Rolfe Kent
“Kent’s great gift... is his timbral control. He mixes sound colours beautifully, even allowing in moments of spoken voice that are so fleeting and subdued that they become another musical instrument.”
-- Andrew Granade, SoundtrackNet
Unexpected texture, sounds and a signature musical personality are the hallmarks of British film & theatre composer Rolfe Kent, who has scored more than 60 films, including Academy Award-nominated Up in the Air (for which he won a Golden Satellite award); Sideways (for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe and Critics' Choice Award in 2007); Labour Day; Bad Words; Dom Hemingway; About Schmidt; Election; Mean Girls; Legally Blonde and Legally Blonde II; Wedding Crashers; The Matador; Reign Over Me; The Hunting Party; and Thank You for Smoking. Kent also composed the Emmy-nominated main title theme for the Showtime hit Dexter. In 2012, he received the Richard Kirk Award for career achievement. His most recent scores are for the ITV series Stonehouse and the film My Mother's Wedding, directed by Kristin Scott Thomas.
Born in England into a non-musical family, Kent intuitively felt at age 12 that he wanted to be a film composer, although his early musical training was brief and not so formal. Citing Jarre’s Lawrence of Arabia and Morricone’s The Good, The Bad and the Ugly as inspirations, Kent took the advice of an early music teacher to avoid classical study that would dampen his enthusiasm and instead follow an entirely enthusiasm- and curiosity-driven path. While studying psychology at the University of Leeds in Yorkshire, Kent’s musical theatre career was casually begun at a dance club when the director of a play, Peter Morgan, offered him a chance to “do” the music. His jump start was his composition for a stage musical, Gross, at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, a springboard for authors, composers and performers.
In the confines of his musically busy studio, one can immediately see why his musical personality is as distinct and as his own. With an innately curious and adventurous spirit that is audible through his embrace of multicultural musical styles, Kent has developed a style that is not only distinct but also indicative of his aversion to the anticipated score in tone, texture and rhythm. The walls are lined with many familiar and many more unfamiliar instruments, gingerly handled and gleefully demonstrated for their sonic qualities. Among his collection are the Indonesian percussion instrument the angklung; the shawm (first used in military manoeuvres as a psychological weapon); the melodica, used for the light, soothing effect in Kent’s jazz-infused score for his Golden Globe-nominated Sideways; and an instrument he discovered and cannot name that sounds like the world’s beaches at their most romantic high tide... combined.
Kent has the distinction of attracting and sustaining relationships with directors as popular and diverse as Alexander Payne, Mark Waters, Jason Reitman, Burr Steers, John S. Baird and Richard Shepard. He is also the founder of LA immersive theatre company The Unmarked Door and a member of the British theatre company The Naiads.
FILM:
Everything’s Going to be Great
Studio: Entertainment One
Producers: Alex Lalonde, Brian Unkeless, Scott Allen Morgan
Director: Jon S. Baird
North Star
Studio: CAA Media Finance
Producers: Finola Dwyer, Steven Rales
Director: Kristin Scott Thomas
Harvest Moon
Studio: Miramax
Producers: Paul Bettany, Bill Block, Mark Waters
Director: Mark Waters
He’s All That
Studio: Miramax / Netflix
Producers: Jennifer Gibgot, Andrew Panay
Director: Mark Waters
Vacation Friends
Studio: Broken Road Productions / Hulu
Producers: Timothy M Bourne, Todd Garner
Director: Clay Tarver
Magic Camp
Studio: Gunn Films
Producer: Suzanne Todd
Director: Mark Waters
Timmy Failure
Studio: Walt Disney Pictures
Producer: James Whitaker
Director: Tom McCarthy
Stan & Ollie
Studio: Entertainment One
Producer: Faye Ward
Director: Jon S. Baird
Downsizing
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Producer: Megan Ellison/Mark Johnson
Director: Alexander Payne
Crash Pad
Studio: Sony Pictures
Producer: Lauren Bratman/William Horberg
Director: Kevin Tent
Phil
Studio: Bron Studios
Producer: Aaron Gilbert/Sandy Syern/ Bradley Thomas
Director: Greg Kinnear
Rock Dog
Studio: Mandoo Pictures Co.
