| Robert Richardson | |
| Birth Name: | Robert Bridge Richardson |
| Birth Date: | 27 August 1955 |
| Birth Place: | Hyannis, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Nationality: | American |
| Education: | AFI Conservatory |
| Alma Mater: | AFI and RISD |
| Occupation: | Cinematographer |
| Years Active: | 1982—present |
| ASC | |
| Spouse: |
|
| Children: | Kanchan Wali-Richardson Maya Wali Richardson Bibi Haberstock Richardson |
| Awards: | Academy Award for Best Cinematography JFK, 1991 The Aviator, 2004 Hugo, 2011 |
Robert Bridge Richardson, (born August 27, 1955) is an American cinematographer.[1] Known for his trademark aggressively bright highlight as well as shapeshifting style, he is one of three living persons who has won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography three times, the others being Vittorio Storaro and Emmanuel Lubezki. He has frequently collaborated with Oliver Stone, Quentin Tarantino, and Martin Scorsese.
Richardson has won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography three times, for his work on JFK (1991), The Aviator (2004), and Hugo (2011).[2] He was Oscar-nominated for the films Platoon (1986), Born on the Fourth of July (1989), Snow Falling on Cedars (1999), Inglourious Basterds (2009), Django Unchained (2012), The Hateful Eight (2015), and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019).
Richardson was born in Hyannis, Massachusetts. He graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA in Film/Animation/Video and received his MFA from AFI Conservatory.
Richardson's work began as a camera operator and 2nd unit photographer on such features as Alex Cox's Repo Man, Dorian Walker's Making the Grade and Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street (all in 1984). At the same time he also served as cinematographer on TV documentaries and docudramas such as America, America for The Disney Channel, God's Peace for the BBC and PBS' The Front Line: El Salvador. His television work and documentary-style filmmaking led to his meeting Oliver Stone, who hired him to "shoot" Salvador (1986).
Oliver Stone's major motion picture debut was also Richardson's first film as director of photography. Salvador was also filmed in the same year as Stone's Platoon. Platoon would earn Richardson his first Oscar nomination for Best Cinematography. In 1987, Richardson reteamed with Stone on Wall Street. In 1988, he filmed Eight Men Out for John Sayles. In 1989, he earned his second Best Cinematography Oscar nomination for Stone's Born on the Fourth of July.
In 1991, Richardson won the first of his Best Cinematography Academy Awards for his work on Stone's JFK; he also shot Stone's The Doors that same year. He worked with Sayles again in 1991 for City of Hope. In 1992, he worked as director of photography on Rob Reiner's A Few Good Men. He served as a 2nd unit photographer for Haskell Wexler on To the Moon, Alice, a "Showtime 30-Minute Movie" (for which he was also credited as a visual consultant). He began a long working relationship with Martin Scorsese in 1995, with Casino. Also in 1995, he was the cinematographer on Stone's Nixon. In 1997, Richardson photographed Errol Morris's documentary Fast, Cheap and Out of Control as well as filming the majority of Stone's U Turn and serving as director of photography for Barry Levinson's Wag the Dog.
Richardson worked on the 2013 zombie film World War Z, but asked for his name to be taken off the final product. The credited cinematographer is Ben Seresin.[3]
Richardson has four children, Kanchan, Maya, Bibi and x. His family previously ran the Cape Cod Sea Camps situated on Cape Cod Bay prior to selling them in 2021.
