Barry Ackroyd


Barry Ackroyd is an English cinematographer and director. Ackroyd has frequently worked with directors Ken Loach and Paul Greengrass. He worked on Kathryn Bigelow's 2008 war film The Hurt Locker, and with Greengrass on the critically acclaimed 2013 biographical thriller Captain Phillips, the former earning him a BAFTA Award and an Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography. In 2014, Ackroyd became the president of the British Society of Cinematographers.

Life and career

Ackroyd was born in Oldham, England. He received a BAFTA nomination for Best Cinematography for The Lost Prince. His latest credits are on Ken Loach's award-winning feature, The Wind That Shakes The Barley, Paul Greengrass's take on the 9-11 disaster, United 93, and the Kathryn Bigelow-directed Iraq War film, The Hurt Locker.
Film reviewer Jack Matthews of the New York Daily News remarked about the filmmaking behind The Wind That Shakes The Barley: "Beautifully shot, both in darkened homes and on the misty green Irish landscape by Loach's frequent cinematographer Barry Ackroyd, "Wind" has a you-are-there intensity and intimacy about it that make it nearly overwhelming."
In 2016, he reunited with Greengrass for the fourth time for the fifth Bourne movie.

Filmography

Television

TV movies
YearTitleDirector
1987Big George Is DeadHenry Martin
1996HillsboroughCharles McDougall
1997Bumping the OddsRob Rohrer
2002SundayDominic Savage
2003The Lost PrinceStephen Poliakoff
2003EroicaSimon Cellan Jones
2005Friends and CrocodilesStephen Poliakoff
2005Gideon's DaughterStephen Poliakoff
2010The Special RelationshipRichard Loncraine
2011The Miraculous YearKathryn Bigelow
2013The MissionaryBaltasar Kormákur

TV series
YearTitleDirectorNotes
1993SpenderIan KnoxEpisode "Retreat"
1993ScreenPlayLes BlairEpisode "The Merrihill Millionaires"
1995–1996Screen TwoTim Fywell
Michael Whyte		Episodes "Life After Life" and "Flowers of the Forest"
2012The NewsroomGreg MottolaEpisode "We Just Decided To"
2024The SympathizerFernando MeirellesEpisode "Give Us Some Good Lines"

Feature film

YearTitleDirectorNotes
1991Riff-RaffKen Loach
1993Raining StonesKen Loach
1994Ladybird, LadybirdKen Loach
1995Land and FreedomKen Loach
1996Carla's SongKen Loach
1996Stella Does TricksCoky Giedroyc
1997Under the SkinCarine Adler
1998My Name Is JoeKen Loach
1999The Lost SonChris Menges
1999Beautiful PeopleJasmin Dizdar
1999Mauvaise PasseMichel Blanc
2000Bread and RosesKen Loach
2001Very Annie MarySara Sugarman
2001DustMilcho Manchevski
2001The NavigatorsKen LoachWith Mike Eley
2002Sweet SixteenKen Loach
2003Os ImortaisAntónio-Pedro Vasconcelos
2004Ae Fond Kiss...Ken Loach
2005Love + HateDominic Savage
2006The Wind That Shakes the BarleyKen Loach
2006United 93Paul Greengrass
2007Battle in SeattleStuart Townsend
2009The Hurt LockerKathryn Bigelow
2009Looking for EricKen Loach
2010Green ZonePaul Greengrass
2011CoriolanusRalph Fiennes
2012ContrabandBaltasar Kormákur
2013Captain PhillipsPaul Greengrass
2013ParklandPeter Landesman
2015Dark PlacesGilles Paquet-Brenner
2015The Big ShortAdam McKay
2016Jason BournePaul Greengrass
2016The Last FaceSean Penn
2017DetroitKathryn Bigelow
2018Outlaw KingDavid Mackenzie
2019BombshellJay Roach
2020The Old GuardGina Prince-BythewoodWith Tami Reiker
2021Sweet GirlBrian Andrew Mendoza
2022Whitney Houston:
I Wanna Dance with Somebody		Kasi Lemmons
2025The Old Guard 2Victoria Mahoney
2025A House of DynamiteKathryn Bigelow

Documentary works

Film
YearTitleDirector
1990Hunters and BombersHugh Brody
Nigel Markham
1991The Leader, His Driver, and the Driver's WifeNick Broomfield
1992Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial KillerNick Broomfield
1995Anne Frank RememberedJon Blair

TV series
YearTitleDirectorNotes
198840 MinutesSam OrganEpisode "Diary of a Frontliner"
1989DispatchesShari RobertsonEpisode "Return to Year Zero?"
1989Split ScreenKen LoachEpisode "Time to Go"
1988–1989BylineMarjorie Wallace
David Collison		Episodes "Whose Mind Is It Anyway?" and "Johnny and Alf Go Home"
1993NovaDave DuncanEpisode "The Real Jurassic Park"
1996Modern TimesKen LoachEpisode "The Flickering Flame"
2003The BluesMike FiggisEpisode "Red, White and Blues"

Awards and nominations

Academy Awards
YearCategoryTitleResult
2009Best CinematographyThe Hurt LockerNomitated

BAFTA Awards
YearCategoryTitleResult
2006Best CinematographyUnited 93Nomitated
2009Best CinematographyThe Hurt LockerWon
2013Best CinematographyCaptain PhillipsNomitated

American Society of Cinematographers
YearCategoryTitleResult
2009Outstanding CinematographyThe Hurt LockerNomitated
2013Outstanding CinematographyCaptain PhillipsNomitated

Other awards
YearTitleAward/Nomination
2009The Hurt LockerBoston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cinematography
Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography
Houston Film Critics Society Award for Best Cinematography
Nominated – Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Cinematography
Nominated – Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Award for Best Cinematography
Nominated – Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography
Nominated – National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cinematography
Nominated – Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Cinematography
Nominated – St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Award for Best Cinematography