John Toll, (born June 15, 1952) is an American cinematographer, with a filmography that spans a wide variety of genres, including epic period drama, comedy, science fiction, and contemporary drama.
He won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography twice, for Legends of the Fall in 1994, and Braveheart in 1995, making him 1 of 4 cinematographers to win back-to-back Oscars.
Life and career
Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Toll began working as camera operator on film Norma Rae. 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. In addition to film, Toll has shot several commercials, the pilot episode of Breaking Bad, and served as chief cinematographer on the Netflix series Sense8.
Personal life
Toll is married to the make-up artist Lois Burwell, who had also won an Oscar for Braveheart.
Filmography
Film
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Director
! Notes
|-
| 1971
| The Young Graduates
|rowspan=2|Robert Anderson
| With J. Barry Herron
|-
| 1972
| The Hoax
|
|-
| 1975
| Chrysler Carnival
| Neil Tardio
| Short film
|-
| 1985
| The Beach Boys: An American Band
| Malcolm Leo
| Documentary film
|-
| 1991
| The Forfeit
| Kate Hall
|
|-
| 1992
| Wind
| Carroll Ballard
|
|-
| 1994
| Legends of the Fall
| Edward Zwick
|
|-
| 1995
| Braveheart
| Mel Gibson
|
|-
| 1996
| Jack
|rowspan=2|Francis Ford Coppola
|
|-
| 1997
| The Rainmaker
|
|-
| 1998
| The Thin Red Line
| Terrence Malick
|
|-
| 1999
| Simpatico
| Matthew Warchus
|
|-
| 2000
| Almost Famous
| Cameron Crowe
|
|-
|rowspan=2|2001
| Captain Corelli's Mandolin
| John Madden
|
|-
| Vanilla Sky
| Cameron Crowe
|
|-
| 2003
| The Last Samurai
| Edward Zwick
|
|-
| 2005
| Elizabethtown
| Cameron Crowe
|
|-
| 2006
| Seraphim Falls
| David Von Ancken
|
|-
|rowspan=2|2007
| Rise: Blood Hunter
| Sebastian Gutierrez
|
|-
| Gone Baby Gone
| Ben Affleck
|
|-
| 2008
| Tropic Thunder
| Ben Stiller
|
|-
| 2009
| It's Complicated
| Nancy Meyers
|
|-
| 2011
| The Adjustment Bureau
| George Nolfi
|
|-
|rowspan=2|2012
| The Odd Life of Timothy Green
| Peter Hedges
|
|-
| Cloud Atlas
| The Wachowskis<br>Tom Tykwer
| 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
| With Daniele Massaccesi
|-
| 2023
| 80 for Brady
| Kyle Marvin
|
|}
Television
<!--
TV movies
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Director
! Notes
|-
| 1987
| The China Odyssey: 'Empire of the Sun',<br>a Film by Steven Spielberg
| Les Mayfield
| Documentary film;<br>With Mark Zavad
|-
| 1990
| Goodnight Sweet Wife:<br>A Murder in Boston
| Jerrold Freedman
|
|}
TV series
-->
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Director
! Notes
|-
| 1988
| Hiroshima Maiden
| Joan Darling
| TV special
|-
| 1989
| The Young Riders
| Robert Lieberman
| Episode "The Kid"
|-
| 2008
| Breaking Bad
| Vince Gilligan
| Episode "Pilot"
|-
| 2015-2018
| Sense8
| The Wachowskis<br>James McTeigue<br>Tom Tykwer<br>Dan Glass
| 24 episodes (With Christian Almesberger, Frank Griebe and Danny Ruhlmann);<br>Also credited as executive producer (12 episodes)
|}
Awards and nominations
Academy Awards
{| class="wikitable"
! Year
! Title
! Category
! Result
|-
| 1994
| Legends of the Fall
|rowspan=3|Best Cinematography
|
|-
| 1995
| Braveheart
|
|-
| 1998
| The Thin Red Line
|
|}
BAFTA Awards
{| class="wikitable"
! Year
! Title
! Category
! Result
|-
| 1995
| Braveheart
| Best Cinematography
|
|-
|}
Satellite Awards
{| class="wikitable"
! Year
! Title
! Category
! Result
|-
| 1998
| The Thin Red Line
|rowspan=3|Best Cinematography
|
|-
| 2003
| The Last Samurai
|
|-
| 2016
| Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk
|
|}
American Society of Cinematographers
{| class="wikitable"
! Year
! Title
! Category
! Result
|-
| 1994
| Legends of the Fall
|rowspan=4|Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography
|
|-
| 1995
| Braveheart
|
|-
| 1998
| The Thin Red Line
|
|-
| 2003
| The Last Samurai
|
|-
| 2016
|colspan=2|Lifetime Achievement Award
|
|}
Primetime Emmy Awards
{| class="wikitable"
! Year
! Title
! Category
! Result
|-
| 2008
| Breaking Bad
| Outstanding Cinematography for a Series (One Hour) <small>(For episode "Pilot")</small>
|
|}
Other awards
{| class="wikitable"
! Year
! Title
! Awards
! Result
|-
| 1994
| Legends of the Fall
|rowspan=2|Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| 1995
| Braveheart
|
|-
|rowspan=7|1998
|rowspan=7|The Thin Red Line
| Berlin International Film Festival Honorable Mention
|
|-
| New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Cinematographer
|
|-
| BSC Award for Best Cinematography in a Feature Film
|
|-
| Chlotrudis Award for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Cinematography
|
|-
|rowspan=2|2003
|rowspan=2|The Last Samurai
| Hollywood Film Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography
|
|-
| Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Cinematography
|
|-
|rowspan=2|2012
|rowspan=2|Cloud Atlas
| German Film Award for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| St. Louis Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| 2019
| Harriet
| Black Reel Award for Outstanding Cinematography
|
|-
|}