Producer: David B. Miller
Director: Ash Brannon
Labor Day
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Producer: Lianne Halfon
Director: Jason Reitman
Dom Hemingway
Studio: Lionsgate
Producer: Jeremy Thomas
Director: Richard Shepard
Bad Words
Studio: Focus Features
Producer: Sean McKittrick
Director: Jason Bateman
Young Adult
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Producer(s): Lianne Halfon/Russell Smith/Charlize Theron
Director: Jason Reitman
Mr Popper’s Penguins
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Producer: John Davis
Director: Mark Waters
Killers
Studio: Lionsgate
Producer: Jason Goldberg
Director: Robert Luketic
Charlie St. Cloud
Studio: Universal Studios
Producer: Marc Platt
Director: Burr Steers
Up in the Air
Studio: DreamWorks Pictures
Producer: Ivan Reitman/Dan Dubiecki
Director: Jason Reitman
The Men Who Stare at Goats
Studio: BBC Films
Producer: George Clooney / Paul Lister
Director: Grant Heslov
17 Again
Studio: New Line Cinema
Producers: Adam Shankman
Director: Burr Steers
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
Studio: New Line Cinema
Producers: Brad Epstein
Director: Mark Waters
The Lucky Ones
Studio: Roadside Attractions
Producers: Rick Schwartz
Director: Neil Burger
The Hunting Party
Studio: The Weinstein Company
Producers: Adam Merims / Bill Block
Director: Richard Shepard
Reign Over Me
Studio: Sony Pictures
Producer: Michael Rotenberg
Director: Mike Binder
Thank You for Smoking
Studio: Room 9 Entertainment llc.
Producer: David Sacks
Director: Jason Reitman
Just Like Heaven
Studio: DreamWorks
Producer: Walter Parkes
Director: Mark Waters
Matador
Studio: Stratus Film Co.
Producer: Mark Gordon / Pierce Brosnan
Director: Richard Shepard
Sideways
Studio: Fox Searchlight
Producer: Michael London / Claudia Lewis
Director: Alexander Payne
The Wedding Crashers
Studio: New Line Cinema
Producer: Peter Abrams / Guy Riedel
Director: David Dobkin
Mean Girls
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Producer: Lorne Michaels / Jill Messick
Director: Mark S. Waters
Freaky Friday
Studio: Buena Vista Pictures
Producer: Mario Iscovich
Director: Mark Waters
Legally Blonde 2
Studio: MGM
Producer: David Nicksay / Marc E. Platt / Reese Witherspoon
Director: Charles Herman-Wurmfeld
About Schmidt
Studio: New Line Cinema
Producer: Bill Badalato
Director: Alexander Payne
40 Days and 40 Nights
Studio: Universal Pictures
Producer: Tim Bevan / Eric Fellner
Director: Michael Lehmann
Kate and Leopold
Studio: Miramax Films
Producer: Meryl Poster / Bob Weinstein
Director: James Mangold
Legally Blonde
Studio: MGM
Producer: Marc Platt
Director: Robert Luketic
Nurse Betty
Studio: Gramercy
Producer: Moritz Borman / Stephen Pevner
Director: Neil LaBute
Town and Country
Studio: New Line Cinema
Producer: Michael De Luca / Lynn Harris / Sidney Kimmel
Director: Peter Chelsom
Election
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Producer: Van Toffler
Director: Alexander Payne
Citizen Ruth
Studio: Miramax Films
Producer: Cathy Konrad / Cary Woods
Director: Alexander Payne
The House of Yes
Studio: Miramax Films
Producer: Robert Berger
Director: Mark Waters
Slums of Beverly Hills
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Producer: Robert Redford
Director: Tamara Jenkins
Someone Like You
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Producer: James Chory
Director: Tony Goldwyn
The Theory of Flight
Studio: BBC
Producer: David Thompson
Director: Paul Greengrass
Happy Campers
Studio: New Line Cinema
Producer: Denise Di Novi
Director: Daniel Waters
Mexico City
Studio: Abandon
Producer: Karen Lauder / Marcus Ticotin
Director: Richard Shepard
Oxygen
Studio: Abandon
Producer: Karen Lauder / Marcus Ticotin
Director: Richard Shepard
TELEVISION:
Stonehouse
Studio: Snowed-In Productions / ITV
Producers: Ruth Kenley-Letts / Ellie Wood
Dexter (Main Title Theme)
Studio: Showtime
Producer: Daniel Cerone
The Jury
Studio: Granada
Producer: Peter Morgan
Director: Pete Travis
