George Fenton

George Fenton—honestly, if you’ve watched any solid British film or TV since the ‘80s, you’ve probably heard his music without even realizing it. Born October 19, 1949, in Bromley, Kent, England, he grew up right in the thick of that classic English backdrop. The guy’s not just a composer, but he’s dabbled a bit in acting too—though let’s be real, it’s his music that puts him on the map. He’s behind the iconic score for Groundhog Day (yep, that one with Bill Murray stuck on repeat), and if you think about it, the way the music weaves in and out of those scenes is kinda genius. But he doesn’t just stop at comedy—he scored The Girl in 1998, which snagged a bunch of critical attention, and later The Bounty Hunter in 2010, showing he’s not afraid to jump genres. Fenton’s got this knack for making music that just totally nails the vibe of a movie, whether it’s light and quirky, or tense and dramatic. He’s worked with some pretty big directors, too—think Richard Attenborough, Stephen Frears, and Ken Loach. And, yeah, his shelves are probably creaking under the weight of all those BAFTA and Emmy nominations, not to mention an Oscar nod. What really sticks out is how his soundtracks just linger with you, half the time you leave the theater humming something and don’t even know it’s his. Man’s a legend, no joke.