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | An Outpost of Progress | Dorian Walker | |
| 1986 | Salvador | Oliver Stone | 1st collaboration with Stone |
| Platoon | |||
| 1987 | Dudes | Penelope Spheeris | |
| Wall Street | Oliver Stone | ||
| 1988 | Eight Men Out | John Sayles | |
| Talk Radio | Oliver Stone | ||
| 1989 | Born on the Fourth of July | ||
| 1991 | City of Hope | John Sayles | |
| The Doors | Oliver Stone | ||
| JFK | |||
| 1992 | A Few Good Men | Rob Reiner | |
| 1993 | Heaven & Earth | Oliver Stone | |
| 1994 | Natural Born Killers | ||
| 1995 | Casino | Martin Scorsese | 1st collaboration with Scorsese |
| Nixon | Oliver Stone | ||
| 1997 | U Turn | ||
| Wag the Dog | Barry Levinson | Also made a cameo as "Man in TV Studio" (Uncredited) | |
| 1998 | The Horse Whisperer | Robert Redford | |
| 1999 | Snow Falling on Cedars | Scott Hicks | |
| Bringing Out the Dead | Martin Scorsese | ||
| 2002 | The Four Feathers | Shekhar Kapur | |
| 2003 | Quentin Tarantino | 1st collaboration with Tarantino; Shot Back-to-back | |
| 2004 | |||
| The Aviator | Martin Scorsese | ||
| 2006 | The Good Shepherd | Robert De Niro | |
| 2009 | Inglourious Basterds | Quentin Tarantino | |
| 2010 | Shutter Island | Martin Scorsese | |
| Eat Pray Love | Ryan Murphy | ||
| 2011 | Hugo | Martin Scorsese | |
| 2012 | Django Unchained | Quentin Tarantino | |
| 2013 | World War Z | Uncredited[4] [5] | |
| 2015 | The Hateful Eight | Quentin Tarantino | |
| 2016 | Live by Night | Ben Affleck | 1st collaboration with Affleck |
| 2017 | Breathe | Andy Serkis | 1st collaboration with Serkis |
| 2018 | Adrift | Baltasar Kormákur | |
| A Private War | Matthew Heineman | ||
| 2019 | Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood | Quentin Tarantino | |
| 2021 | Andy Serkis | ||
| 2022 | Emancipation | Antoine Fuqua | 1st collaboration with Fuqua |
| 2023 | Air | Ben Affleck | |
| The Equalizer 3 | Antoine Fuqua |
Short film
| Year | Title | Director | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Powder Keg | Alejandro González Iñárritu | Segment of The Hire | |
| 2013 | Wild Horses | Stephanie Martin |
Film
| Year | Title | Director | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | The Front Line | Jeff B. Harmon Christopher Wenner | With Jacques Audrain | |
| 1997 | Fast, Cheap & Out of Control | Errol Morris | ||
| 1999 | ||||
| 2008 | Shine a Light | Martin Scorsese | Concert film | |
| Standard Operating Procedure | Errol Morris | With Robert Chappell | ||
| 2011 | Martin Scorsese | With Martin Kenzie | ||
| 2017 | The Return | Erich Joiner | ||
| 2021 | Oliver Stone | |||
| TBA | In between Stars and Scars: Masters of Cinema | Yi Zhou | With Yi Zhou |
Television
| Year | Title | Director | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Desperate Dreams | Daniel J. Blackburn Maria Centrella | TV movie | |
| 1985 | America Undercover | Himself Terry Dunn Meurer | Episode "Losin' It: Sex and the American Teenager" | |
| 1987 | Unsolved Mysteries | John Cosgrove | Segment Missing...Have You Seen This Person? | |
| 2021 | JFK: Destiny Betrayed | Oliver Stone | Miniseries |
Academy Awards
| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Best Cinematography | Platoon | [6] | |
| 1989 | Born on the Fourth of July | [7] | ||
| 1991 | JFK | [8] | ||
| 1999 | Snow Falling on Cedars | [9] | ||
| 2004 | The Aviator | [10] | ||
| 2009 | Inglourious Basterds | [11] | ||
| 2011 | Hugo | [12] | ||
| 2012 | Django Unchained | [13] | ||
| 2015 | The Hateful Eight | [14] | ||
| 2019 | Once Upon a Time in Hollywood | [15] |
BAFTA Awards
| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Best Cinematography | Platoon | [16] | |
| 2004 | The Aviator | [17] | ||
| 2009 | Inglourious Basterds | [18] | ||
| 2011 | Hugo | [19] |
American Society of Cinematographers
| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography | Born on the Fourth of July | |
| 1991 | JFK | ||
| 1992 | A Few Good Men | ||
| 1993 | Heaven & Earth | ||
| 1998 | The Horse Whisperer | ||
| 1999 | Snow Falling on Cedars | ||
| 2004 | The Aviator | ||
| 2006 | The Good Shepherd | ||
| 2009 | Inglourious Basterds | ||
| 2011 | Hugo | ||
| 2019 | Once Upon a Time in Hollywood | ||
Miscellaneous awards