BBC announces new Hans Zimmer documentary about Hollywood legend

Hans Zimmer is “honoured” to be the subject of a new BBC Two documentary.

The ‘Gladiator’ composer has marked his 40 year career by taking part in BBC Studio’s ‘Hans Zimmer: Hollywood Rebel’, which debuts on Sunday 16 October at 9pm - and will reflect on his impact on the film industry and the power of orchestral music with talking head appearances from high-profile directors, such as Ron Howard, Denis Villeneuve, Steve McQueen and Christopher Nolan.

The 65-year-old star said: “I’m honoured to be sharing this insight into my career and life with the BBC audience. My hope is that this documentary inspires and emboldens you to unapologetically pursue your passions and find a deeper understanding for my scores, and above all, music.”

Zimmer - who has a long history of working on Sir David Attenborough-fronted nature documentaries for the UK’s public broadcaster, most recently 'Frozen Planet II' - lauded being able to share his “incredible life story”.

Sreya Biswas, BBC Commissioning's Head of Natural History said: “Hans Zimmer has been integral to Natural History’s output for many years, composing for some of our biggest landmarks, most recently Frozen Planet II.

"We are really pleased to be able to tell his own incredible life story and musical journey in this film.”

The profile of Hans - whose musical score credits include ‘The Lion King’, 'Rain Man', ‘Pirates Of The Caribbean’, 'The Dark Knight', 'Batman Begins', '12 Year A Slave', 'The Da Vinci Code' and 'Dune' - was dubbed a “dream job” by the project’s director, Francis Hanly.

He added: “The sheer number of standout movies Hans Zimmer has scored over the past 40 years is incredible. It was a dream job to sit and film him at the keyboard in his studio as he gave us an intimate and exclusive demonstration of the techniques and sounds he's created and the ideas that lie behind some of his most famous scores.”