About
"It's incredible what music can do, because it can lead you down different paths, emotionally. You can trick the audience. You can guide them. Music is a very powerful tool."
In his three-hour interview, Ramin Djawadi talks about growing up in Germany and his early interest in music. He recalls attending Berkelee College of Music, and how he got his start in film music as an intern at Remote Control Productions, Hans Zimmer's studio. He details his responsibilities as an intern and assistant at the studio, and then describes his big break -- composing a piece of music for a sequence in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. He recounts how he started to compose for television, and shares his process of composing for Prison Break, Person of Interest, and Westworld. Djawadi talks about the craft of composing, then details his work composing for Game of Thrones -- discussing House and character themes, music used for pivotal moments in the series, and how the Game of Thrones concert experience came to be. He speaks of his scores for House of the Dragon, Pacific Rim, The Strain, Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan, Blade: Trinity, Blade: The Series, and the films Iron Man, The Eternals, Uncharted, and Elephant. He concludes with remarks about how the industry has changed since he first started working, and offers advice to aspiring composers. Adrienne Faillace conducted the interview in a joint venture with the Film Music Foundation on September 6, 2023 in Santa Monica, CA.
Highlights
Ramin Djawadi on creating the main title music for Game of Thrones
Ramin Djawadi on character themes for Game of Thrones -- the Lannister theme "The Rains of Castamere" and hearing it at the Red Wedding
Ramin Djawadi on character themes for Person of Interest -- "Root's" theme and others
Ramin Djawadi on the cover songs featured on Westworld -- "Black Hole Sun" and "Paint it Black"
Ramin Djawadi on having synesthesia and how he learned that he has it -- he associates music with colors
Ramin Djawadi on what he loves about composing
Full Interview
Chapter 1
On growing up in Germany; on his early interest in music and sports; on learning multiple instruments when he was young and on why he liked to play music; on music he liked listening to when he was young and on being in a band; on TV theme songs and film scores that he liked -- including the score to The Magnificent Seven; on wanting to pursue a career in music and attending Berkelee College of Music; on his work after college and getting involved in digital media
On moving to Los Angeles and getting his start in film music at Hans Zimmer's studio, Remote Control Productions; on what his job as an intern/assistant at Remote Control Productions entailed; on his first impressions of Hans Zimmer; on the technology used for film and TV scores in the early 2000s; on his big break -- composing music for a fight scene in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl; on how he started to compose for television and on the process for composing for a weekly television show -- as on Prison Break, his first big TV show
On writing the main title theme for Prison Break, working around commercial breaks, and changes to the main title throughout the run of the show; on meeting Jonathan Nolan, working on Batman Begins, and scoring Person of Interest
On scoring Westworld -- the use of the player piano, creating the main title theme, and covering "Black Hole Sun," "Paint it Black," "Enter Sandman," "Heart-Shaped Box," and "Pyramid Song"; on his cameo on Westworld; on working with sound design and sound effects on the show; on his thoughts on the use of artificial intelligence in music composition
Chapter 2
On the craft of composing - what he loves about composing, the role of a composer, and the excitement of writing music; on how he deals with creative block, on having synesthesia and how he learned that he has it -- he associates music with colors; on his process for writing music and primarily working alone; on working with music supervisors, editors, and sound mixers; on music clearance for covers and how he knows when a piece is finished; on enjoying the variety of his work, and on working on multiple projects at once; on being the sole composer on several television series; on the business side of composing and his greatest challenge as a composer; on his musical style and playing music for fun
On additional details about his cameo on Westworld; on whether or not the genre he works in plays a role in how he works -- on making scary music for the film Slenderman; on how he first got involved with Game of Thrones and his early conversations about the score, instrumentation, and main title music with David Benioff and D.B. Weiss; on the many fan covers of the Game of Thrones main title music
On his process for scoring Game of Thrones episodes; on naming his compositions; on character themes for Game of Thrones -- Stark theme, Lannister theme
On themes for "Daenerys," the dragons, "Hodor," "Cersei Lannister," and "Jon Snow"
Chapter 3
On scoring the Battle of the Bastards sequence in Game of Thrones; on the Bolton theme, the possibility of foreshadowing the storytelling with music on Game of Thrones, and on scoring the sequence leading up to "Arya" killing the Night King; on the amount of music in the Game of Thrones episode "The Long Night" and his process for scoring it; on the music for "Jenny of Oldstones"; on "Jaime" knighting "Brianne" and love themes for various couples on the show; on how the different geographies in Game of Thrones influenced his choice of instrumentation; on scoring "Shireen Baratheon's" death; on scoring the Game of Thrones finale
On a piece of music on the season 8 soundtrack, "Stay a Thousand Years," that was not used in Game of Thrones; on the Game of Thrones live concert experience; on winning Emmys in 2018 and 2019 for his work on Game of Thrones; on scoring the Game of Thrones prequel, House of the Dragon
On working with Guillermo del Toro on Pacific Rim and The Strain; on scoring Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan, Blade: Trinity, Blade: The Series, and the films Iron Man, The Eternals, Uncharted, and Elephant
On how composing and opportunities have changed since he first started in the industry; on the value of oral history interviews; on advice to an aspiring composer; on his greatest career achievement and career regrets; on a dream project he'd love to work on; on where he sees himself in ten years
Shows
Blade: The Series
Ramin Djawadi on scoring Blade: The Series
Game of Thrones
Ramin Djawadi on how he first got involved with Game of Thrones and his early conversations about the score and instrumentation with David Benioff and D.B. Weiss
Ramin Djawadi on creating the main title music for Game of Thrones
Ramin Djawadi on the many fan covers of the Game of Thrones main title music
Ramin Djawadi on his process for scoring Game of Thrones episodes
Ramin Djawadi on naming his compositions for Game of Thrones
Ramin Djawadi on character themes for Game of Thrones
Ramin Djawadi on character themes for Game of Thrones -- the Lannister theme "The Rains of Castamere" and hearing it at the Red Wedding
Ramin Djawadi on character themes that were challenging to create for Game of Thrones - "Daenerys'" theme and the vocals in her theme
Ramin Djawadi on character themes for Game of Thrones - scoring the dragons through their whole life cycle, and even after death
Ramin Djawadi on the score at the end of season 6 of Game of Thrones -- when "Daenerys" sails for Westeros
Ramin Djawadi on character themes for Game of Thrones - Stark theme and when it's used
Ramin Djawadi on using a version of the Stark theme, "Goodbye Brother," during "Hodor's" death in season 6 of Game of Thrones
Ramin Djawadi on character themes for Game of Thrones - "Cersei Lannister's" theme and "Light of the Seven" - the first use of piano in Game of Thrones
Ramin Djawadi on how music is used on Game of Thrones
Ramin Djawadi on the music for "Jaime" and "Cersei's" deaths on Game of Thrones
Ramin Djawadi on "Jon Snow" getting his own theme in season 6 of Game of Thrones
Ramin Djawadi on scoring the Battle of the Bastards sequence in Game of Thrones
Ramin Djawadi on "Ramsay Bolton's" theme and the Bolton theme on Game of Thrones
Ramin Djawadi on the possibility of foreshadowing the storytelling with music on Game of Thrones
Ramin Djawadi on scoring the sequence leading up to "Arya" killing the Night King in Game of Thrones -- and on bringing back the piano
Ramin Djawadi on the amount of music in the Game of Thrones episode "The Long Night," and his process for scoring it
Ramin Djawadi on the music for "Jenny of Oldstones" in the Game of Thrones episode, "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms"
Ramin Djawadi on "Jaime" knighting "Brianne" in the Game of Thrones episode "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" and the theme used for them
Ramin Djawadi on the love theme for "Jon" and "Ygritte" in Game of Thrones
Ramin Djawadi on the love theme for "Jon" and "Daenerys" in Game of Thrones -- introduced in season 7
Ramin Djawadi on how the different geographies in Game of Thrones influenced his choice of instrumentation
Ramin Djawadi on instrumentation for the Wildlings on Game of Thrones
Ramin Djawadi on using col lengo for the White Walkers on Game of Thrones
Ramin Djawadi on the "Night's Watch" theme in Game of Thrones
Ramin Djawadi on scoring Stark sibling reunions in Game of Thrones
Ramin Djawadi on scoring "Shireen Baratheon's" death on Game of Thrones
Ramin Djawadi on not using music during the first several minutes of the Game of Thrones series finale
Ramin Djawadi on the sequence in the throne room leading to Daenerys' death in the Game of Thrones series finale
Ramin Djawadi on the final piece of music in the Game of Thrones series finale
Ramin Djawadi on a piece of music on the season 8 soundtrack, "Stay a Thousand Years," that was not used in Game of Thrones
Ramin Djawadi on the Game of Thrones live concert experience and conducting and performing in concert
Ramin Djawadi on winning Emmys in 2018 and 2019 for his work on Game of Thrones, but not being able to attend because of the concert tour, and who he would have thanked in an acceptance speech
Game of Thrones: "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms"
Ramin Djawadi on the music for the Game of Thrones episode, "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms"
Game of Thrones: "Battle of the Bastards"
Ramin Djawadi on scoring the Battle of the Bastards sequence in Game of Thrones and the Bolton theme
Game of Thrones: "The Door"
Ramin Djawadi on using a version of the Stark theme, "Goodbye Brother," during "Hodor's" death in season 6 of Game of Thrones
Game of Thrones: "The Dragon and the Wolf"
Ramin Djawadi on the love theme for "Jon" and "Daenerys" in Game of Thrones -- introduced in season 7
Game of Thrones: "The Iron Throne"
Ramin Djawadi on the music in the Game of Thrones series finale
Game of Thrones: "The Long Night"
Ramin Djawadi on scoring the sequence leading up to "Arya" killing the Night King in Game of Thrones, the amount of music in the Game of Thrones episode, "The Long Night", and his process for scoring it
Game of Thrones: "The Rains of Castamere"
Ramin Djawadi on character themes for Game of Thrones -- the Lannister theme "The Rains of Castamere" and hearing it at the Red Wedding
Game of Thrones: "The Winds of Winter"
Ramin Djawadi on the score at the end of season 6 of Game of Thrones -- when "Daenerys" sails for Westeros
Ramin Djawadi on character themes for Game of Thrones - "Cersei Lannister's" theme and "Light of the Seven" - the first use of piano in Game of Thrones
House of the Dragon
Ramin Djawadi on scoring the Game of Thrones prequel, House of the Dragon, using the same main title theme as Game of Thrones, and on new and familiar themes
Person of Interest
Ramin Djawadi on his first impressions of Jonathan Nolan, and on getting asked to work on Person of Interest
Ramin Djawadi on the type of music he wrote for Person of Interest, and on his schedule for the show
Ramin Djawadi on character themes for Person of Interest -- "Root's" theme and others
Ramin Djawadi on his music for the series finale of Person of Interest
Prison Break
Ramin Djawadi on how he started to compose for television, and on Prison Break being his first big show; on the process for composing for a weekly television show
Ramin Djawadi on writing the main title theme for Prison Break
Ramin Djawadi on scoring to footage on Prison Break, scoring jump cuts and around commercial breaks, and working with the show's producers, but not working with directors in television
Ramin Djawadi on changes to the Prison Break main titles throughout the run of the show
Strain, The
Ramin Djawadi on working with Guillermo del Toro on The Strain
Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan
Ramin Djawadi on scoring Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan and expanding the main title sequence in later seasons
Westworld
Ramin Djawadi on Jonathan Nolan asking him to compose for Westworld and how the original film score impacted his work on the show
Ramin Djawadi on early discussions about the score for Westworld and the importance of the player piano with contemporary songs
Ramin Djawadi on his main title theme for Westworld
Ramin Djawadi on the cover songs featured on Westworld -- "Black Hole Sun" and "Paint it Black"
Ramin Djawadi on the accuracy of the player piano roll of music on Westworld
Ramin Djawadi on the season 2 cover of "Paint it Black" for Westworld and the choice to use "Enter Sandman" during the robbery scene in season 4
Ramin Djawadi on jazz elements of the score for season 4 of Westworld (which featured the Golden Age park) and how the different parks influenced his choice of instrumentation
Ramin Djawadi on the cover songs featured on Westworld -- "Heart-Shaped Box" and not normally scoring trailers
Ramin Djawadi on his cameo in season 2 of Westworld and how frequently he gets to be on set on projects that he works on
Ramin Djawadi on the score for the season 3 episode "Genre" in Westworld, and on decisions about using covers or original songs
Ramin Djawadi on working with sound design and sound effects on a show like Westworld
Ramin Djawadi on Radiohead songs featured in Westworld, including "Pyramid Song"
Ramin Djawadi on the final theme in the series finale of Westworld -- "Sweetwater"
Ramin Djawadi on additional details about his cameo on Westworld
Topics
Advice
Ramin Djawadi on advice to an aspiring composer
Classic TV Series Episodes
Ramin Djawadi on the music in the Game of Thrones series finale
COVID-19 Pandemic
Ramin Djawadi on scoring The Eternals during the COVID-19 pandemic
Emmy Awards
Ramin Djawadi on winning Emmys in 2018 and 2019 for his work on Game of Thrones, but not being able to attend because of the concert tour, and who he would have thanked in an acceptance speech
First Big Break
Ramin Djawadi on his big break -- composing music for a fight scene in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Health and Medicine
Ramin Djawadi on scoring The Eternals during the COVID-19 pandemic
Historic Events and Social Change
Ramin Djawadi on scoring The Eternals during the COVID-19 pandemic
Memorable Moments on Television
Ramin Djawadi on using a version of the Stark theme, "Goodbye Brother," during "Hodor's" death in season 6 of Game of Thrones
Ramin Djawadi on character themes for Game of Thrones -- the Lannister theme "The Rains of Castamere" and hearing it at the Red Wedding
Ramin Djawadi on character themes for Game of Thrones - "Cersei Lannister's" theme and "Light of the Seven" - the first use of piano in Game of Thrones
Ramin Djawadi on scoring the Battle of the Bastards sequence in Game of Thrones
Ramin Djawadi on scoring the sequence leading up to "Arya" killing the Night King in Game of Thrones -- and on bringing back the piano
Ramin Djawadi on "Jaime" knighting "Brianne" in the Game of Thrones episode, "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" and the theme used for them
Ramin Djawadi on the music for "Jenny of Oldstones" in the Game of Thrones episode, "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms"
Ramin Djawadi on scoring "Shireen Baratheon's" death on Game of Thrones
Ramin Djawadi on the music in the Game of Thrones series finale
Pivotal Career Moments
Ramin Djawadi on his big break -- composing music for a fight scene in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Pop Culture
Ramin Djawadi on being drawn to the instrumental music in TV and movies, and on TV theme songs that he enjoyed growing up
Ramin Djawadi on writing the main title theme for Prison Break
Ramin Djawadi on his main title theme for Westworld
Ramin Djawadi on creating the main title music for Game of Thrones
Ramin Djawadi on the music in the Game of Thrones series finale
Technological Innovation
Ramin Djawadi on the technology used for film and TV scores in the early 2000s
Ramin Djawadi on his thoughts on the use of artificial intelligence in music composition
Television Industry
Ramin Djawadi on advice to an aspiring composer
Ramin Djawadi on how composing has changed since he first started in the industry
TV Theme Songs
Ramin Djawadi on being drawn to the instrumental music in TV and movies, and on TV theme songs that he enjoyed growing up
Ramin Djawadi on writing the main title theme for Prison Break
Ramin Djawadi on his main title theme for Westworld
Ramin Djawadi on creating the main title music for Game of Thrones
We Cried
Ramin Djawadi on using a version of the Stark theme, "Goodbye Brother," during "Hodor's" death in season 6 of Game of Thrones
Professions
Composer
Ramin Djawadi on learning multiple instruments when he was young and why he liked to play music
Ramin Djawadi on music he liked listening to when he was young, and on being in a band
Ramin Djawadi on being drawn to the instrumental music in TV and movies, and on TV theme songs that he enjoyed growing up
Ramin Djawadi on attending Berklee College of Music
Ramin Djawadi on the technology used for film and TV scores in the early 2000s
Ramin Djawadi on his big break -- composing music for a fight scene in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Ramin Djawadi on how he started to compose for television, and on the process for composing for a weekly television show
Ramin Djawadi on decisions about when to use a live orchestra or not and how budgets can impact those decisions
Ramin Djawadi on his thoughts on the use of artificial intelligence in music composition
Ramin Djawadi on how composing for video games differs from composing for film or television
Ramin Djawadi on what he loves about composing
Ramin Djawadi on the role of a composer and the excitement of writing music
Ramin Djawadi on how he deals with creative block
Ramin Djawadi on having synesthesia and how he learned that he has it -- he associates music with colors
Ramin Djawadi on his process for writing music and primarily working alone
Ramin Djawadi on working with music supervisors, editors, and sound mixers
Ramin Djawadi on music clearance for covers
Ramin Djawadi on how he knows when a piece is finished
Ramin Djawadi on enjoying the variety of his work, and on working on multiple projects at once
Ramin Djawadi on being the sole composer on several television series
Ramin Djawadi on the business side of composing -- not retaining rights but receiving royalties
Ramin Djawadi on his greatest challenge as a composer
Ramin Djawadi on his musical style
Ramin Djawadi on whether or not the genre he works in plays a role in how he works -- on making scary music for the film Slenderman
Ramin Djawadi on how music is used on Game of Thrones
Ramin Djawadi on receiving notes from studio and network executives
Ramin Djawadi on how composing has changed since he first started in the industry
Ramin Djawadi on how opportunities have changed since he first started in the industry and on his mentors
Ramin Djawadi on advice to an aspiring composer
Music Professionals
Ramin Djawadi on learning multiple instruments when he was young and why he liked to play music
Ramin Djawadi on music he liked listening to when he was young, and on being in a band
Ramin Djawadi on being drawn to the instrumental music in TV and movies, and on TV theme songs that he enjoyed growing up
Ramin Djawadi on his favorite classical composers
Ramin Djawadi on his favorite classical composers
Ramin Djawadi on attending Berklee College of Music
Ramin Djawadi on the technology used for film and TV scores in the early 2000s
Ramin Djawadi on his big break -- composing music for a fight scene in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Ramin Djawadi on how he started to compose for television, and on the process for composing for a weekly television show
Ramin Djawadi on decisions about when to use a live orchestra or not and how budgets can impact those decisions
Ramin Djawadi on his thoughts on the use of artificial intelligence in music composition
Ramin Djawadi on how composing for video games differs from composing for film or television
Ramin Djawadi on what he loves about composing
Ramin Djawadi on the role of a composer and the excitement of writing music
Ramin Djawadi on how he deals with creative block
Ramin Djawadi on having synesthesia and how he learned that he has it -- he associates music with colors
Ramin Djawadi on his process for writing music and primarily working alone
Ramin Djawadi on working with music supervisors, editors, and sound mixers
Ramin Djawadi on music clearance for covers
Ramin Djawadi on how he knows when a piece is finished
Ramin Djawadi on enjoying the variety of his work, and on working on multiple projects at once
Ramin Djawadi on being the sole composer on several television series
Ramin Djawadi on the business side of composing -- not retaining rights but receiving royalties
Ramin Djawadi on his greatest challenge as a composer
Ramin Djawadi on his musical style
Ramin Djawadi on playing music for fun, and on his kids playing music
Ramin Djawadi on playing music for fun, and on his kids playing music
Ramin Djawadi on whether or not the genre he works in plays a role in how he works -- on making scary music for the film Slenderman
Ramin Djawadi on how music is used on Game of Thrones
Ramin Djawadi on receiving notes from studio and network executives
Ramin Djawadi on how composing has changed since he first started in the industry
Ramin Djawadi on how opportunities have changed since he first started in the industry and on his mentors
Ramin Djawadi on advice to an aspiring composer
Genres
Drama Series
Ramin Djawadi on composing for Prison Break
Ramin Djawadi on composing for Person of Interest
Ramin Djawadi on additional details about his cameo on Westworld
Ramin Djawadi on scoring Game of Thrones
Ramin Djawadi on scoring Game of Thrones, contd., the Game of Thrones concert tour, and his Emmy wins for the show
Ramin Djawadi on scoring the Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon, using the same main title theme as Game of Thrones, and new and familiar themes
Ramin Djawadi on scoring Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan and expanding the main title sequence in later seasons
Sci-Fi/Supernatural Series
Ramin Djawadi on composing for Westworld
Ramin Djawadi on working with Guillermo del Toro on The Strain
Ramin Djawadi on scoring Blade: The Series
People
J.J. Abrams
Ramin Djawadi on J.J. Abrams writing the theme music for Person of Interest and his input on the show's score
Klaus Badelt
Ramin Djawadi on assisting Klaus Badelt at Remote Control Productions
David Benioff
Ramin Djawadi on how he first got involved with Game of Thrones and his early conversations about the score, instrumentation, and main title music with David Benioff and D.B. Weiss
Guillermo del Toro
Ramin Djawadi on working with Guillermo del Toro on Pacific Rim and The Strain
Jon Favreau
Ramin Djawadi on scoring Iron Man, the first film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe
David Goyer
Ramin Djawadi on working with David Goyer on the film Blade: Trinity and whether or not he brought in elements from the previous two films
Lisa Joy
Ramin Djawadi on his cameo in season 2 of Westworld and how frequently he gets to be on set on projects that he works on
Ramin Djawadi on the score for the Westworld season 3 episode "Genre" and on decisions about using covers or original songs
George R.R. Martin
Ramin Djawadi on creating the music for George R.R. Martin's lyrics to "The Rains of Castemere" for Game of Thrones
Jonathan Nolan
Ramin Djawadi on how he first met Jonathan Nolan -- on Batman Begins
Ramin Djawadi on his first impressions of Jonathan Nolan
Ramin Djawadi on character themes for Person of Interest -- "Root's" theme and others
Ramin Djawadi on his music for the series finale of Person of Interest
Ramin Djawadi on the importance of the player piano with contemporary music on Westworld
Ramin Djawadi on the score for the Westworld season 3 episode "Genre" and on decisions about using covers or original songs
The RZA
Ramin Djawadi on collaborating with The RZA on the score for the film Blade: Trinity
D.B. Weiss
Ramin Djawadi on how he first got involved with Game of Thrones and his early conversations about the score, instrumentation, and main title music with David Benioff and D.B. Weiss
Chloe Zhao
Ramin Djawadi on scoring The Eternals during the COVID-19 pandemic
Hans Zimmer
Ramin Djawadi on moving to Los Angeles and getting his start in film music at Hans Zimmer's studio, Remote Control Productions
Ramin Djawadi on his first impressions of Hans Zimmer
Ramin Djawadi on his big break -- composing music for a fight scene in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl