Hans Zimmer

September 12, 1957) is a German composer, best known for composing movie soundtracks.

Born in Frankfurt, Zimmer began his musical career playing keyboards and synthesizers, among others with the bands Ultravox and The Buggles ("Video Killed the Radio Star").

In the 1980s, he started composing and producing sound tracks for movies. His breakthrough came in 1988, with the theme for Rain Man, which was nominated for an Academy Award.

Since then, Zimmer has composed music for many major movies, such as Gladiator, Thelma and Louise, The Rock, Pearl Harbor and Mission: Impossible II. In 1995, he received an Academy Award for Best Original Score for the animated movie The Lion King.