Paul Leonard-Morgan (born 1974) is a Scottish composer particularly known for his work in scoring for television and film. He won a Scottish BAFTA for the film Reflections upon the Origin of the Pineapple (2000), which was his first film score.
Early life Leonard-Morgan's mother was a music teacher. As a child, he learned to play the piano, violin, and recorder. He studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, graduating in 1995 with a BA in musical studies.
Career Leonard-Morgan's first album, Filmtales, was released in 2007. Between 2006 and 2011, he wrote scores for the BBC spy drama Spooks. In 2007, he worked on the documentary J.K. Rowling: A Year in the Life, providing the backing music that went with the film that showed the author working on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
In 2008, he was chosen by the U.S. Olympic Committee to compose a new U.S. Olympic Team anthem. In the same year, he also wrote the music for Neil Oliver's BBC television series A History of Scotland. His score was performed by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in 2009.
In 2011, Leonard-Morgan composed the soundtrack for the sci-fi thriller Limitless, and he also wrote music for the television series based on the film. In 2012, he scored the sci-fi film Dredd, for which he was shortlisted at the 2013 World Soundtrack Public Choice Award. Also in 2012, Leonard-Morgan composed the queue music for Test Track at Epcot.
Leonard-Morgan first became involved with video game soundtracks by composing material for Battlefield Hardline, which was released in March 2015. In May 2016, a trailer for Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III was released, which included his composition; the game came out in 2017, with a score by Leonard-Morgan.
Leonard-Morgan cowrote the score for the 2020 video game Cyberpunk 2077. In an interview with Headliner Magazine on creating the score and soundtrack for the game, he said, "Writing dark music is relatively easy. Writing dark music like nobody else has ever written before is a little bit harder". Since 2025, he has been the composer for the CBS series Watson.
Awards and honours Scottish BAFTA – Best Composer or Original Sound Design, for Reflections upon the Origin of the Pineapple (2000). BAFTA Nomination for Fallen (2004) Ivor Novello Awards Nomination for Fallen (2004) World Soundtrack Awards Nomination – Discovery of the Year, for Limitless (2011) Primetime Emmy Award Nomination – Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score), for Limitless (2016)
Selected discography
Film Year Title Director(s) Studio 2007 Popcorn Darren Paul Fisher Moviehouse Entertainment 2011 Limitless Neil Burger Relativity Media 2012 Dredd Pete Travis Lionsgate 2013 The Numbers Station Kasper Barfoed Image Entertainment 2013 Walking with Dinosaurs Neil NightingaleBarry Cook 20th Century Fox 2014 Legendary Eric Styles2016 Amateurs in Space Max Kestner One Filmverleih The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman's Portrait Photography Errol Morris 2017 Accidental Anarchist John ArcherClara Glynn TVF International 2018 American Dharma Errol Morris Utopia2019 The Tomorrow Man Noble Jones Bleecker Street Last Breath Richard da CostaAlex Parkinson Dogwoof 2021 Best Sellers Lina Roessler Screen Media 2022 Gigi & Nate Nick Hamm Roadside Attractions2023 Boston Strangler Matt Ruskin 20th Century Studios The Pigeon Tunnel Errol Morris Apple TV+ 2024 Separated Errol Morris MSNBC Films2025 Inheritance Neil Burger IFC Films Last Breath Alex Parkinson Focus Features Charlie Harper Mac EldridgeTom Dean Row K Entertainment2026 Pretty Lethal Vicky Jewson Amazon MGM Studios
Television Year Title Studio Notes 2004–2005 The Brief ITV Composed with John E. Keane 2006 Galápagos BBC Two Documentary TV series 2006–2011 Spooks BBC One 2008 A History of Scotland BBC One TV series documentary 2012 How to Grow a Planet BBC Two TV series documentary 2012 Falcón Sky Atlantic TV miniseries 2012–2016 Murder BBC Two TV miniseries 2015–2016 Limitless CBS 2017 Wormwood Netflix TV docudrama miniseries 2017–2022 Dynasty The CW Theme music composed with Bill Conti and Troy Nõka 2016–present The Grand Tour Amazon Studios 2019 Designated Survivor Netflix Composed for season 32020 Tales from the Loop Amazon Studios Composed with Philip Glass The Nest BBC One 2021 Myth & Mogul: John DeLorean Netflix TV docudrama miniseries 2023 Fellow Travelers Showtime TV miniseries 2025 Watson CBS
Video games Year Title Studio Notes 2015 Battlefield Hardline Visceral Games 2017 Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III Relic Entertainment 2020 Cyberpunk 2077 CD Projekt Red Composed with Marcin Przybyłowicz and P. T. Adamczyk
Solo Year Title Notes2007Filmtales Studio album
References
External links
Profile at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland