Atli Örvarsson

Atli Örvarsson’s talent, experience, versatility, and skill combined with his Icelandic roots has allowed him to develop an individual and compelling style that contributes to his success as a musician and composer.  From historical epics to courtroom drama to tales of the supernatural, Atli has provided innovative scores to tell all of these stories.

As a composer, Atli Örvarsson displays musical diversity throughout his scores. He is currently working on the feature film Ladies First, directed by Thea Sharrock and starring Sacha Baron Cohen and Rosamund Pike. His recent credits include the historical action film Dongji Rescue, the Sky Original series The Iris Affair starring Tom Hollander and Niamh Algar, both series of the Apple TV series Silo, for which Atli’s score won the BAFTA Craft Music Award, and received Emmy, HMMA and SCL Award nominations, Amazon’s On Call, the thriller film Wolka, Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard starring Samuel L. Jackson, Salma Hayek and Ryan Reynolds, documentary series Unprecedented, Apple TV’s Defending Jacob starring Chris Evans and Michelle Dockery and Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga starring Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams.

Further work includes The Hitman’s Bodyguard, the remake of the 1990s thriller Jacob’s Ladder, NBC’s Chicago Fire, the animated feature PLOEY, the action-films The Eagle, Vantage Point and Babylon A.D., the Morgan Freeman caper Thick as Thieves, The Fourth Kind, the Nicolas Cage medieval fantasy Season of the Witch, the fantasy adaptation The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, the dark and edgy film Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, the drama/thriller A Single Shot starring Sam Rockwell and working with Hans Zimmer to contribute music to the Zack Snyder’s Superman instalment Man of Steel. His credits also include orchestrating and contributing music for the Pirates of the Caribbean series, Angels and Demons and Man of Steel.

Originally from the small town of Akureyri, Atli Örvarsson became established in the local music scene at a young age.  He earned three platinum and two gold records as a member of the Icelandic band Salin hans Jóns mins before studying film composition at Berklee College of Music and the North Carolina School of the Arts. He excelled in composing and was awarded the Pete Carpenter Fellowship, which brought him to Los Angeles. He began working alongside TV veteran Mike Post on NYPD Blue and three Law and Order brands. Soon after that, Atli met composer Hans Zimmer, who extended an invitation to join his team at Remote Control Studios. Atli’s accolades include several ASCAP & BMI Film & TV Music Awards and he was nominated for the prestigious World Soundtrack Academy’s “Discovery of the Year Award” for his score for Babylon A.D.