Danny Elfman

Danny Elfman

Sound
Born May 29, 1953
From Los Angeles, California, USA

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.

Known For

Filmography — Acting

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
7.0
2005

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Oompa Loompa (voice) (uncredited)

Corpse Bride
7.6
2005

Corpse Bride

Bonejangles (voice)

The Nightmare Before Christmas
7.8
1993

The Nightmare Before Christmas

Jack Skellington (singing) / Barrel / Clown with the Tear away Face (voice)

The Gift
6.5
2000

The Gift

Tommy Lee Ballard

Back to School
6.3
1986

Back to School

Oingo Boingo Band Member

Forbidden Zone
6.2
1982

Forbidden Zone

Satan

Score: A Film Music Documentary
7.1
2017

Score: A Film Music Documentary

Self

78/52
7.2
2017

78/52

Self

Shadows of the Bat: The Cinematic Saga of the Dark Knight
2008

Shadows of the Bat: The Cinematic Saga of the Dark Knight

Self

Sleepy Hollow: Behind the Legend
7.1
2000

Sleepy Hollow: Behind the Legend

Self

The Magical World of Chuck Jones
8.0
1992

The Magical World of Chuck Jones

Self

The Making of 'The Frighteners'
8.7
1998

The Making of 'The Frighteners'

Self

Tim Burton: Life in the Line
2024

Tim Burton: Life in the Line

Self

Psycho Path
6.7
2000

Psycho Path

Self - Arranger

Urgh! A Music War
7.2
1981

Urgh! A Music War

Self

Behind the Scenes of 'Spider-Man'
2004

Behind the Scenes of 'Spider-Man'

Self

How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Special Edition
7.1
1994

How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Special Edition

Self

Good Morning, Mr. Orwell
8.1
1984

Good Morning, Mr. Orwell

Self

The Making of Tim Burton's 'The Nightmare Before Christmas'
1993

The Making of Tim Burton's 'The Nightmare Before Christmas'

Self - Composer

Hot Tomorrows
6.0
1977

Hot Tomorrows

Singer

Oingo Boingo: Skeletons in the Closet
1989

Oingo Boingo: Skeletons in the Closet

Himself, Waiter

Live From Lincoln Center: Danny Elfman's Music from the Films of Tim Burton
8.4
2015

Live From Lincoln Center: Danny Elfman's Music from the Films of Tim Burton

8.5
2005

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: Sweet Sounds

Himself

Cosmic Symphonies: Elfman in Space
2002

Cosmic Symphonies: Elfman in Space

Self

Oingo Boingo: 1983 US Festival
2011

Oingo Boingo: 1983 US Festival

A Conversation with Danny Elfman & Tim Burton
2011

A Conversation with Danny Elfman & Tim Burton

Oingo Boingo: Farewell (Live from the Universal Amphitheatre)
10.0
1996

Oingo Boingo: Farewell (Live from the Universal Amphitheatre)

Self

DemiUrge Emesis
6.0
2010

DemiUrge Emesis

Narrator (voice)

Oingo Boingo: Live at the Ritz
8.0
1985

Oingo Boingo: Live at the Ritz

Self - Lead Vocals, Guitar

7.0

A Look Into 'The Forbidden Zone'

Himself

1995

The Hollywood Soundtrack Story

Self

A Danny Elfman Christmas Story
5.0
2025

A Danny Elfman Christmas Story

Narrator

Hollywood in Vienna 2017 - Fairytales
2017

Hollywood in Vienna 2017 - Fairytales

Self

Proud Iza
2008

Proud Iza

Narrator

Fantasporto – Carnaval no Porto
2000

Fantasporto – Carnaval no Porto

Oingo Boingo: Halloween '87
10.0
1987

Oingo Boingo: Halloween '87

Himself

1990

Oingo Boingo: October 25th, 1990

Filmography — Crew