David Fleming (composer)

David Fleming studied musical composition at State University of New York at Purchase. From there, he started his career in New York advertising companies, creating music for ringtones and liquor commercials. He won the BMI Foundation's Pete Carpenter Fellowship and moved to Los Angeles where he began writing music for major films.^[1]

In 2017, Fleming co-composed the BBC series Blue Planet II (2017) alongside Hans Zimmer, starting a collaborative relationship that saw Fleming contribute to films like The Lion King (2019), Dune (2021), and Top Gun: Maverick (2022), and co-compose films together such as Hillbilly Elegy, The Unforgivable, and The Night Logan Woke Up.^[2] Their work on Blue Planet II earned the score award nominations with the Jerry Goldsmith Awards and the International Film Music Critics Awards.^[3][4]

Fleming co-composed the original score for the television series The Last of Us (2023–present) with Gustavo Santaolalla. Fleming's work was inspired by real-world sounds within a decayed civilization.^[5] He largely worked on action-heavy music for the series, such as a large action sequence in the fifth episode. Like Santaolalla, he wanted to keep his score minimalistic and exercised restraint to match series co-creator Craig Mazin's goal of "having the viewer feel that they're part of the scene rather than be observing the scene".^[6] He selected specific instruments that paired appropriately with Santaolalla's work; rather than using a generic drum, he wanted one with "personality, whether it be a rusty barrel or like cracking wood or bowing, rusty metal".^[6]

In 2024, Fleming scored projects including Mr. & Mrs. Smith and Jim Henson Idea Man, for which he was nominated for Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series and Outstanding Music Composition for a Documentary Series or Special, respectively.^[7] On June 7, 2024, Fleming performed his work to Mr. & Mrs. Smith at the Deadline Sound & Screen TV Event at Royce Hall at UCLA. Lead actor Donald Glover guided Fleming's score to focus on trust and the relationship between the characters.^[8] For Jim Henson Idea Man, Fleming wanted to carry the spirit of Jim Henson through the score.^[9] He also composed music for the film Damsel (2024).^[10]