Biography

Carter Burwell was born on November 18, 1954 in New York City, New York, USA. He is a composer and actor, known for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017), Carol (2015) and The Banshees of Inisherin (2022). He has been married to Christine Sciulli since 1999.

Minimalist scores

Music composer of Coen brothers and Martin McDonagh films

Has scored all of the films directed by Spike Jonze - except Her (2013).

Has composed scores for all the Coen Brothers' films - except Inside Llewyn Davis (2013).

One of 115 peopled invited to join AMPAS in 2007.

Despite his association with the Coen brothers, all of his Oscar nominations in the Best Original Score (as of 2026) were for films of other directors (twice under Martin McDonagh and once under Todd Haynes).

As of 2026, he has contributed with the music score of eight films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Fargo (1996), No Country for Old Men (2007), A Serious Man (2009), The Blind Side (2009), True Grit (2010), The Kids Are All Right (2010), Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) and The Banshees of Inisherin (2022). Of those, No Country for Old Men (2007) is a winner in the category.

There's just too much music in movies, almost always more than I think there should be. It's either lack of confidence on the part of filmmakers or a tradition of scoring things. It's always better to have less than to have more.

If you ask film composers - and I have - whether they feel there's too much or too little music in the average film, they will all say too much.