movie • 2024
Self
A Danny Elfman Christmas Story
Movie • 2025
Narrator
The Hollywood Soundtrack Story
Movie • 1995
Self
Prisoners of Gravity
TV • 1989
Self
Hollywood in Vienna
TV • 2011
Self
The Holiday Movies That Made Us
TV • 2020
Self
Tim Burton: Life in the Line
TV • 2025
Self
Saturday Night Live
TV • 1975
Self - Cameo (uncredited)