John Toll
# John Toll

John Toll, ASC (born June 15, 1952) is an American cinematographer and television producer. Toll's filmography spans a wide variety of genres, including epic period drama, comedy, science fiction, and contemporary drama. He won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography in both 1994 and 1995 for Legends of the Fall and Braveheart respectively, and has also won numerous BAFTA, ASC, and Satellite Awards. He has collaborated with such directors as Francis Ford Coppola, Edward Zwick, Terrence Malick, Mel Gibson, Cameron Crowe, The Wachowskis, and Ang Lee.

Outside film, he has shot several commercials, the pilot episode of Emmy Award-winning drama series Breaking Bad, and has served as chief cinematographer on the Netflix original series Sense8 by the Wachowskis, on which he also got executive producing credit in its second season.

## Life and career

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Toll began work on his first film Norma Rae, in 1978 as a camera operator. He won back-to-back Academy Awards for Best Cinematography in 1994 and 1995, for the movies Legends of the Fall and Braveheart. He is also only 1 of 4 cinematographers to win back-to-back Oscars.

He was also nominated for an Academy Award for his work on The Thin Red Line and won an Honorable Mention at the 49th Berlin International Film Festival. He was also nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for the pilot of Breaking Bad.

He has been a regular collaborator for acclaimed filmmakers such as Francis Ford Coppola, Edward Zwick, Cameron Crowe and The Wachowskis. He was presented with the ASC's Lifetime Achievement Award on February 14, 2016.

## Personal life

Toll is married to Lois Burwell who also worked on Braveheart as the make-up artist (for which she also won an Oscar).

## Filmography

### Film

| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1971 | The Young Graduates | Robert Anderson | Co-cinematographer with J. Barry Herron |
| 1972 | The Hoax | Robert Anderson | |
| 1985 | The Beach Boys: An American Band | Malcolm Leo | Documentary film |
| 1992 | Wind | Carroll Ballard | |
| 1994 | Legends of the Fall | Edward Zwick | |
| 1995 | Braveheart | Mel Gibson | |
| 1996 | Jack | Francis Ford Coppola | |
| 1997 | The Rainmaker | Francis Ford Coppola | |
| 1998 | The Thin Red Line | Terrence Malick | |
| 1999 | Simpatico | Matthew Warchus | |
| 2000 | Almost Famous | Cameron Crowe | |
| 2001 | Captain Corelli's Mandolin | John Madden | |
| 2001 | Vanilla Sky | Cameron Crowe | |
| 2003 | The Last Samurai | Edward Zwick | |
| 2005 | Elizabethtown | Cameron Crowe | |
| 2006 | Seraphim Falls | David Von Ancken | |
| 2007 | Rise: Blood Hunter | Sebastian Gutierrez | |
| 2007 | Gone Baby Gone | Ben Affleck | |
| 2008 | Tropic Thunder | Ben Stiller | |
| 2009 | It's Complicated | Nancy Meyers | |
| 2011 | The Adjustment Bureau | George Nolfi | |
| 2012 | The Odd Life of Timothy Green | Peter Hedges | |
| 2012 | Cloud Atlas | The Wachowskis Tom Tykwer | Co-cinematographer with Frank Griebe |
| 2013 | Iron Man 3 | Shane Black | |
| 2015 | Jupiter Ascending | The Wachowskis | |
| 2016 | Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk | Ang Lee | |
| 2019 | Harriet | Kasi Lemmons | |
| 2021 | The Matrix Resurrections | Lana Wachowski | Co-cinematographer with Daniele Massaccesi |
| 2023 | 80 for Brady | Kyle Marvin | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1989 | The Young Riders | Robert Lieberman | Episode "The Kid" |
| 1990 | Goodnight Sweet Wife: A Murder in Boston | Jerrold Freedman | TV movie |
| 2008 | Breaking Bad | Vince Gilligan | Episode "Pilot" |
| 2015-17 | Sense8 | The Wachowskis James McTeigue Tom Tykwer Dan Glass | 24 episodes (With Christian Almesberger, Frank Griebe and Danny Ruhlmann); Also executive producer (12 episodes) |

## Awards

### Academy Awards

| Year | Title | Category | Result |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1994 | Legends of the Fall | Best Cinematography | Won |
| 1995 | Braveheart | Best Cinematography | Won |
| 1998 | The Thin Red Line | Best Cinematography | Nominated |

### BAFTA Awards

| Year | Title | Category | Result |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1995 | Braveheart | Best Cinematography | Won |

### Satellite Awards

| Year | Title | Category | Result |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1998 | The Thin Red Line | Best Cinematography | Won |
| 2003 | The Last Samurai | Best Cinematography | Won |
| 2016 | Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk | Best Cinematography | Nominated |

### American Society of Cinematographers

| Year | Title | Category | Result |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1994 | Legends of the Fall | Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography | Nominated |
| 1995 | Braveheart | Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography | Won |
| 1998 | The Thin Red Line | Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography | Won |
| 2003 | The Last Samurai | Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography | Nominated |

### Other awards

| Year | Title | Awards | Result |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1994 | Legends of the Fall | Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography | Won |
| 1995 | Braveheart | Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography | Won |
| 1998 | The Thin Red Line | Berlin International Film Festival Honorable Mention | Won |
| 1998 | The Thin Red Line | New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Cinematography | Won |
| 1998 | The Thin Red Line | BSC Award for Best Cinematography in a Feature Film | Nominated |
| 1998 | The Thin Red Line | Chlotrudis Award for Best Cinematography | Nominated |
| 1998 | The Thin Red Line | Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography | Nominated |
| 1998 | The Thin Red Line | National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cinematography | Nominated |
| 1998 | The Thin Red Line | Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Cinematography | Nominated |
| 2003 | The Last Samurai | Hollywood Film Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography | Won |
| 2003 | The Last Samurai | Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Cinematography | Nominated |
| 2012 | Cloud Atlas | German Film Award for Best Cinematography | Won |
| 2012 | Cloud Atlas | St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography | Nominated |
| 2019 | Harriet | Black Reel Award for Outstanding Cinematography | Nominated |
