Lorne Balfe

The story behind the sound

Grammy-winning, and Emmy and BAFTA-nominated composer Lorne Balfe has created music in virtually all genres and for all forms of visual media, with projects ranging from major studio to independent films, tent pole video game franchises, beloved animated feature films, critically acclaimed television series and documentary features. Originally from Inverness, Scotland, Lorne’s love of music and writing music was evident from an early age. His childhood home had a residential recording studio where the likes of Ozzy Osbourne and Inner Circle would record – the latter of which he serendipitously worked with for his score to Bad Boys For Life. As early as eight-years-old, Lorne began writing and selling his composed “jingles” for advertisements, and at the age of 13 he auditioned to be a percussionist with the Edinburgh Symphony Orchestra. He became their youngest member, travelling around Scotland with them professionally. Set on becoming a film composer, he decided to move to the U.S., and soon after his exceptional career took off. Consistently receiving accolades for his musical compositions, he received critical acclaim for his score in the most successful film of the Mission Impossible franchise, writer/director Christopher McQuarrie’s Mission Impossible: Fallout. Lorne most recently composed the score for the latest instalment in the franchise Dead Reckoning Part One and is confirmed to score Part Two. Other notable credits include Top Gun: Maverick, Black Widow, Jungleland, The Lego Batman Movie and the Oscar-nominated film The Florida Project. In addition to his work with Christopher McQuarrie, Lorne has worked with many of the most prestigious directors in the industry including Christopher Nolan, Ron Howard, Michael Bay, Cate Shortland, Ang Lee, Christophe Waltz, Jerry Bruckheimer, Sean Baker and Chris McKay.