John Toll, ASC (born June 15, 1952) is an American cinematographer and television producer.[1][2] Toll's filmography spans a wide variety of genres, including epic period drama, comedy, science fiction, and contemporary drama. He won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography in both 1994 and 1995 for Legends of the Fall and Braveheart respectively, and has also won numerous BAFTA, ASC, and Satellite Awards.[3] He has collaborated with such directors as Francis Ford Coppola, Edward Zwick, Terrence Malick, Mel Gibson, Cameron Crowe, The Wachowskis, and Ang Lee.[4]

John Toll
Born (1952-06-15) June 15, 1952 (age 71)
OccupationCinematographer
Years active1971–present
OrganizationAmerican Society of Cinematographers
Known forBraveheart
The Thin Red Line
The Last Samurai
Cloud Atlas
Iron Man 3
Spouse
(m. 1998)
AwardsAcademy Award for Best Cinematography
1995 Legends of the Fall
1996 Braveheart

BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography
1996 Braveheart

Satellite Award for Best Cinematography
1999 The Thin Red Line
2004 The Last Samurai

Outside film, he has shot several commercials, the pilot episode of Emmy Award-winning drama series Breaking Bad, and has served as chief cinematographer on the Netflix original series Sense8 by the Wachowskis, on which he also got executive producing credit in its second season.[5]

Life and career edit

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Toll began work on his first film Norma Rae, in 1978 as a camera operator. He won back-to-back Academy Awards for Best Cinematography in 1994 and 1995, for the movies Legends of the Fall and Braveheart. He is also only 1 of 4 cinematographers to win back-to-back Oscars.

He was also nominated for an Academy Award for his work on The Thin Red Line and won an Honorable Mention at the 49th Berlin International Film Festival.[6] He was also nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for the pilot of Breaking Bad.

He has been a regular collaborator for acclaimed filmmakers such as Francis Ford Coppola, Edward Zwick, Cameron Crowe and The Wachowskis. He was presented with the ASC's Lifetime Achievement Award on February 14, 2016.

Personal life edit

Toll is married to Lois Burwell who also worked on Braveheart as the make-up artist (for which she also won an Oscar).[7]

Filmography edit

Film edit

Year Title Director Notes
1971 The Young Graduates Robert Anderson Co-cinematographer with J. Barry Herron
1972 The Hoax
1985 The Beach Boys: An American Band Malcolm Leo Documentary film
1992 Wind Carroll Ballard
1994 Legends of the Fall Edward Zwick
1995 Braveheart Mel Gibson
1996 Jack Francis Ford Coppola
1997 The Rainmaker
1998 The Thin Red Line Terrence Malick
1999 Simpatico Matthew Warchus
2000 Almost Famous Cameron Crowe
2001 Captain Corelli's Mandolin John Madden
Vanilla Sky Cameron Crowe
2003 The Last Samurai Edward Zwick
2005 Elizabethtown Cameron Crowe
2006 Seraphim Falls David Von Ancken
2007 Rise: Blood Hunter Sebastian Gutierrez
Gone Baby Gone Ben Affleck
2008 Tropic Thunder Ben Stiller
2009 It's Complicated Nancy Meyers
2011 The Adjustment Bureau George Nolfi
2012 The Odd Life of Timothy Green Peter Hedges
Cloud Atlas The Wachowskis
Tom Tykwer
Co-cinematographer with Frank Griebe
2013 Iron Man 3 Shane Black
2015 Jupiter Ascending The Wachowskis
2016 Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk Ang Lee
2019 Harriet Kasi Lemmons
2021 The Matrix Resurrections Lana Wachowski Co-cinematographer with Daniele Massaccesi
2023 80 for Brady Kyle Marvin

Television edit

Year Title Director Notes
1989 The Young Riders Robert Lieberman Episode "The Kid"
1990 Goodnight Sweet Wife:
A Murder in Boston
Jerrold Freedman TV movie
2008 Breaking Bad Vince Gilligan Episode "Pilot"
2015-17 Sense8 The Wachowskis
James McTeigue
Tom Tykwer
Dan Glass
24 episodes (With Christian Almesberger, Frank Griebe and Danny Ruhlmann);
Also executive producer (12 episodes)

Awards edit

Academy Awards edit

Year Title Category Result
1994 Legends of the Fall Best Cinematography Won
1995 Braveheart Won
1998 The Thin Red Line Nominated

BAFTA Awards edit

Year Title Category Result
1995 Braveheart Best Cinematography Won

Satellite Awards edit

Year Title Category Result
1998 The Thin Red Line Best Cinematography Won
2003 The Last Samurai Won
2016 Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk Nominated

American Society of Cinematographers edit

Year Title Category Result
1994 Legends of the Fall Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography Nominated
1995 Braveheart Won
1998 The Thin Red Line Won
2003 The Last Samurai Nominated

Other awards edit

Year Title Awards Result
1994 Legends of the Fall Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography Won
1995 Braveheart Won
1998 The Thin Red Line Berlin International Film Festival Honorable Mention Won
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Cinematography Won
BSC Award for Best Cinematography in a Feature Film Nominated
Chlotrudis Award for Best Cinematography Nominated
Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography Nominated
National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cinematography Nominated
Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Cinematography Nominated
2003 The Last Samurai Hollywood Film Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography Won
Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Cinematography Nominated
2012 Cloud Atlas German Film Award for Best Cinematography Won
St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography Nominated
2019 Harriet Black Reel Award for Outstanding Cinematography Nominated

References edit

  1. ^ Staff, Hollywood.com (February 6, 2015). "John Toll | Biography and Filmography | 1952". Hollywood.com. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  2. ^ "JOHN TOLL". www.cinematographers.nl. Archived from the original on February 25, 2017. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  3. ^ "John Toll, ASC: Honoring An Exacting Eye - The American Society of Cinematographers". ascmag.com. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
  4. ^ "John Toll, ASC – Murtha Skouras Agency". Retrieved February 8, 2019.
  5. ^ "Happy F*cking New Year". Sense8. December 23, 2016. Netflix.
  6. ^ "Berlinale: 1999 Prize Winners". berlinale.de. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
  7. ^ "Who is Lois Burwell?". Archived from the original on September 24, 2015.

External links edit