Deakins, Roger (born May 24, 1949) is an
English cinematographer best known for his work on the films of the Coen Brothers.
Born in Torquay, Devon, England to parents
Josephine (nˇˇ Messum), an
actress, and William Albert Deakins, a builder, Roger
spent most of his adolescence focusing on his primary interest: painting. Several years later, Roger enrolled in
the Bath School of Art and Design where he studied graphic design. While studying in Bath, Roger
discovered his passion for still photography. Roger soon learned that he was a very talented photographer,
and this led him be hired to create
a photographic documentary of his hometown, Torquay. About a year later, Deakins transferred to the National Film
and Television School in England.
Shortly after
graduating, Deakins found work as a cameraman, assisting in the production of
documentaries in various locations abroad for approximately seven years. Roger's first project during this seven
year stint involved a nine month trip as one of the entrants of a
Ōround-the-world yacht race called, Around
the World With Ridgeway. This documentary captured the lives and growing
tensions between several of the yacht's crewmen. Roger received high praise for
his work out at sea showing the parallels between these teammates and
shipmates. After completing Around
the World With Ridgeway, Deakins was immediately hired by television
studios to film several documentaries in Africa. From the time of his work in Africa until the early 1980s,
Deakins continued his cinematographic and directorial work in documentaries as
well as the growing field of music videos.
DeakinsÕ first feature film in America as a cinematographer was Mountains of the Moon (1990). In 1991, Roger began his collaboration
with the Coen brothers in the film Barton
Fink. Ever since this first
encounter, Deakins has been the CoensÕ main cinematic collaborator and has been
their principle cinematagrapher.
DeakinsÕ gained critical acclaim from his work on the highly successful
film The Shawshank Redemption (1994),
which gained him his first major award from the American Society of
Cinematographers (ASC) for outstanding achievement in cinematography. The ASC continued to honor Deakins with
outstanding achievement nominations for later works, including: Fargo (1996), Kundun (1997), O Brother,
Where Art Thou? (2000), and The Man
Who WasnÕt There (2001), for which he won his second ASC Award. In 2008, Deakins became the first
cinematographer in history to be nominated for two ASC Awards for his works, The Assassination of Jesse James by the
Coward Robert Ford and No Contry for
Old Men. For his work in No Country for Old Men, Deakins won a
BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography and he received Academy Award nominations
for both films. In 2009, Deakins
found himself nominated for two ASC Awards again for his works, Revolutionary Road and The Reader. Deakins has received eight Academy Award nominations, in
addition to high praise from critic associations in both America and Britain.
Filmography of films directed by the Coen Brothers:
A Serious Man (2009)
No Country for Old Men (2007)
The Ladykillers (2004)
Intolerable Cruelty (2003)
The Man Who WasnÕt There (2001)
O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
The Big Lebowski (1998)
Fargo (1996)
The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)
Barton Fink (1991)